Vampires have gone through a lot of changes over the past several years. Although the sexualized nature of the vampire has been accepted and thoroughly explored for almost a century in film, something happened once contemporary pop culture got their hands on these monsters. They became tortured, brooding, and sympathetic creatures rather than beasts. Although vampires have always been romanticized to some extent, somewhere along the way they became humanized - thereby stripped of their ability (and even inclination) to give us nightmares.
However, there were some creative minds who rebelled at this modern, softer vampire. Some who wanted the old brutal, predatory monsters back. One such person was writer Steve Niles, whose groundbreaking 2002 vampire comic book was brought to theaters as a feature film in 2007. That film was 30 DAYS OF NIGHT.
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30 DAYS OF NIGHT takes place in Barrow, Alaska - where for one full month, the sun sets and doesn’t rise again. As the town is preparing for this event, a mysterious stranger comes into town and disables Barrow’s communication and travel hub. The town’s sheriff, Eben (Josh Hartnett), subdues and arrests the stranger and throws him in the local jail. The stranger’s sabotage has crippled the remaining townspeople’s ability to leave and they are now forced to stay in Barrow for the full 30 days. It becomes clear very quickly that the stranger is part of a larger plan; and once the sun sets, the town is besieged by a group of marauding vampires who proceed to gorge themselves on the residents of Barrow.
Directed by David Slade, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT is a gripping, tense, and frightening survival film that hooks you right away with its bold, original premise. The performances are good all around, and the nuts-and-bolts of the film are top-notch. What really sets this film apart is its villains, however, and the vampire coven that besets the town - though they may look human - are feral, ferocious beasts that hunt the citizens of Barrow without pity. They see humans as food. Nothing more.
They are not interested in “turning” you.
They will not fall in love with you.
And they sure as Hell don’t sparkle.
These vampires hunt in a pack, and will not let up until they have feasted over the 30 days and burned Barrow to the ground. The leader of the vampires, Marlow (Danny Huston), commands his comrades in an ugly, guttural language which defies regional or ethnic recognition. It is as if the language is as ancient as they are - and also just as hardened and animalistic.
When it was released, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT was like a breath of fresh air. Its villains were a welcome departure from the beautiful, tortured vampires that had dominated pop culture to that point. The film did pretty well at the box office, and for a moment, it looked as if the public was ready to be scared by vampires again. Unfortunately, this one film wasn’t enough to reverse the trend altogether, and David Slade himself even went on to direct one of the “Twilight” films. Be that as it may, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT did what it set out to do and gave us a thrilling, intense, and frightening vampire movie. A rare thing, indeed, in the early years of the 21st century…
Parental Guide: Keep kids away! 18+
30 DAYS OF NIGHT fun facts -
The vampires’ language was created specifically for the film with the help of a New Zealand linguistics professor.
Though the vampires all have names, they are never mentioned and are not revealed until the end credits..
Most of the film was shot during the day, then darkened in post in a process known as “day for night“.
The story was originally conceived as a film, but when no studios bit, it was reworked as a comic book. Once the comic became a hit, a film version was green-lit soon after.
Beau Brower - “Welcome to Barrow. Top of the World!”
Marlow - “No God.”
The Stranger - “Mr. and Mrs. Sheriff. So sweet. So helpless against what is coming…”