30 Days of Night on DVD (2007)

1 Day of Night

SLCpunk [Highly rated reviewer] , 19/11/2007

Ok the vampires, violence and vision of this film were exellent, but there's not much else to it. My main problem is that it could've all happened in one night, the only thing that changed from day 1 to day 30 was Hartnett's beard. At its roots its a survival horror film in the vein of Dawn of the Dead, but 30 days just doesnt ramp up the isolation, starvation and fraying character relations that 'Dawn' does so well.

All the film does to distinguish between days is pop a subtitle on your screen. If they put scratches effects on the screen and badly dubbed dialogue this could be the secret 3rd Grindhouse film because it feels that large sections of the film are missing between these 'day 17', 'day 30' subtitles. I feel a little bad about complaining about this though cos the book that spawned it was about the width of a hair and jumped pretty much from day 1 to day 30 but...

It is a solid horror though with the vampires probably being the best ones ever seen in the movies. The story isnt exactly the same as the book with little things changing to pave the way for set pieces. The violence was very realistic with the censors obviously napping during this one to give it a 15 cert.

With a little bit more focus on the passing time, growing desperation etc this could have been one of THE GREATS! However its just one that grates a little.

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Above Average Gorefest

XXX from Wolverhampton [Highly rated reviewer] , 07/11/2007

British director David Slade's low-budget 'Hard Candy' was a favourite film of mine last year, and I was very keen to see how he'd handle this, his first big-budget, commercial project.

And he's followed up nicely, delivering a slick, well-made monster movie that's clearly a notch above most of the slasher rubbish that's polluted the multiplexes this year.

The action sequences are polished and fun. But just as importantly, there are decent performances from a strong cast. Josh Hartnett, who can often be flat and inexpressive, raises his game. And Melissa George, having featured in some serious turkeys lately, proves she's an engaging actress when given the chance.

As with the earlier movie, David Slade relies a lot on extreme close-ups, and it's a style that works well here.

That said, '30 Days' is by no means perfect. The story hardly breaks new ground. And while a certain demographic will delight in the explicit violence, the rest of us would have preferred a greater build-up of tension and suspense. 'Hard Candy', for example, played mind-games with the viewer, and was a better movie for leaving some things to the imagination.

Still, this is a solid effort, certainly worth the time.

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Dissapointing

eviljimmyd from Shipley [Highly rated reviewer] , 19/11/2007

I fell asleep, and I don't do that very often in the cinema.

I thought the film started well but then the pace really slowed down to a standstill and It felt like I had been in the cimema for 30 days by the end of the film.

The vampires are a bit rubbish. They were more like zombies than vampires. Modern vampire films have often put a slightly different slant of the traditional vampire - I think this film could have benefitted from a twist on the traditional vampire stereotype. They looked like goths on drugs.

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Better than average

Meako [Highly rated reviewer] , 29/10/2007

Adapted from the graphic novel of the same name, 30 Days of Night covers a month of darkness in a remote Alaskan town besieged by a vampire clan. Sadly the film, which had so much potential, feels more 2 dimensional than the pages of the comic that spawned it.

It is hard to put a finger on exactly what doesn't work well in the film. The cast are a mix of the great (Ben Foster) and the wooden (Josh Harnett). The vampires are a reasonably fresh look, all open mouths and jagged teeth (not to mention messed up eyes), but at the same time seem so stale (not helped by the leader of the clan looking like he just stepped out of a Pet Shop Boys video from the 80s). Perhaps the fact that the town is in the grip of night, and has no power - yetthe streets seem lit up better than day. Or maybe the mix of swift edits to switch away from the blood, then next scene showing the brutality in full. Overall it is just a film that can't quite decide what it wants to be.

The direction fails to create any tension, and it seems that the director was trying to capture the feel of films such as The Thing, but failed.

30 Days isn't a bad film - it is decent enough way to waste a couple of hours. it just doesn't hold a candle in the dark to the comic that inspired it. Shame really.

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A stripped down, effective horror film with uncompromisingly evil vampires.

JJTimothy from Chilton, County Durham [Highly rated reviewer] , 08/11/2007

Most of its population having left for the month long midwinter night Barrow in Alaska battens down the hatches. The last thing anyone expects is visitors but an unhinged stranger has been working to cut the town off and he anticipates company. Daylight-shy toothy company.

The premise is so simple it's almost genius- vampires plus month long night equals protagonists up a certain watercourse without a certain implement. The film doesn't take best advantage though especially after its atmospheric opening. Most of Barrow's inhabitants are greedily slaughtered in the initial attack after which only Josh Hartnett's whiskers give any sense of time passing for the few survivors. Captions tell you days have gone by but there's no impression of anything having happened in the meantime. However that minor point is the films worst failing and there are compensations.

Initially the vampires are only glimpsed in cheap jumps derived in editing and 'enhanced' with jarring sound effects going screech, crash, boom, bang, wallop in the night never mind bump. It's a low tactic which, happily, the film soon abandons for, led by a splendidly creepy Danny Houston, they are otherworldly and genuinely unnerving even after leaving the shadows- a test many screen monsters fail. They have no redeeming qualities, are neither sexy nor suave and they certainly aren't worried about crosses, invitations or garlic. Fast and vicious only their human form and a few words now and then in a sinister language distinguish them from animals- that and being very hard to kill.

This is a vampire movie so you'd expect the human characters to be less interesting and there's little attempt at character development beyond an estranged couple who, of course, aren't going to remain estranged. Not that the film is unengaging mind you- the cataclysmic opening attack, a scene with a young woman being used as bait whom the survivors dare not help and the desperate self-sacrifice of one character are among many effective moments in a nerve-jangling film.

Humourless and not art but a well made, inventive take on the vampire tale. I enjoyed it and had interesting dreams the night after- horror aficionados can probably add another star.

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Dull film

CanaryRay from Exeter [Highly rated reviewer] , 02/07/2008

A dull film which is about 20 mins too long. Josh Harnett is unconvincing and the plot is weak.

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