30 Days of Night (DVD, 2008)

Director David Slade crams Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith's Unusual Graphic Novel through the Modern-Horror Grinder, falling back on flash cuts, audio screeches., and an abundance of gore. Amidst these jugernauts of atmospheric tricks., the story-concept remains powerfully strong.
Every Winter in Barrow, Alaska — the Northernmost Town in the United States — experiences a full month without sunlight. This year, an Army of Starving Savage Vampires descend on the Town to take advantage of the Natural Darkness. Local Sheriff Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnett) and his estranged wife, Stella (Melissa George), must put their differences aside long enough to try and protect Barrow and it's townsfolk.
The Night premise explains well, why Slade's film is so dark. Seemingly shot through a "Blue-Lens" Slade's film suffocates the audience with dread., and releases no mercy. The desolate frontier Town of Barrow makes for an incredible piece-set., and the ferocious blizzard that whips at the blood-thirsting Predators and their Prey is a "character" in and of itself.
Hartnett gives a truly solid performance; and Slade manages to drench shocks in with slow-building psychological fear. Ben Foster (though not the only reason) might be one of the biggest reasons to see '30 Days of Night'. The young actor is perfecting the Homicidal Maniac Role, practicing it in two other movies this year — see 'Alpha Dog' and '3:10 to Yuma'.
In '30 Days of Night', he plays a messenger who arrives in Barrow before the Vampires and tries to intimidate Hartnett's Sheriff with the Promise of Death. Foster drapes his lines with an accent that insipidly releases immediate tension.
While 'Sin City' & 'Shoot 'Em Up' have held the 5-Star Graphic Novel feel - 'Sin City' having truly set that 'Bar'., and 'Shoot 'Em Up' (while not it's own Graphic Novel but holding that appeal) following in it's steps., '30 Days of Night' I hold at just 1-Star less than a Full-5. (It's hard to put this Graphic Novel transformation to Cinema Screen on Level with 'Sin-City'....or any other Graphic Novel up to 'Sin City' for that matter (though we can wait and see how "The Dark Knight" plays this season with Christian Bale & Heath Ledger - God Bless Ledger).
However, "DO NOT MISS" this frighteningly disturbing nightmare. It would have 5-stars., if I didn't feel obligated to hold it to 'Sin City' standards.
SEE THIS !!

30 Days of Night takes place in an isolated Alaskan town which is so far north, 30 days of the year in complete darkness. I thought this was a great idea for a setting! As the sun sinks toward the horizon for the last time, most of the tiny town’s 500 or so residents leave, preferring migration south rather than 30 days without sun. Some however, always choose to remain and the small town’s sheriff Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnett) marks the beginning of their 30 days of dark by adjusting their population sign to reflect its 152 remaining residents.

Meanwhile, the vampires are already plotting. Someone has begun vandalizing key areas of the little village’s infrastructure. Satellite phones are stolen, and burned. The town’s helicopter is mysteriously damaged beyond compare. Something is afoot, but before Oleson can figure it out, the sun is gone and it’s game over.

The vampires come on the town suddenly, and in force. The power goes out, the phones go down, the internet is gone. The nearest town is 80 miles away, there is no sun, there is no hope, no chance of defense, no semblance of order. This isn’t a siege movie where the brave sheriff holes up in a police station with a group of survivors and defends them against an attacking evil. With the disappearance of light, the handful of residents left in the dark in this movie are like rabbits, helpless scared creatures whose only hope is a quick death.

The vampires' attack is violence and blood spatter. People run into the street brandishing weapons, thinking they can actually fight. Each attempt is marked by a red stain on the snow, and soon the defenders are gone and the vampires move on to crashing through houses and killing everyone else. By then Sheriff Oleson and the few people with him have started to realize they have no hope, and like the prey they are, go to ground praying that they can wait for the sun’s return. They can’t. The vampires keep coming, keep killing, keep hunting. An unstoppable force and Slade never makes the mistake of letting you think his human characters have a chance. He’s so good at it, that when something does go right for them you’re surprised. Even then, there’s always a horrible price.

It's heavy on the gore; heads are brutally severed in extreme close-ups, blood drips through the snow leaving stains of death everywhere the camera goes. There’s an aerial shot in the middle of the film which will simply blow the mind of gore-hounds, as a camera sweeps over the town in the midst of the vampires’ most vicious, massive, killing frenzy. It’s intense and gripping, so intense that even though you’re watching one of the goriest movies you’ve ever seen, you may not even notice. You’re too caught up in what’s going to happen next. Are the vampires coming? Will they run? Will they hide? Will anyone make it out alive?

If anything's wrong, it’s only in the end with a few left, One makes a truly bizarre decision that people don't make. You may feel indifferent to Josh Hartnett. He was not bad, yet he was not super terrific good.

Ben Forster was cool and plays a grungy, slimy, stranger who wanders into town and causes trouble. It’s unfortunate that they didn’t find a way for him to figure more prominently into the script. He leaves an impression.

See the movie if you want to be scared. It’s rare a horror movie that delivers that. Pay the going price on Ebay, it's worth it!

DTD

I lovting,e more gore but more of a Saw fan. That a movie has to have a plot to it. Unlike other vampire movies. This was a storyline i never saw coming. Was excellent.

The acting is great with also the french subtitles for the vampires speaking in there own like bat sonar. The setting,storeline, & real acting makes this a must see.

With an ending I never even saw coming.
Which twisted me and went WOW!!!
Even if you aren't a horror fan you will still love this film.

If this helped in anyway click yes for me. Never click no!!
Thanks,
onemixer

We had already seen this movie at the theatre. Couldn't wait for it to come to dvd. This was the best vampire movie to come out in a long time. Completely different and original.

I usually don't go for the flesh eating horror type of films, but this one was really enticing! Maybe it's because of Josh Hartnett's great role as the police officer in the film or the hilarious vampire shrieks? It's a must see horror film! It's a relief to see a break from the plot of stranded people get hunted by trucker with no escape.

kickass flick ruthless and heartless vampires and plausible scenario
best vamp flic Ive ever seen and the mongoloid look they had was trippy.

This is a masterfully done horror flick...vampire, to be exact. It takes place in the isolated villiage of Barrow, Alaska. There is an extended period of time in the winter when the sun does not rise at all..it's just dark, 24/7. It's a tale of the struggle of the sheriff and his wife against a host of the most savage vampires I have ever seen on the screen. The effects are great....and the film makers have played on the darkness present to heighten the suspense. It has, indeed, a dark ending, and while it is a triumph, of course, it has an unusual twist. The one and only criticism I would make is that at the end you wonder what happened to the pack of vampires. Do we need to be looking over our shoulder. This one's good, a lot better than the run of the bunch slaughter mill that the horror genre seems so inclined to these days.

I love this movie! I dicided to buy it on Ebay because it was at a nice price for me. it came very quickly. the dosc was not scratched so it playde without delay.

Gone are the vampires who are so completely wimpy that Blade can kill with a single swing of his manly sword. The lead vampire in particular Danny Huston who is an identifiable character saturated in menace at the same time peering at his victims with soulless black eyes. These vamps are, in every sense, nasty unlikable, disgusting, weird and utterly scary, just like a vampire should be.

So they come by boat to feed of the population of Barrow, an Alaskan small town, a place where no person ever seems to joke or smile. They're forced to live, once a year, in perpetual darkness during the winter. Director David Slade knows how to create tension and horror without showing you much, and that happens to be a plus point with its extremely patient build up, and the heightening of suspense. You have to tip your hat at him for crafting a very quiet movie at crucial scenes, so much so that the audience lend their "Ssshhhhs" not to tell fellow audience to keep quiet, but aimed at the characters themselves to remain like little mice lest they get detected. '30 Days of Night' is a very grey movie in mood, tone and the weather.

The humans here though behave like typical vampire movie fodder. The bigger the ensemble, the more victims it can provide, not counting anonymous folks seen being victims from afar. Josh Hartnett's Sheriff Eben plays hero as he leads his bewildered town kinsman to survive through this 30 days of mayhem before the sun shines again, while trying to work out his estranged relationship with wife Stella (a very pouty Melissa George from Turistas (Unrated Edition), and I still say she's a dead ringer for Estella Warren!). As usual, you have a team of misfits feeding off each other's strength in a quest for survival, and a theme such as Sacrifice is never too far away from movies like these.

The real interesting take on the vampires is that they have their own language and move like starved, rabid animals. They don't seem to have a master plan for world domination or being part of a conspiracy, they're just there and the way they look will scare most people. Their facial feature is like something out of a David Lynch nightmare.

I like that this is a mystery, not an action movie and the only other scary vampire movie in modern times is Shadow of the Vampire, a movie almost as scary. But I can hear my vampire-loving friends bring this down, since the vamps didn't play spinette, spoke with eastern European accents and moaned like the best sex they've ever had every time they sink their teeth into flesh. They don't even seem to be enjoying themselves. There is one more movie that comes to mind and that The Addiction, where vampirism also seem to be more of a decease like alcoholism or bulimia. It does contain some pretty violent scenes like the massacre on the dogs, the gunplay and decapitations that look almost too realistic.

But what I felt was a let down to its build up, was the unsatisfying ending, which left a bitter aftertaste with its abruptness and inability to resolve anything substantial. It also didn't allow for any sympathy for the victims as you would sometimes find yourself rooting for another kill just to satisfy your blood lust, also because little time is given for you to get to know those characters. As the humans learn that guns do zilch to their targets, there goes all hope, and try as they could to get creative in turning the tables, it boiled down to keeping it simple. Thumbs up for the vampires

I got your DVD here today, and It was sealed and played GREAT just as advertised on e-bay. It is people like you that make e-bay a great place to shop. It is sad I was caught buy a pirate and bought a copy that would not work. I will not buy anything that is not factory sealed again. Thank You again.

Great story line and fairly good acting. Just a really good vampire movie, best ive seen in a long time.

Exciting movie! Suspense, action, cute guy! The movie just keeps going until the end! The vampires are smart in this movie!

As a horror movie buff, I will say that this one is probably one of the most believable horror films that I've seen in quite sometime. If Barrow, Alaska's dismal weather conditions and thirty days of continued darkness wasn't bad enough, then how about adding a clan of blood-thirsty vampires into the mix?

Synopsis:

Basically, a clan of blood-thirsty pale-skinned vampires with large dark pupils, teeth like piranhas, long sharp talon-like fingernails, the strength (in a small group) to overturn a large SUV, as well as possessing some martial arts skills, speak an indistinguishable language all their own, and capable of velociraptor-like screams, infiltrate the small desolate Alaskan town of Barrow, and begin systematically killing-off the townspeople...upon quickly discovering that this town has much more to offer than just sled dogs - fresh humans.

As the townspeople are killed-off one by one, a small group of survivors develop and is led by the sheriff (played by Josh Hartnett). He learns that the only way to destroy these creatures is by separating their head from their body via one way or another. So, throughout most of the film and after he loses his 357 magnum revolver, the sheriff wields a long-handled axe and severs the heads of those who had just 'turned'.

Amongst the group of survivors are a few heroes who take it upon themselves to each try and 'take on' the vampires on their own? As the surviving group begins to grow thin, the sheriff develops his own heroic plan and decides to withdraw some blood from one of the recent fatalities (friend turned vampire) and then injects himself with the vile 'serum'. Since he knows that it takes awhile before one becomes truly 100% vampire, he decides to fight the vampire leader...before he too 'turns'.

Although the vampire leader already has 'superhuman' strength and some martial arts skill, the sheriff is able to ultimately defeat him anyway. Upon the death of the vampire leader, the remaining vampires leave and evidently return to from whence they came...do I smell a possible sequel here? At the film's end, and as daylight finally breaks at the end of the thirty daylight hiatus, the sheriff eventually fades into ashes in the arms of his companion.

BTW, in my unsuccessful attempts at trying to play the special features, I was, however, able to discover an 'Easter Egg' within this particular disc. While in the main menu and with the 'Play Movie' prompt highlighted, depress the left arrow to access the film's entire 17-track soundscore...slick eh?

I am a HUGE Sci-Fi fan so I own and watch many far-fetched movies and spend a good deal of time reading the unbelievable.
I feel qualified to say that this movie offered more entertainment with the DVD bonus material.
The cast selection for the vampire roles was brilliant and it was genius to make the vamps look genetically similar.

This movie was very good. The vampires looked realistic and scary. This movie was very well made and not fakey. I saw this at the movies and I also bought the dvd off of ebay because I really liked it.

I like the fact that its not another classic vampire movie.
I like the story the screenplay writer used as a base for the movie.

It has some not-credible things in the movie that should have been taken in consideration, but I am not giving away any spoilers.

I am a vampire fan, so thats why I got it. I may watch it a few times again.
If you are not a vampire fan, there is no point in owning it.

Do not give this movie to anyone under 18. It is extremely bloody.

GREAT MOVIE ..."WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY WITH ME NOW"???? LOTS OF ACTION . ORDER A PIZZA ...AND DIG IN ! I`LL WATCH IT A COUPLE TIMES MORE AND IF YOU LIKED DUSK TILL DAWN SERIES THEN YOU WILL ENJOY THIS ONE TOO.

love the plot and the ending. They did not drag it out too long. The bloody sceens were intense. More background on the hero and heirone would have been nice, they never say why they were splitting up but you know there was something to do with family.

I love this movie I could not sleep all night, if you have not seen it rent it or buy it now!!! Everyone that has seen it that i know love the movie. After they rented it they went out and bout it when it was out on dvd, so go out and get your copy.

The movie was great! the graphics were awesome. I love this movie. the had nothing i disliked. the vampires were pretty scary

I enjoyed the graphic novels, so of course, I enjoyed the movie. The vampires are believable and spooky. Love those razor teeth and eery expressions.. and the sounds they make, creepy.

I bought it because I am a fan of the novels.

i had my doudts about this movie when i herd that it was going to be made plus the fact that im not a big vampire fan i watch it an was pleasantly BLOWN AWAY this is a good movie not great not awesome but good it is worth adding to your collection

I've watched the movie which is why I'd like to purchase this movie. An uncatgorical movie of the Nosferatu genre with a bittersweet ending!

THIS MOVIE IS ABOUT VAMPIRES.THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THE VAMPIRES THAT ARE IN THIS MOVIE ARE VERY DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER VAMPIRE MOVIES,IN A GOOD WAY.IT IS REALLY HARD TO EXPLAIN.I DO NOT LIKE VAMPIRE MOVIES ,BUT THIS MOVIE I REALLY LIKED.I GUESS IT WAS SORT OF A REALITY TYPE VAMPIRE MOVIE,LIKE IT WAS REAL SORT OF AND THAT THIS PLOT IN THIS MOVIE REALLY COULD HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE.