30 Days of Night DVD Review

Being a fan of horror films, I’m always a bit excited when a film comes my way that not only sounds interesting, but also starts actors I enjoy and appreciate. Such is the case with 30 Days of Night, starring Josh Hartnett and Melissa George.

The movie is based on a comic book of the same name, created by the author/artist team Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith. The setting of the film is a remote Alaskan town called Barrow, where, once a year, it endures 30 days without sunlight or visitors, as the roads prove impossible to travel during this time period.

While Sheriff Eben Olsen (played by Hartnett) and the few townsfolk planning to remain during the blackout are busy preparing for the next 30 days, his soon to be ex-wife, Stella (played by George) rolls into town for work and gets stuck when she misses the last flight out.

A strange man (played by the creepy Ben Foster) is also found in town, and this man has apparently destroyed all the cell phones he can find, as well as killed off most of the sled dogs in town, the last source of transportation out, effectively making the remote town Siberia.

After the strange man gets arrested, he starts rambling about how everyone’s going to die, and then the power goes out. It seems that the mystery man was helping a band of vampires who take the 30 days of night as a month-long all-you-can eat buffet. These vamps are lead by an ever weirder man named Marlow (played by Danny Huston).

Given that 30 Days of Night is not heavy on plot, and not all of what happens makes sense, director David Slade does a great job building tense scenes, with superb action and special effects, and lots of gore in the mix. The makeup and stunt work is pretty incredible as well.

30 Days of Night is presented in anamorphic 2.40.1 widescreen, with sound in English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, and optional French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, as well as optional subtitles in English, French and Spanish.

Extras include a commentary track with Hartnett, George and producer Rob Tapert, who all talk a lot about production (Hartnett also isn’t afraid to talk about what worked, as well as what didn’t in the film). There’s also an eight-part featurette covering the making of 30 Days of Night, including Pre-Production; Building Barrow; The Look; Blood, Guts & The Nasty #@$&!; Stunts; The Vampires; Night Shoots; and Casting. The final extra is Blood +: Episode One - The First Kiss, an anime episode unrelated to 30 Days of Night.

This definitely isn’t a film for the kiddies, nor for the squeamish or faint of heart. It’s not necessarily scary, but it’s definitely nail-bitingly tense. There’s a nice twist at the end, and overall, the film takes vampire lore and makes it fresh and interesting. In all, 30 Days of Night is a refreshing take on vampire films, and offers both entertainment and excitement.