In
the 21st century, vampires have come a long way. For most of
last century the infamous Count Dracula of Transylvania was
the model vampire taken largely from Bram Stoker's text which
was written in the sexually repressed late Victorian era. Stoker's
overheated gothic novel Dracula lead to plays and films
with notable portrayals by the courtly sinister Bela Lugosi,
and the truly frightening Max Schreck in a role later reprised
by the equally malignant Klaus Kinski. The vampire of Victorian
legend was a creature of the crypt coming to life as an aristocratic
figure with a penchant for opening veins in the neck or turning
into a bat. There were curious rules regarding vampire etiquette:
daylight proved fatal, sleeping in a coffin with some home soil
during the day was obligatory. Crucifixes, garlic, and stakes
through the heart were the instant cure for vampirism.
In 30 Days of Night, vampires are more like extras
from Alien than the traditional spectral creatures.
They don't seem to have read Bram Stoker properly and therefore
only obey a few obvious rules such as not going for a sun tan.
Being also far more aggressive - bloodletting as if they're
on speed, while none of them have the courtesy to speak English
(even Bela Lugosi managed that with some effort); in fact they
converse like Kalahari bushmen needing subtitles.
However the film starts with a clever idea for in the far northern
town of Barrow, Alaska. Winter has a month of sheer darkness.
A band of bloodthirsty vampires descend on the town after the
darkness sets in and wreck havoc on a rapidly diminishing population.
It's a bit uncertain where the vampires come from, outer space
seems most likely. Whereas the old style vampires used to sneak
up on people and sink their two fangs with almost sexual relish,
today's nosferatu come with a blast of Dolby noise and superhuman
strength to viciously subdue their victims and start copious
blood drinking with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. Table
manners strictly limited.
The
opening scenes (filmed in New Zealand) are suitably ominous
as the sun sets over the township on the last day before the
long night takes over. Even though their marriage is on the
rocks Sheriff Eben (Josh Hartnett) is supported by his wife
Stella (Melissa George) with a few other town identities including
Lucy (homage to Bram Stoker) try to keep the frenetic vampires
at bay until the sun shines once more. While there is not a
stake or crucifix in sight, beheading seems to be the contemporary
method of destroying the undead. However the determined vampires
take their toll so the survivors are reduced to a handful. It
takes Sheriff Eben nearly two hours screen time to figure a
desperate way of defeating them.
The script from graphic novel by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith
lacks some depth in character development as might be expected.
Director David Slade (Hard Candy) loves big closeups
sometimes at the cost of clarity. There are some disturbing
moments as in the child vampire sequence but Slade doesn't use
suspenseful tracking shots with grotesque shadows the stuff
of the gothic movies. He's more into buckets of studio blood
and gore. Once the vampires are entrenched in town it gets repetitive
as they knock off their victims and the ever decreasing group
of survivors manage to escape dare I say - by the skin of their
teeth. Josh Hartnett (The Black Dahlia) plods solidly
through his limited script, while the chief vampire Danny Huston
(The Kingdom, Children of Men) with wacky
dentures looks unpleasant enough to frighten New Zealand sheep
but he's not Lugosi or Kinski.
It's all very gory and there are plenty of slash and burn scenes
for the fans so it fills the bill as a horror flick even at
the cost of repeating the formula over and over finally getting
tedious. The good old gothic vampires in their cobwebby dungeons
with creaking coffins and evening clothes had considerably more
shuddery panache than this current crop.
In
the 21st century, vampires have come a long way. For most of
last century the infamous Count Dracula of Transylvania was
the model vampire taken largely from Bram Stoker's text which
was written in the sexually repressed late Victorian era. Stoker's
overheated gothic novel Dracula lead to plays and films
with notable portrayals by the courtly sinister Bela Lugosi,
and the truly frightening Max Schreck in a role later reprised
by the equally malignant Klaus Kinski. The vampire of Victorian
legend was a creature of the crypt coming to life as an aristocratic
figure with a penchant for opening veins in the neck or turning
into a bat. There were curious rules regarding vampire etiquette:
daylight proved fatal, sleeping in a coffin with some home soil
during the day was obligatory. Crucifixes, garlic, and stakes
through the heart were the instant cure for vampirism. 
The
opening scenes (filmed in New Zealand) are suitably ominous
as the sun sets over the township on the last day before the
long night takes over. Even though their marriage is on the
rocks Sheriff Eben (Josh Hartnett) is supported by his wife
Stella (Melissa George) with a few other town identities including
Lucy (homage to Bram Stoker) try to keep the frenetic vampires
at bay until the sun shines once more. While there is not a
stake or crucifix in sight, beheading seems to be the contemporary
method of destroying the undead. However the determined vampires
take their toll so the survivors are reduced to a handful. It
takes Sheriff Eben nearly two hours screen time to figure a
desperate way of defeating them.