Horror Review #7 - "30 Days of Night" (2007)

Horror Review #7 - "30 Days of Night" (2007)

After an Alaskan town is plunged into darkness for a month, it is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires (taken from IMDB).

I'm not a fan of vampire movies. Plain and simple. They never appealed to me. The idea of a well dressed being who had pale skin and sucked blood wasn't scary. They're usually elegant in their movements and talk in some sort of sophisticated way. That wasn't my type of horror. It wasn't until I saw 30 Days of Night that made me go, "Hey you know what? Vampires can be pretty cool."

The movie paints them in a bold new way. They're fast, aggressive, violent, and have no mercy preying on their victims. There's a little part where somebody tries to shoot the main vampire and it has no effect on him. The scene keeps going and the shooter realizes that he can't do anything. It's very brief but I thought it was extremely effective on showcasing the hopelessness of the humans in that situation.

30 Days of Night isn't the best horror movie out there but it does have a few decent strengths. The cinematography has to be mentioned. There are some spectacular shots sprinkled in this movie. You can see one of the shots in the images provided below. Another shot in the movie that impressed me is a bird's eye view of the town where the humans and vampires are fighting each other. The camera follows the action and it's something you rarely see in a movie like this.

Another aspect that I liked about 30 Days of Night was Ben Foster, who plays The Stranger. Every line he delivers here is golden. He is by far the best actor in the movie.


As for the weak points, some of it has to be the acting. Josh Hartnett isn't exactly good but he's serviceable and easy to root for. The same goes with Melissa George. However, I did buy their relationship and it was one of my favorite things about the movie. Seeing it develop throughout was nice.

Another weak point was the anticlimactic battle near the end. Really? I'm not gonna spoil anything but that was not satisfying at all.

With its unique graphic novel-like visuals and unflinching violence, 30 Days of Night offers some decent goods to horror fans. Go in with an open mind and you might find yourself enjoying it. 3/5