30 Days of Night

Rated:: R

Genre:: Horror/Thriller

Starring::
Josh Hartnett - Eben Oleson
Melissa George - Stella Oleson
Danny Huston - Marlow
Ben Foster - The Stranger
Mark Boone Junior - Beau Brower

Plot::
This is the story of an isolated Alaskan town that is plunged into darkness for a month each year when the sun sinks below the horizon. As the last rays of light fade, the town is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires bent on an uninterrupted orgy of destruction. Only the small town's husband-and-wife Sheriff team stand between the survivors and certain destruction.

30 Days of Vampires Standing Around In The Cold

by Daniel Scillieri

Personal Grade: C / C-

My partner in crime said it best in the previous posting. The concept is a classic horror story, Gang of bloodsuckers attacking a no name town where the remaining survivors fight to stay alive. BUT in my opinion the movie came up lacking in several areas. A few too many times were we sitting in the theater quietly shouting "WHAT" or "WORST MOVE EVER" and the occational "really?...really vampires?".

The Pros:
Its a cool story, vampires are a trademark to scary movies and 30 days of no sunlight (the #1 killer of suckheads) makes for one tough survival experience. The film has the classic horror sequences that make any movie give you chills, the infamous dragging of a screaming victim into a dark hole or the always popular sudden shadowy figure darting infront of the camera. The movie also provides a very good amount of the bloody gore that makes anyone cringe. When the Vamps hit the town, they hit it hard with great camera work. One scene shows an over-head view of blood soaked snow with terrified people screaming through the streets only to get taken down and eaten. Josh Hartnett plays a pretty good hero while saving those who he loves against overwhelming odds, even a few times during the movie he can work the pissed off badass.

The Cons:
Oh man, where to begin...This movie is ripe with a little thing I like to call "survivor stupidity". The first problem would have to be the amount of time left out or just plain skipped in the movie. The vampires get to the town and kill almost all of the humans in what seems a hour at most. Suddenly, after the initial chaos, it is Day 7 and the survivors are struggling to stay alive. 7 days, and entire week...what were they and the blood thirsty vampires doing the whole time? Having bloody snowball fights or making snow deamons? Staying on the topic of vampires...how come only the lead vampire spoke in some strange language, while the others just screeched and screamed like birds of prey. When he did speak in his strange tongue it was very philosophical phrases which made you think a bit to much while reading the subtitles. Back to the strange time changes, the survivors did not seem to change as the sunless days carried on, they didnt get skinnier or grow facial hair. They appeared to remain the same as if it were the same day the vampires attacked. One big thing that my friend and I called out several times was the ridiculous attempts at the love story between Josh Hartnett and Melissa George. (Survivor Stupidity at its finest) Dozens of vampires around and they try and find time to sort out there problems and rekindle a lost love. Just not the thing i would have on my mind when death is around ever corner. There are a few more kinks in the machine that I could write about but I dont want to bash it to much.

Finally, My friend and I agree that 30 Days of Night earned itself a "C" for having a groovy concept but left a few things up in the air and definitely several things making you scratch your head. Perhaps this is a movie to wait until it is available in your local blockbuster.

30 Days of Vampires Doing Nothing

by Scott Pospishil

Super fast, Super strong, Super senses.... No, I am not describing Superman, I'm describing the ridiculous lot of 40+ vampires that couldn't catch 7 mere mortals over 30 days...

I will give you some good things about this movie: the vampires were pretty cool (despite their ridiculously loud screeching noises and their philosphical ways), it was a cool concept, and I did jump a few times. However, overall, the stupid moves by the humans and the convienient absence of the vampires super powers at just the right time made this a "wait for the dvd" movie...

Now, I have never read the graphic novel that the movie was based on but I just want to point out a few head scratchers that came to mind during this movie. First, the vampires came to this town via a ship. Vampires living on a ship... What's the deal with that? What do they do for food the rest of the year? Alright, now to the meat of the movie. There are 2 points in this movie where all of a sudden a week or two goes by just like that, one time where the survivors were huddled in an attic for the time. A.) What the hell were the vampires doing for these periods of time? I personally think that they had a couple hardcore poker games going on and the rest of the time they were busy making snow angels and B.) Why is it that when they go back to the characters, they havent changed one bit besides a little more facial hair? Sure they look like they have been away for a month but im pretty sure they were acting the same way from the start of this movie to the end. If I was stuck in an attic for 2 weeks I'm pretty sure I would get a little cranky or something. There were many more little things to pick at during this movie but the last issue I had was the forced romance between the two main characters. Seriously they picked the worst times to start telling each other how they feel. Stella Oleson (Melissa George) is trapped underneath a truck with vampires walking all around her and husband, or ex-husband, they dont make it too clear, Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnett) is talking to her through a walkie talkie, which can get loud (and remember these vampires have super senses). Anyway, they start to have a conversation about their relationship... REALLY? What about all that free time you had while the vampires were busy playing halo 3 during the weeks in between the movie? This I cannot understand...

Overall, the movie was bearable. I did enjoy watching the vampires do their buisness throughout the town(killing mass amounts of people). Also, like I said I did jump a few times which always makes the movie experience a little better. I gave this movie a C... but I wouldnt waste your $10...

My Grade: C