Review of "30 Days of Night": Vampires Are Not Pretty
30 Days of Night: Fear Vampires
Director: David Slade
Writers: Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie, Brian Nelson, and Ben Templesmith
“When man meets a force he can’t destroy, he destroys himself. What a plague you are”
--Danny Huston-Marlow
Vampires are not sexy creatures that will take you on a wild fantasy…THEY WILL KILL YOU! They have had legit time to spend in their lives to murder people for food and do it in nefarious calculating ways. I mean the sun even rejects vampires because of their cruelty. I know this movie came out 1 year prior to “Twilight,” but after watching this why would you fine vampires so sexy. Hell, even Bela Lugosi as “Dracula,” used his charm to kill people. But if you had watched this movie prior to “Twilight,” you would understand me.
In a small Alaskan town just before it shuts down for 30 days in which it is shrouded in the darkness of the night. Strange things start to happen. First, the communication area is attacked and destroyed, so there is that, and the dogs that guarded the area DEAD. Can you see where I am going with this? Later, a stranger enters the town and walks to the café in which his meal of choice is, “raw hamburger.” Then, the shit really hits the fan once the stranger is arrested and taken into custody by Eben Olsom (Josh Hartnett). Olsom is called to the tower in which he discovers that the people who run the generators for the town and multiple other things necessary to run a town are all decapitated. Enter the massacre.
At this point in time the vampires lead by Marlow (Danny Huston) began to take out all the town folk they can, draining them of there blood and leaving them to die. Eben (Hartnett) has not made his way back in town where a group of town folk gather together to survive. These vampires are ruthless in their goal of destruction killing all things that are living there including women and children. Yes, children are dying in this Alaskan town. But the vampires are not just ruthless they are smart and cunning, a true alpha predator. One of the young locals is used as bait to lure the people out of hiding by crying for help while being followed from rooftop. She had made her way across town in which she now is stopped by Marlow (Huston) and due to her failure of drawing out the other humans she is granted a gift of torture by slashing before being eaten alive. As the sun approaches the vampires light the town on fire to burn all the evidence into ash, so next year when they may return no one will be any wiser. However, as a last attempt of survival, Eben (Hartnett) and the locals battle their way to safety where many are killed. As, the town burns the vampires know where the last survivors are and to protect his brother and wife Eben (Hartnett) decides to turn and battle the Alpha Marlow (Huston) vampire, in a rescue attempt for his wife Stella Olsom (Melissa George).
What can I say about this movie but it was how I feel a vampire pack would act if they existed in this world? Cold, calculating, and cruel. The acting was decent from all parties and the effects worked well in creating an Alpha predatorial beast with only a hint of humanity left in them. There is plenty of action and blood, as well as a no holds barred take on a vampire massacre killing all in their path for food and pleasure. The ending was, “OK,” to say the least but it left you hanging and not necessarily in a good way. It was romantic to an extent but never told you what happened to the vampires after Eben (Hartnett) became the Alpha. It just kind of stopped at that point of the story. But if you want a vampire action type movie that proves to you that vampires are not beautiful mythological creatures that would free you of your woes, this is it.
--Reviewed by Professor Timore