31 Days of Halloween - Day 10 - Movie 2

For one month each year, the town of Barrow, Alaska experiences a month of darkness. Just as the sun sets beginning this cycle, Barrow finds itself cut off more than usual. Cell phones are stolen and destroyed, computer and land lines fail, and so does the power. This is all preparation for the main event; a group of vampires come to town to take advantage of the isolation and the extended night to feast on the entire town.

30 Days of Night (2007) is a pretty faithful adaptation of the comic book series by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith (Niles was also one of the writers who worked on the film's screenplay). The build up to the attack is handled nicely. The cast is strong, the characters sympathetic, and the vampires fierce and visually tweaked just enough in the eyes to separate them from their human prey.

I rather enjoyed this movie, but afterwards felt that there was something missing from the core of the movie. It needed more suspense. Everything seemed to be presented in such a matter of fact manner that I never worried about any of the human survivors getting caught by the vampires, nor did I find the vampires terribly threatening, even though they are able to wipe out a whole town. The movie needed more tension, or more depth to the characters who were given just enough dimension to suggest they were real people. They were all likable, but I didn't find myself too invested in any of them. Maybe it's because we didn't spend enough time with them before things go to hell. Maybe it was just that the direction and editing able to deliver the goods, though the movie is certainly polished looking.

At any rate, I liked it enough that I'm sure I'll revisit it in the future.