If you are willing to endure 30 days of night in Barrow, Alaska, then you are already risking your life to the bitter ice storms and cold. On top of this “Man vs. Wild” style of living, creatures of the night are hunting you down, one by one ripping you apart piece by piece, and there is not one thing you can do about it. This is the premise of David Slade’s adapted film “30 Days of Night”.
The northern most city of the United States, Barrow, Alaska, is shutting down due to its annual 30 days of no sun. One hundred fifty-two residents are remaining to keep the town running while the others fly to Anchorage. A stranger (Ben Foster) comes to town warning of immenent doom, but the message is too late. As soon as the sun goes down, a horde of vampires takes over the town.
Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnett) and Stella Oleson (Melissa George) lead a team of the few remaining survivors throughout the city to try and outwit and outlast the vampires until the sun comes up in 30 days.
What strikes me most is that this horror movie is ultimately a western. You got the bad guys coming into town and the sheriff making them leave. There are a couple of shootouts which lead to some of the minor characters being killed off, and there is a very similar scene comparative to the movie “Old Yeller.”
“The Diary of Anne Frank” somehow makes its way into this film when the townspeople hide in the attic for what is supposed to be seven days.
Time was a big issue in this film as we are to assume that weeks have gone by between incidences. It’s very difficult to want to believe that 30 days have gone by when the film moves linearly and all the action could take place within a few days.
And somewhere amidst the plot line lies a broken love story, which makes you cringe every time they bring it up.
The vampires themselves were pretty cool. This film definitely has a different take on what vampires look like, which is a pleasant surprise. They had an enjoyable language but always seemed to have to breathe through their mouths, howling at the moon making them seem almost werewolf-ish.
There were some pretty cool sound effects, such as axes to the throat but no real soundtrack.
Overall, the film had some plot details missing, cheesy music and uncanny references to old westerns. Underneath this lied a horror movie with a love story inevitably doomed to failure.