rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 2007
Directed by David Slade; produced by Sam Raimi, Robert G. Tapert; screenplay by Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie, Brian Nelson
Starring Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster, Mark Boone Junior, Mark Rendall
Director David Slade's follow-up to the disturbing 'Hard Candy', insinuating multiple kinds of horror, is '30 Days of Night', a real horror with vampires, blood and gore. I prefer the first, but this film is not that bad actually. For a film with an isolated village attacked by blood hungry vampires (or any other kind of blood hungry beings) it is quite effective and even scary from time to time. Considering the mindless horror films made today, '30 Days of Night' is a welcome contribution to the genre.
In a way I like these horror films without real stories. How good it will be depends on directing, acting, mood, effective shocks. Flaws in the screenplay are easily dismissed, as 'The Mist', a film with basically the same premise, proved. Vampires are a logical species to attack a place that will be without sun for thirty days, and Josh Hartnett, as the local sheriff of an Alaskan town, turns out to be an important factor to make the survival of human beings believable.
He leads a handful of people after most other are killed by the vampires. This is shown, by the way, in a remarkable sequence. Hartnett, together with his estranged wife played by Melissa George, convinces us the actions he plans are the right and even logical ones (most of the time), including his final move which brings an interesting turn to this story. '30 Days of Night' seems to understand many of the flaws seen in other films, including the strange and stupid decisions made by useless characters. I was not annoyed that much.
I already mentioned the remarkable sequence, and it has to be said the film stands out on a technical level. Based on a comic book, Slade brings his own style to the material, giving it the boost it needs. '30 Days of Night' is better than many of its predecessors, perfect for genre fans, entertaining enough for others. I would have thought the vampire-genre would be dead for me by now, but '30 Days of Night' proves this is not the case. As long as it is done good, they are still able to work.