30 Days of Night
Here Is What You Need To Know:
Am I disappointed? Well, not that you really truly care, but yeah, I am a bit disappointed. I am a big horror fan, which is obvious if you have thumbed through my other reviews... which you should be doing as soon as you finish this review by the way. In the end 30 Days of Night does an okay job, just not a great job.
Here is the basic concept: isolated Alaskan community finds itself in the crosshairs of a pack of vampires, in part due to the fact that the town experiences 30 straight days of night,(rotation of the earth and all of that stuff.) And, unfortunately folks, the concept is the problem isn’t it? Why would the vampires go through all the trouble of trekking their way into a remote area of Alaska, I mean really remote area, just to nibble on about 150 town folk? Think of it like this, is the meal really worth the effort? We wouldn’t hike three hundred miles just to kill and eat a deer, or at least our primitive ancestors wouldn’t, would they?
Its all about the calories people, too much work, not enough payoff. Sure these remote rednecks are isolated and all, but come on, seriously. Vampires with super human abilites, similar to the vampires from the vastly superior Blade series, would just pick off drunk, stumbling fools in small towns on a Saturday night. I could go on and on with this particular point but I will stop myself. So, as you might have concluded the problem is the core concept itself.
Now beyond this flawed concept is a fun enough film that does a good enough job keeping your attention. The problem is that 30 Days of Night just insults your intelligence a bit in doing so. Then again, we all expect less out of horror films and we shouldn’t. If we let those lazy studio executives compromise quality on one kind of film, they will inevitably compromise quality on other kinds of films.
What Was Cool:
Aforementioned flaws aside, 30 Days of Night actually does a good job in many ways. The film, at times, has a great look, which is likely a testatment to director David Slade’s commercial background. 30 Days of Night looks very slick and some shots in particular are great, such as the long aerial/crane shot of massacre on the snow field, you’ll know which one when you see it. The visual and special effects are nice as well and there are some decent acting performances to boot. Josh Hartnett as Eben doesn’t just gooble up a paycheck because he is in a horror film. D anny Huston, who has to date, basically squandered his powerhouse last name (and the keys to the city of Los Angeles) does a surprisingly fine job as the leader of the vampire clan, real nice in fact.
What Was Stupid:
What was stupid? Oh I don’t have time for that. There are so many logic errors and logic flaws in this film, oh it would take days to cover them all. And to be specific, pointing these out would start to ruin the film. Pay attention, however and you’ll spot the flaws with ease. What is shocking is that more effort wasn’t put into the script based upon the successful comic book. Then again people, maybe it isn’t so shocking with Hollywood being Hollywood these days.
Perhaps most foolish of all, and I have to be careful as to not reveal too much plot, was the commentary on the situation in Iraq and oil. Combine this with the fact that the "vampire language" in the film sort of sounds Arabic, and I think you can deduce the rest.
The Film's Real Genius or Geniuses:
Slade has a nice looking film with 30 Days of Night and his work on this project will likely lead to bigger things for him soon.
Overlooked Performance/Accomplishment:
Actor Ben Foster from Six Feet Under and X-Men is one of the best things about the film. His performance as the collaborator of the vampires is really quite well done. Yes, more fine acting in a horror film, what next?
Story C- (Fun, but way too many plot and logic flaws.)
Use of Science D
Acting B+ (For a horror film the acting in 30 Days of Night is awesome- except for vampire extras.)
Portrayal of Women C- (Increasingly standard, “I’m sort of tough but I still need a man to save my stupid, weak ass” portrayal of women.)
Visuals-Visuals and Special Effects B+
Visuals-Set Design/Props B+
Wardrobe/Costumes B
Style/Sex Appeal B (Too much blood to be too sexy, its grim, unless your into that of course.)
Enjoyability Grade C
Home Theater/HD Factor B
Gut Check (Level of Studio Executive Guts) D+
Overall Innovation C-
Overall Grade C- (While there are a numerous additional stories from the 30 Days of Night universe ready to make their way to the big screen, I have serious doubts that this series will become another horror mainstay. Not enough…teeth.)
A Little Fact About Cherie:
Oddly enough I wasn’t into the whole Goth thing as a girl, all of that came later.
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