30 Days of Night (2007)

Dark Slaughter

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy 30 Days of Night on DVD

This high-concept vampire film suffers from a disappointingly low-concept approach. Based on a comic book by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith, it takes place during the Alaskan winter, when the sun doesn't rise for 30 days, and hence vampires don't need to sleep. The small town sheriff (Josh Hartnett) helps the citizens avoid being bitten, but the film doesn't fully explore the idea of this extended time period. (The humans hide in an attic for days, but the vampires can't find them?) The characters, too, are barely more than sketches, though Danny Huston adds some verve to his perplexed, amused lead vampire. With Melissa George, Ben Foster, and Mark Boone Junior. David Slade (Hard Candy) directs, and botches the action and suspense with terrible, erratic camerawork.

DVD Details: Sony's DVD release comes with an entertaining commentary track by Josh Hartnett -- who takes the lead -- with Melissa George and producer Rob Tapert (a longtime cohort of Sam Raimi's). It also includes an episode of the anime TV series "Blood+" as well as a whole bunch of making-of featurettes and trailers.

AskMen.com: 30 Days of Night

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster, Mark Boone Junior, Mark Rendall, Amber Sainsbury, Manu Bennett, Megan Franich, Joel Tobeck, Elizabeth Hawthorne, Nathaniel Lees, Craig Hall, Chic Littlewood
Written by: Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie, Brian Nelson, based on a comic by Steve Niles, Ben Templesmith
Directed by: David Slade
MPAA Rating: R for strong horror violence and language
Running Time: 113 minutes
Date: October 19, 2007