Method Man once said: ''Never forget where you're comng from, because you never know where you're going.'' It's a deceptively profound piece of street philosophy that has multiple uses. For example, if you think that vampires are fictional creatures based on some brutal medieval warlord and an actual disease, it makes your appreciate how weird they have become. It's like every supernatural creature in the book would've banged one another and created a super dangerous bastard species. 30 DAYS OF NIGHT is a strange, yet efficient little movie that exploits the good side of that bastardization, the fear of the unknown that's associated with strange creatures. It's one of these not-so-bad movies that was released at the height of the vampire craze in Hollywood.
The city of Barrow, Alaska will be undergoing an entire month of night and the citizens are flocking back to Anchorage, a bigger, better prepared city for the occurrence in order to last it out. Sheriff Eben Olesen (Josh Hartnett) and his family are staying in Barrow to keep order in the town during this difficult month. The last flight out of town has left, and an unhealthy looking stranger has killed the sleigh dogs, crashed the snow clearing machine and sabotaged every other possible way out of Barrow. After the sunset, violent creatures start pounding the streets and breaking into houses, killing and drinking the blood out of every resident. Sheriff Olesen cannot save his town from disaster, but he'll have to find a way to last through an entire month with homicidal vampires on his trail.
So what does 30 DAYS OF NIGHT have that other vampire movies don't? It's based on a graphic novel by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith, and it shows. I haven't read the original material, but I'm sure the movie is a rather faithful rendition. The way 30 DAYS OF NIGHT was shot, the setting takes an important place and the attention to detail in that regard is simply delicious. Anybody can write about slaughtering vampires, but the idea of slaughtering vampires in an abandoned, snow covered backyard, under a children swing has a life of its own. 30 DAYS OF NIGHT is very visual. Sometimes it's used as a mean to cover for mediocre acting, but it's not a movie that stands out through its acting game anyway. It's about the eerie locale, creepy vampires and crazy fight scene. Director David Slade does a great job at concealing his actor's limitations, so that they don't get in the way of his movie.
Marilyn Manson called, he wants his likeness back.
The weak point/unwittingly funny part of 30 DAYS OF NIGHT is the vampires themselves. I've made my homework and read about the graphic novel, so I'm aware there actually is a backstory to them, that they have names and such. I was genuinely surprised when the credits rolled and I've learned that the Grand Dooda of the Nosferatu was named Marlow (Danny Huston). I was expecting Gregor or something. I'm not sure what went wrong here, but the vampires are these soulless, dead-eyed creatures who move just like every other demonic creature moves in cinema (I call that ''the tremor of the possessed'') and hilariously speak in a devilish language that reminded me of that scene in FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS where Raoul Duke couldn't speak right anymore, and the vampires spend a LOT of time talking among themselves.
I am notoriously fickle with vampire movies, but I have to say that 30 DAYS OF NIGHT was a positive viewing experience overall. I think a lot of that has to do with creator of the original material Steve Niles co-writing the screenplay. Disasters happen when you stray too far from the original material, but I feel that this adaptation was really faithful, at least visually. 30 DAYS OF NIGHT is a treat for the eyes and overall an above-average vampire story (it's hard to believe, but they still exist). It's littered with ridiculous details, given the extremely low expectations I had of this movie, I was pleasantly surprisd. 30 DAYS OF NIGHT may not be a masterpiece, but it should be in any vampire movie night discussions.