30 Days of Night is a movie based on the graphic novel of the same name. 30 Days of Night offers a re-imagining of the vampire movies in the same way the 28 Days Later did for zombie movie. The blood, gore, and suspense is done very well. The movie takes place during the 30 days of nightfall in Barrow, Alaska that occurs every year and the small town setting lends very well to the unique feel of the movie.
Without giving away too much, during the blackout Vampires invade the town and start killing everyone. You follow a small group of towns people as they try to survive the month. This is survival horror movie, and unfortunately it doesn’t lend itself to those that aren’t already fans of the genre. The movie remains very faithful to the comic and in some ways it hurts the movie.
The pacing is exceptionally odd. The character development begins very well. We only see two days of the 30 days of night which makes the struggle feel almost easy. Not to say that people don’t die. There is no shortage of blood, but ending of the movie is where things really seem to fall apart. The pacing just doesn’t work, and almost every action feels completely unnecessary. A major setback for the movie is that it ends with the same scene as Blade II which tears down what the movie builds in terms of redefining the vampire movie.
Even though this isn’t technically a well crafted movie, it was entertaining. I do suggest you see this movie, but just keep your expectations realistic. You will see plenty of vampires tearing people apart with some very rememberable images. While I did enjoy the movie I just didn’t find that it lived up the the concept.