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30 Days of Night – Spoiler Free Review

A few days ago, I was sitting in a room of my fellow Geeks and recorded a fan commentary for the classic James Cameron film, Aliens. During this recording, fellow nerd Fatboy stated that horror films only really work in a dark theatre, or home system that captures the theatre atmosphere. While this may not be the case with all horror films, I tend to agree with him. However, I would also add another caveat to his statement.

The best horror films use the environment as a driving factor. If you main characters simply have no choice but to stay and fight, or push ahead, then you have the makings of a great horror film. If the characters are able to flee, but still face the horror in the dark, you tend to lose me. It isn’t a horror film; it’s just watching some fools make terrible decisions.

Thankfully, 30 Days of Night hits all the right chords!

Based on the IDW Graphic Novel by writer Steve Niles and artist Ben Templesmith, 30 Days of Night is a simple premise brought to terrifying light. In the small town of Barrow, Alaska one night in the winter lasts for 30 days and during this dark time, a cadre of Vampires descends upon Barrow and feed without fear. That is the whole film, a simple sentence that allows director David Slade to craft 2 hours of dread. Slade is no stranger to creating films that make the viewer feel uncomfortable; his mainstream debut with Hard Candy proved that Slade has no problem hitting the audience in the gut. Slade finds the perfect balance between frantic action and slow building dread. His is a career I look forward to following.

The performances.

Josh Hartnett was the one person that made me nervous when I watched the trailer. I’ve often felt like he simply a competent actor attached to some football jock looks. I was nervous about his performance because the character of Eben is so very central to 30 Days of Night. Indeed, the majority of the films tension resides upon Josh Hartnett’s shoulders. Thankfully, Hartnett rose to the challenge. It is a credit to his acting skill that I completely forgot about Josh Hartnett. I was simply watching this lone town sheriff make horrendous decisions that no one should be forced to make. Melissa George plays Stella Olemaun, Eben’s now separated wife. I’ve only been impressed by her in Alias, but beyond that she only struck me as yet another attractive blonde. Again, I have been proved wrong. Like Hartnett, George rises to the challenge of a woman conflicted by emotions and the terrors surrounding her. In fact, there really isn’t a weak performance in the entire film. From the smallest of roles to central supporting characters, each actor is fantastic.

What about those Vampires?

Damn, those are some disturbing bloodsuckers! I’m glad the filmmakers decided to stick with the look created by Niles and Templesmith. With their slightly tilted eyes and a mouth filled with fangs, the vampires in 30 Days of Night are not the typical Euro-trash we’ve become accustomed. These are perfectly evolved creatures that hunt humans with the greatest of ease. In fact, the total lack of vampire trappings we’re used to make them all the more frightening. The vampires in 30 Days of Night are powerful, frightening, and completely ruthless creatures that take just as much pleasure in the hunt as they do the kill. The vampires in 30 Days of Night are a race unto themselves (although they can and do procreate in the typical vampiric fashion). It was a wise choice to have the vampires only speak in their native tongue as it adds an even greater aura of danger to the characters in the film.

Yet, it didn’t always feel like a “horror” film.

What do I mean? Well, to be certain 30 Days of Night is a horror film when you look at the sum of all its parts. However, I found some of the greatest tension and dread surrounding the human element in the film. These aren’t weak or frail people. These are people that chose to live, quite literally, at the top of the world. The citizens of Barrow, Alaska are a hardy and freedom loving folks. (I don’t mean paper-cut flag waving you see at tailgate parties. No, the true freedom that only comes from living at the extremes of Mother Nature). These are not foolish people either. While there are moments when some make less than intelligent choices, the events that forced them into the situation makes you understand and pity their decision.

30 Days of Night is a powerful character study on what humans will do to survive. What sacrifices one will make when they are forced into a corner. Do we succumb to our reptile brain and lash out, or do we resort to that of frightened prey; doing our best to ride out the predators. The real terror doesn’t come from the vampires. The vampires are simply a story device that reveals the true horror. The vampires are a force of nature that the characters within 30 Days of Night must survive. What would you do to protect your family? How far are you willing to go to protect yourself and your own? How much of your humanity are you willing to sacrifice to destroy the soulless creatures at your throat. That is the true horror within 30 Days of Night. The abyss does indeed look back.

Geek in the City gives 30 Days of Night 4 out 5 Critical Hits!