Review #63: 30 Days of Night (2007)

Cast/Notable Credits:
David Slade (Director): Hard Candy (2005)

Josh Hartnett (Eben): H2O

Melissa George (Stella): The Amityville Horror (2005), Turistas (2006)

Danny Huston (Marlow): The Aviator (2004), Children of Men (2006), Number 23 (2007)

Ben Foster (The Stranger): The Punisher (2004), Hostage (2005), X-men 3 (2006)

Mark Boone Junior (Beau): J.C.'s Vampires, Die Hard 2 (1990), Seven (1995), I Still…Last Summer, Batman Begins (2005)

Amber Sainsbury (Denise): The Ferryman

Craig Hall (Wilson): The Ferryman

Trailer:


Plot:
In Barrow, Alaska, the 152 residents prepare for a seasonal change unlike any other. For the next 30 days, it will be night time in the little snowy Alaskan community. I guess that’s what happens during the winter time at the top of the world, you just don’t see the sun that much.

Little does the townsfolk of Barrow know that some other species has decided to make Barrow their residence for the next 30 days…vampires. Yes, vampires. It makes perfect sense. Sunlight “supposedly” kills vampires, at least according to myth, and what better place to hang out than a city that receives no sunlight?

So a gang of vampires decide to take vacation up in Barrow and wreck havoc (or snack) on the town’s remaining citizens. A few of them survive the initial attack and hold up in various hidden places around town as they await for the big yellow ball in the sky to show its face again.


Villain:

A gang of thirsty vampires take center stage in this flick. They visually look awesome and there was a nice touch of their own language incorporated into the film. They looked just as scary as a goth festival happening in the front lawn of a church.

Cast:

Josh Heart-throb-nett returns to the big screen in a horror movie (formerly the nephew of Michael Myers in H2O). Harnett plays the lead character and small town's sheriff, Eben. Eben and Stella used to be a couple, but for some unknown reason they broke up and she moved out. Once Eben discovers that she came back, he nags her about the break-up.

While the gorgeous Melissa George (Pictured Above) counterparts Harnett as Stella, or at least fills the part of eye candy. Stella gets trapped in town as the attack takes place and toys with Eben's emotions. Does she looks a lot like Estella Warren (Planet of the Apes Remake chick…or Kangaroo Jack…which ever suits you better).

The rest of the cast did an okay job considering the writing involved. Mark Boone Junior plays a nutty old fart named Beau. He was truly the shining star in the film. At first I hated the character, but as the movie went on, he became the prize of the film.

SFX/Gore:

What we lack in writing, we shall make up in death! That’s exactly what the film makers did. I counted around 23 deaths, give or take…couldn’t keep up with the town’s massacre. The special effects were good and top notch. The UV light melting the vampire chick was the best.

TNA:
Four hot chicks but no dirty deeds. One of these pictured hotties is Melissa George and the other is Estella Warren. You decide. Hint: cleavage equals 30.

T.Gun's Take:

This was another graphic novel (comic book) turned into a motion picture. The first half of the film was kick ass and then the bottom fell out and got pretty ridiculous. The idea of a pack of vampires shackin’ up in an Alaskan town about to face 30 days of night was an awesome concept. Expectations came up a little short though. Visually, the town looked great. After watching the special features and seeing how they filmed this place in daylight in the desert made it even more impressive.

I was lovin’ the film until the film got to Day 7. For some reason the bottom fell out. Maybe it could be explained by people being “stir crazy”, but it seemed that everyone was starting to make stupid decisions. The old dude taking off and his son following him out was just dumb. I would be like, “See ya pops, but I’m keeping my ass here away from the vampires.”

Then it seems like everybody has to go here and then there, let’s split up, we need to get here. It became pretty dumb by then. Just sit your ass down for another 2 days or so. The dumbest thing: Eben injecting himself with vampire blood. WTF?! How would you even know if that would work? And then take on the leader of the vamps as Uber-Eben.

Misc. Movie Trivia:
-Film opened on October 19, 2007 and made $39.5 million at the box office ($15.9 million opening weekend)
-The film was mostly filmed during the day despite taking place all at night