In Barrrow, Alaska, the town is annually plunged into darkness for a full month because it is the northernmost town in the US. Every year, the town evacuates for the coming darkness because the town will be in complete isolation. The movie starts off on the last day of sunlight when the evacuation is underway. By the end of the day, a mere 100 something people will remain, and by the end of the month, only a few will survive.
As the town closes down, Sheriff Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnett) helps with the evacuation while his wife, Fire Marshall Stella Oleson (Melissa George) is planning on leaving on the last flight out (it seems that Eben and Stella are having some marital problems). Just before the sun sets, Eben is called to a site where all of the cell phones in town have been gathered and destroyed. Couple that with the killings of all of the sled dogs in the town, and Oleson knows there is something unusual about this particular nightfall.
Soon after the sun goes down, a stranger wanders into town and starts causing some trouble. Unfortunately, this guy is just a herald for the danger that will soon take the town by storm. It isn't long before people start dying in a mass slaughter. The Olesons, Eben's brother and a few other characters find a safe haven in an attic of one of the boarded-up houses.
The movie then advances several days at a time as the vampires try different techniques of luring survivors out of hiding and our main group of survivors has to deal with rations and cabin fever. Eventually, the survivors decide to make a stand, but they know they can't possibly stop these super-creatures as they are. One of their number will have to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to save the town.
I only really have a few beefs with 30 Days of Night; one of them is that the vampires feel much more like fast-moving zombies to me. Instead of the determined and intelligent style that vampires are typically displayed, these felt like much more mindless (well, except for the top couple of vampires). Then there is the fact that their infection of others is almost instantaneous and not the involved process that is normally depicted in vampire mythos. As one Miss Summers once said, "...they have to suck your blood. And then you have to suck their blood. It's like a whole big sucking thing." Instead here, if you are bitten by a vampire, you will become one. In fact, the lead vamp told the others to make sure and behead any victims so as not to increase their population.
This sort of brings me to my second issue. At the beginning of the siege, the creatures kill most of the townspeople. These creatures know they are here to live for 30 days and think of this place as a vampire haven. But instead of rationing out their food supply, they fulfill their hunger really early and then start complaining about the dwindling sustenance later on. It seems to me that these creatures that have been planning this little getaway for a while now should have had a better plan.
As far as special features are concerned, there is a lot to like here for vampire fans. The eight featurettes will give you an inside look of everything from how they created their version of Barrow to the stunts of the movie and night shooting. Whether you are just interested in vampire info in general or how a movie like this is made, these featurettes are generally entertaining. Also of note is the fact that the first episode of the anime Blood + is included here.
When talking to others, I've found that people tend to really like or really hate this film. There is a good bit of gore to it, and a good bit of suggested gore. Most of the most gruesome action takes place in the shadows when a vampire pulls someone off to the side, but there is still quite a bit of blood on the set. If that doesn't bother you, then you should probably check out this film. As vampire flicks go, it isn't that bad at all. If, on the other hand, you have any kind of queasy stomach, you should probably skip 30 Days of Night.
