It seems like there are more horror movies being released these days than ever — with no shortage of crazed killers, zombie outbreaks, Japanese curses, etc. But, comparatively, there haven’t been very many vampire movies — “Underworld” and “Van Helsing” being the most recent big releases. “30 Days of Night” is somewhat surprising not only for being a big-budget vampire flick, but for straying greatly from the self-aware, almost kitschy archetype of the most recent crop of releases. However, this isn’t always a good thing.
In Barrow, the northernmost city of Alaska, each winter the sun disappears for 30 days, during which many of the small town’s inhabitants flee. There are, however, those who stay and withstand the longest night of the year — after all, it’s only darkness, right?
As the 30 days of darkness approach, Stella Oleson (Melissa George, “The Amityville Horror”) tries to make it out of town on the last plane, but missing it, is trapped for a month. As if being in a freezing, rural darkness wasn’t bad enough, she now has little choice but to face her dysfunctional marriage with town sheriff Eben (Josh Hartnett, “The Black Dahlia”). Meanwhile, Eben investigates odd occurrences around town, following the mysterious arrival of a creepy, ill-omen spewing vagrant. Before long the phone, Internet and power lines are dead, leaving nothing but the silent chill, resonating the stranger’s warning, “They’re coming.” Slowly realizing this is no ordinary mass murder, Eben and Stella lead a group of survivors to a hideout where they can hold out until the sun rises again.
What’s interesting about “30 Days of Night” is that, unlike most vampire movies in which the humans devise ways to hunt and kill the vampires, there are very few elements of resistance, playing instead on the idea of a simple challenge of survival. In this way, it’s similar to the zombie genre; the humans realize they can’t fight back, so they hide. The portrayal of vampires is also deviant from the norm of them being seductive and humanlike with fangs. Although vaguely human-esque, they’re not exactly as smooth talking as Bela Lugosi. Long-clawed shriekers, the creatures in “30 Days of Night” are rather frightening monsters.
The departure from the stereotype becomes annoying, though, when characters don’t realize obvious, conventional things about vampire lore that would have aided in their survival — no one mentions wooden stakes, church sanctuary, etc. Rejecting clichés are fine, as long as it’s done intentionally. Here it just seems neither the characters, nor the writers, have ever heard a vampire story.
Aside from the questionable plot elements, “30 Days of Night” delivers a very polished presentation, owing much to director David Slade, (“Hard Candy”) and his skilled use of tension and suspense. The surprisingly stoic script, co-written by “Pirates of the Caribbean” screenplay writer Stuart Beattie creates tension well. The acting fares less well and is rigid at times, though generally serviceable for the genre. It goes without saying the perpetually scowling Josh Harnett adds nothing to the film, as his personality ends when his teen-comedy-heartthrob smile does.
“30 Days of Night” taps into the basic fear we have of things that go bump in the night, playing off that idea with constant darkness in a cold, blindingly white place, cut off from civilization. The constant suspense and dread genuinely engulfs the audience, delivering purely creepy moments, like a kid in a parka with her face covered in blood walking alone down a snowy, empty road, being used as the vampire’s bait.
Instead of disappointing with cheap scares like so many other horror movies, or being inadvertently funny in its melodrama, “30 Days” is one of the better new releases of its genre and a respectable addition to the field of vampire flicks. Looking past Hartnett’s stoicism, a few variations from vampire lore and questionable plot decisions, “30 Days of Night” is worth one of yours.
3 stars out of 5
