30 Days of Night

Stories about vampires have become a dime a dozen over the years and it takes something special for a new story to stand out from the crowd. This story stands out not just for its originality but for it's inventiveness to go beyond the regular stereotypes that have followed vampire films for years. Based on a highly successful graphic novel series by Steve Niles, this story breathed new life into a genre that had become stale with age. Josh Hartnett and Melissa George play the two human leads and do a believable job as the fighting couple trapped in the story, and when push comes to shove after seeing the whole thing older actors just wouldn't fit the molds.
As the month long darkness begins in Barrow, Alaska, the locals are attacked by a group of vampires that are ready and willing to take advantage of the long dark night. Relying more on the suspense and terror of the situations, like the old time monster movies, this film grabs you and never lets go. From the opening sequences to the final sunrise you are left with the feelings that you have just witnessed a new era in the film genre. Visually there isn't much to see since the entire movie takes place at night, the picture is always gloomy and your left to wonder if it would have been better shot in black and white. But even with that said some of the scenes are so engrossing that you don't realize that your left on the edge of your seat most of the time.
Even though you see some of the attacks coming in the story, the swiftness that the vampires strike catches you off guard and at times leave you breathless. It will be interesting to see if they continue this franchise with adaptations of the other graphic novels that have been published. One thing that is really nice about this movie is that it doesn't fall into the classic Hollywood ending, and when the ending does happen your satisfied as a viewer and you don't ripped off by the filmmaker. This is a great movie to watch if you like vampire horror films, it pumps new life and interesting plots twists into an old genre that has a strong fan base.