“30 Days of Night” (Sony Pictures)
Two Hours of Fun
There used to be a feeling that if you had seen one vampire movie you had seen them all. Well not so fast there, Jethro. In “30 Days of Night” there are a few twists and turns thrown in that make this one just a little bit different. So in watching “30 Days of Night” you end up having two hours of scary, thrilling, chilling fun.
The movie is set in the town of Barrow, Alaska. This town is so far north that every year there is a period of thirty days of night. And what better place for vampires to lurk than an extended dark habitat because you know these guys don’t like the sun.
The Sheriff of Barrow is Eban Oelson (Josh Hartnett), a conscientious soul whose marriage to Stella (Melissa George) has gone bad. She is in town for a few days as part of her job but wants to get out of town before the extended dark days arrive. Guess what She doesn’t make it.
She misses her plane and comes back to town. Just as she arrives a stranger (Ben Foster) does too. He warns of impending doom and he sure knows what he is talking about. When the sun sets a crowd of vampires led by a savage named Marlowe (Danny Huston) swarm into town killing any and every one who gets in their way.
Eban, Stella and a few more take refuge at the jail but they know they are going to need food and other supplies. They are going to have to hang in there for thirty days, at the end of which the sun will come to their rescue.
One of the plusses for this film is the stellar cast. Hartnett, George, Foster and Huston are all perfect for their roles. In addition they treat the material seriously, no camping it up here. Another plus is the script, based on the comic book “30 Days of Night.” Everything in the plot sets up something else. And lastly there is David Slade’s direction. It is tight and fast.
The film is rated R for violence and profanity but this is no gore fest like some other recent films. It is bloody for sure but it is never gratuitously so. There are many, many situations in the movie where it could go all “Hostel” on us, but it never does.
This is a perfect movie for the Halloween season. It is creepy and chilling; but also well acted, written and directed. Hartnett’s career has been on a slow path to nowhere lately but this movie might just give his star power a boost. You will remember his last scene in this film for a long time to come.
Vampire movies usually aren’t impressive to me but this one is different. It has just enough of an edge to make it above average.
I scored “30 Days of Night” a dark 6 out of 10.
