30 Days Of Night

The film is set in a small, isolated town in Alaska. Due to Alaska’s geographic location, the tilt of the Earth’s axis causes 30 days of night to occur in a row. The very first scene of the film is the last day of sunlight. People are leaving the town for a month to escape the darkness. Others, however, choose to stay; the perfect plot for a horror film.

A peculiar person shows up in town after a serious of strange events. After attempting to harm a police officer named Eben (played by Josh Harnett) he is arrested. While in his jail cell, he warns Eben and his estranged wife Stella of horrible things that are about to happen. Soon after, the Vampires arrive, and begin to wipe out the humanity that existed in that small town. Men, women and children are all the victims of unprovoked violence. Some lose their lives, some lose their families, and others lose their minds…

Urban legends and scary stories have long existed about vampires, and many movies have been made using them as scare tactics. This one had quite a lot of potential, however I think in some aspects it fell short of being an amazing horror film. Information about where the vampires came from, how they managed to get to this town or why the picked it is never revealed. I think they were going for the “mysterious” effect, but it fell short of that and just seemed to be underdeveloped. Some of the dialogue was questionable as well. However, a movie doesn’t necessarily have to be well written to be scary.

The make up and costumes were excellent though. When you’re watching the movie you don’t have time to think about plot holes or cheesy lines because you’re so scared. The movie was pretty brutal, and I would not recommend it to those who are squeamish around blood. Every 5 minutes someone is dying, on the verge of dying, or attempting to kill someone else.

It isn’t all mindless killing; there is some substance to the movie. You get attached to certain characters, and it’s easy to fall in sync with the small town bonds they share. The end of the movie is genuinely sad; however I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you. Tragedy fits very well with horror in this instance.