30 Days of Night
by David Slade
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DVD details
Actor: Ben Foster, Danny Huston, Josh Hartnett, Mark Rendall, Melissa GeorgeDirector: David Slade
Brand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.40:1
Running Time: 113 minutes
Published: 2008-02-01
DVD Release Date: 2008-02-26
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Reviews of 30 Days of Night
DVD Review: 30 Days of Fear, Death, and Eventual Boredom...
Summary: 3 Stars
For years now the horror genre has been filled with movies that are simply a dime a dozen, very few contain original ideas or break any new ground in terms of thrills and chills (the `Saw' series is somewhat exempt from this notion) and lately it seems that for source material Hollywood horror-masters would rather adapt some film that has already been done in Japan ("The Ring" and "The Grudge" are good examples of this) instead of looking for inspiration from sources much closer to home. Aside from remaking already successful films from other countries, the only other types of horror films seem to be zombies, and frankly I'm getting to be a little zombied-out, other than the `Resident Evil' series I really don't enjoy those types of movies all that much; so needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that Steve Niles' graphic novel "30 Days of Night" would be adapted into a feature film. I have never read the graphic novel, though I have flipped through it and been somewhat intrigued by it, but the fact that the horror genre was trying to look elsewhere for story inspiration got my interest piqued. Not to mention the trailer for the film looked really intense, creepy, and just impressive for a vampire-themed horror film, a sub-genre that needs some new blood injected into it now that the `Blade' series is at an end, and the `Underworld' series seems to have disappeared for awhile at least. However, does "30 Days of Night" have what it takes to take back the night or is this an entry into a genre that needs to be staked in the heart?
"30 Days of Night" is set in a small Alaskan town that is preparing for the annual month long plunge into 24/7 darkness. Every year it's the same thing for the people of this town, so all of them know exactly what to expect and what to do to make it through the dreary time of the year; however, this year will be much different from what they are expecting as a deadly group of savage vampires is invading the small town for a veritable vampire paradise as the sunlight will be non-existent for the next 30 days. Doing their best to protect and lead the scared people of the Alaskan town is the local sheriff, Eben Olesen, (Josh Hartnett) and his estranged wife, Stella (Melissa George), who are trying their hardest to make any kind of sense out of their desperate situation, and hoping that they can last out the month long seige.
Director David Slade ("Hard Candy") and his team of writers Steve Niles (who also wrote the graphic novel) and Stuart Beattie ("Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl") and Brian Nelson ("Hard Candy") try their best to not only bring the graphic novel to horrifying reality, but also to show that vampires can be just as captivating to audiences as the living dead. Try as they might, I don't think the director and his writers were completely successful. For the most part the movie is moderately enjoyable, though not memorable by any means, and there were several moments sprinkled throughout the film where I found myself just getting bored by the constant bickering between the survivors and some of the stupid decisions some would make. Now, I know that the survivors were no doubt going stir crazy being cooped up in attics to try to hide from the vampires, but I would think they could have tried harder to get along, especially for the sake of survival, though I guess the writers probably felt that the conflict would intensify the drama rather than make it seem more juvenile.
What I did like about the story was that the setting was in Alaska during that area's annual month of darkness (though I believe in reality it is a little longer than a mere 30 days), so unlike most vampire movies where the humans have the advantage during the daylight and the vampires at night to balance things out a bit more, here only the vampires have the true advantage as it is constantly dark, and the human survivors' only advantage is their knowledge of the surrounding area around them. It is this dynamic that works the best in the movie as the vampires mercilessly hunt the humans in their homes, trying to sniff out their hiding places, but the humans use their knowledge of the area homes and hideouts to their limited advantage as they struggle to find supplies and more fortified shelters. Even though I enjoyed this aspect of the story, I did feel that near the end of the movie it became the element that annoyed me the most as the vampires seemed too incompetent to find the last remaining survivors of the town even though they've had ample time to do so, not to mention the fact that the humans bravery/borderline stupidity as they make one last attempt at safety seemed too easily achieved given the vampires superior speed and agility, yet they couldn't seem to catch up to us normal folk, a very strange and unbelievable aspect to the storyline.
The actors were for the most part surprisingly strong given the type of movie it was. Josh Hartnett's ("Black Hawk Down") performance as the local sheriff was one filled with devotion, honor, strength, and courage as he fought to protect those in his charge, yet his love for his estranged wife at times almost put the others in jeopardy as she was his paramount concern. Melissa George ("The Amityville Horror") was solid as Stella, the estranged wife of local sheriff Eben. She also brought a great strength to her character, and a warmth and calm that soothed the rising frustrations and conflicts amongst the other survivors. The actors portraying the other survivors were a mixed bag of talent and performances, most were good, but a few were a little too bland and forgettable, just like their characters. The standout performance for the entire movie belongs to none other than the chameleon-like talents of actor Ben Foster ("3:10 To Yuma"), who delivers a flat-out creepy character to audiences, as the man responsible for leading the vampire horde to this peaceful town in hopes of becoming one of them. His performance was not only the best in the entire movie, but his scenes were so good, and interesting to watch that I found myself wishing he had been one of the main characters rather than the small supporting role he was given.
"30 Days of Night" is nothing more than an average vampire-themed horror film, that borrows from movies and stories that were executed much better, such as, John Carpenter's "The Thing", "Salem's Lot", and even the zombie film "Night of the Living Dead"). There are some interesting concepts featured in the film, primarily the month long darkness and giving the vampires the majority of the advantage in the fight for survival; however, these concepts were not enough to keep me entertained for the duration and in the end I couldn't wait for the credits to begin to roll.
"30 Days of Night" is rated R for violence and language.
Description of 30 Days of Night
Josh Harnett (Black Dahlia Pearl Harbor) crosses over to the dark side in this bone-chilling adaptation of the cult-hit graphic novel brought to the screen in all its demonic glory. In a small Alaskan town thirty days of night is a natural phenomenon. Very few outsiders visit until a band of bloodthirsty deathly pale vampires mark their arrival by savagely attacking sled dogs. But soon they find there are much more satisfying thirst-quenchers about: human beings. One by one the townspeople succumb to a living nightmare but a small group survives at least for now. The vampires use the dark to their advantage and surviving this cold hell is a game of cat and mouse and screams.System Requirements:Run Time: 113 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR/PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER Rating: R UPC: 043396196155 Manufacturer No: 19615Bestsellers in DVD
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