30 Days of Night

Director: David Slade

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Dan Huston

Imagine living in the town of Barrow, Alaska, a small town on the Artic circle; a town which experiences thirty days of total darkness every winter. Now imagine you’re one of the few people that have decided to stay in Barrow during this time and as the darkness sets in you realise that something isn’t right… Welcome to the world of Eben (Hartnett) and his neighbours, who have to figure out a way to stay alive as people all around them are being savaged by a group of blood thirsty vampires. Will they last the thirty days or will they perish at the hands of this unstoppable evil?

Forget your classic garlic-fearing, cross-hating vampires; these monsters are truly fearsome and vicious. The character designers should be applauded for the creepy make-up and face distortion they opted for to give these vampires a chilling half-beast half-human appearance. Huston does a great job of portraying the lead vampire as he oozes a sense of authority and power, with his eerie vampire minions obeying his every command.

In fact, the whole cast works very well together; the onscreen chemistry between Hartnett and George is impressive, and the supporting cast are an interesting lot, portraying the insecurities and fears of a group of abandoned victims with great accuracy. Ben Foster plays a stranger who helps the vampires by destroying the town’s communication and transport network. He too is genuinely creepy and convincing in his role of a deranged psychopath.

Visually this film excels, with the colour scheme and style remaining true to the original graphic novel. The action is well-choreographed and believable; it’s not a case of one man against a hoard of vampires with only a stake as his ally! Clever shock tactics also leave the viewer jumping out of their seat in surprise. But some parts of the film are more unsettling and allow the viewer to experience a far greater fear as a disturbing scene unfolds.

All in all, 30 Days of Night proves itself to be a tense, action-packed horror with a great cast to match. It goes highly recommended to anyone looking for a chilling thrill ride, but beware – this film is definitely not for the faint hearted!

Julia Huntenburg