Movie Details
30 Days of Night (2007)
Director-: David Slade
Cast-Josh Hartnett Melissa George Danny Huston
Movie type- Horror/Action
Release date- 30 November
IMDB Rating-6.6
Languages- English,Spanish,Latin America
Duration-1 Hour 53 Minutes
Trailer
Synopsis
However, the object of our expectations does not always meet the hopes placed in it. Often idealized, in the viewer’s imagination it can grow into a great, timeless work, and in the case of horror, because this is the genre we will be talking about here, terrifying, bloody and breaking cultural taboos. Of course, even the most persistent fan, who had been waiting about two years for the Polish premiere of 30 Days of Darkness , did not have such excessive demands regarding the level of the mentioned production, but despite everything, the spark of hope that once lit up could not be extinguished. It would seem that the film discussed below hits the screens at the right time, when in the wake of Twilight , there can never be too many vampire themes. David Slade’s image, however, has nothing to do with drunken bloodsuckers straight from the covers of youth magazines.
Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith, now recognized authors of many ghost and demon comics, created a work together in 2002 that earned them eternal respect among the lion’s share of fanatics of pictorial stories. 30 Days of Darkness , the story of Barrow, a town located in remote Alaska where it is night continuously for thirty days a year, has captivated crowds of readers around the world.
Today, the series of vampire stories has many sequels and remakes, and has been written by several authors. The titular days of night (or “darkness” as requested by the Polish distributor) are the period when the sun sets for a full month every year, covering Barrow in a shroud of darkness. What is merely a routine occurrence for the town’s inhabitants, for the vampire population turns into an opportunity for a free and quick feast without any effort. According to the rules of the game, vampires are extremely susceptible to sunlight, and since they are not very honest players, they decide to tip the scales in their favor by coming to Barrow during the constant night. The population of the inhabitants is approximately 500 souls, which guarantees food for a whole month for a large vampire family. However, before the creatures completely enjoy this unusual fast food, they will have to face Eben Oleuman, the local sheriff, for whom the inhabitants of the city are more than just food on Count Dracula’s table . The pieces are on the chessboard and the game of survival begins.
30 Days of Night surprised with plot twists, dark humor and Templesmith’s demonic line. And 30 days of darkness ? It is difficult to compare two completely different media: film and comics, but it is possible to predict the reactions of fans of Niles’ graphic novel and those to whom the story presented in the film is completely unknown. The first group of viewers will probably approach the screening with curiosity and some excitement at the very thought that Templesmith’s phantasmagoric visions will come to life. Nothing could be further from the truth, although it must be admitted that a town covered in snow and in darkness at the end of the world is the perfect setting for a horror film. The creators of the comic book couldn’t have imagined a better Barrow: cool colors, blue-gray shades, lonely buildings where anything could be lurking. It’s a pity that the only thing lurking around the corner is a vampire with a face carved by a computer graphic designer. Even though the cartoonist took part in the film’s production process, little remains of his vision. The main players – the clan of vampires who came to Alaska, scare people not with their fangs and claws, but with their artificial and plastic physiognomy. Unfortunately, computer effects have to give way to the superiority of ink and brush, and Templesmith’s inner demons still remain only in the form known to us from sheets of paper.
Taking into account the claims of the second group of viewers going to the cinema to see 30 Days of Darkness , who probably want a good action-horror movie, fast action and a few vampire heads as trophies, it cannot be denied that Slade’s film has served its purpose. The biggest drawback seems to be the unfortunate plot structure, weakening the film’s dynamics and coherence. Instead of giving viewers an atmosphere of growing threat and impatient waiting for the light of day, Slade decided to make a time jump, thanks to which we lose much of these thirty days of night. The atmosphere of survival horror, which was painstakingly built from the first seconds of the film, is destroyed by the above-mentioned directorial trick.
The story of 30 Days of Darkness , despite Steve Niles’ involvement in writing the script, departs from its older brother at many points. It seems that in the five years between the movie and the comic, the vampires have suffered a mental regression. Slade’s bloodsuckers communicate with inarticulate grunts, which, according to the authors, were supposed to symbolize animalism and put the vampire in one line with the predators of the known fauna. Perhaps this idea looked attractive in the project, but in the film it may seem a bit funny. Also, a small inconsistency: for instinctive predators, the vampires did a pretty good job of developing strategic plans to attack Barrow and operate within the city itself. Moreover, Slade had deprived the invaders of their sense of humor. In 30 Days of Night it played one of the main roles, contributing significantly to the portrayal of vampires in comics – different from the stereotypical one.
However, this does not change the fact that if we cut out unnecessary and unreliable scenes that are intended to deepen the relationships between the characters, we are left with pure action. Vampires bite, people shoot, blood flows from the arteries like fountains, and vampire heads literally explode after colliding with speeding bullets. The camera work is certainly impressive, reminiscent of Romero’s films, focusing on the emptiness of the desolate streets of Barrow, culminating in the scene of the massacre shown from a bird’s eye view. Poetry of blood, orgy of murder – one might add. Turning a blind eye to its shortcomings (which film doesn’t have them!), 30 Days of Darkness is not the worst choice for a weekend viewing. It won’t blow you away, it won’t delight you, it will probably fade away from your memory within a few hours, it may be a bit boring, but it will also provide many liters of gore and dozens of bullets fired.
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