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MOVIE REVIEW: 30 DAYS OF NIGHT
by Steve Ekstrom

There have been a ton of less than favorable adaptations of comic books over the last ten years that have left plenty of us with a bad taste in our movie-going mouths. When comic book fans see that initial green lighted announcement that a project from within the industry is getting the “Hollywood Treatment”—the first thing off our collective lips usually is a jaded, “I’m sure it’s going to suck—they won’t be faithful to the material.”

Well, 30 Days of Night—is not—a direct, panel by panel remake of Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s original graphic novel—it’s actually…better.

Ah-buh-buh-buh – before you hit ‘reply,’ let me explain.

It’s not so different that you should head into it with any trepidation—this isn’t like Wendy’s trying to sell you a burrito from Taco Bell. 30 Days of Night is enhanced by a newfound sense of character development and non-one liner dialog. Let me repeat that—there really aren’t any cute Hollywood one-liners in this film. Even the trailer, sporting the now-infamous clip of Marlow saying, “No God,” bears a certain gravitas that doesn’t dismiss the moment as iconic. Basically, 30 Days of Night transcends one medium to a new medium the way 300 or Sin City has—thanks to the efforts of David Slade; a score of talented actors; screenwriters Brian Nelson and Stuart Beattie; and even creator Steve Niles himself. The difference with this film and the other two is that this movie is enriched with a level of depth that isn’t necessary in the original material but is noticeably present to the fan of the comic book franchise—I say enriched because most movies that are divergent from the original material make most of us feel cheated to say the least.

Typical to movies—audiences have to have a connection to the imperiled in this type of film. Granted, none of these human characters, beyond Stella and Eben Oleson, are iconic or memorable, but that was intentional. They are food. The vampires descend over the town in a ravenous fury that I could only compare to the zombie infestation in the modern remake of Dawn of the Dead. They are like lightning in their efficiency, something shown in an overhead shot of the snowy town of Barrow, block by block, with the blood of the town’s citizens in little red puddles. It was a direct and visceral way of showing the horror the town endures.

30 Days of Night effectively captures the bleakness of the icy cold landscape of Barrow, Alaska—the set design was outstanding in it’s bleary snowiness. Contrary to the original story, where the remaining survivors hid in a basement like room—this dwindling group of remainders hides in an attic space for a chunk of time at the inset of the calamity. Also - most of the houses and buildings were on stilts and had crawl spaces—giving this extra dark and creepy place for lurking vampires and other startling revelations around your ankles. Like the graphic novel, there is an overwhelming claustrophobia piled on top of the miserable cold—the structures seem to be huddled together themselves. Further, some of the camera shots leave you feeling successfully cramped in your seat in the theater.

From the standpoint of the talent—Josh Hartnett is Eben Oleson—any fan of the original material can feel it. He bears the weight of his responsibilities and his character even shows cracks in that same resilience. Melissa George seems aloof as Stella—which gives the feel of their relationship being slightly more strained in the film than in the graphic novel. Oh, and Ben Foster really sealed the deal for me in his portrayal as the Stranger who leads the vampires to Barrow.

All told, 30 Days of Night’s not a “jump out and scare you” kind of horror movie, and the gore borders so closely to real that it isn’t so much over-the-top but you wince anyway while asking yourself, “Could I lop off my friend’s head?” It’s an eerie movie which is tonally accurate to the original source, and even though there are a number of changes from the original story, they were made more out of the necessity of storytelling logic and for the intent of unifying certain thematic elements. This film will not disappoint fans of the 30 Days of Night comics, and at the same time, it’s a solid story for unfamiliar moviegoers who will be led fairly quickly to the main course within the film as well as the pay-off in the form of its true-to-source somber finish.

Those who know the story – you won’t be disappointed. Take a friend who doesn’t know it, and they won’t be disappointed either. While you’ll both get the fun of sitting through an eerie, unsettling horror movie, you’ll also be able to witness how successfully 30 Days of Night has been translated from graphic novel to motion picture.

Oh, and you're going to have trouble sleeping after this one.
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"Fuck yo couch, nigga!" - Tom Cruise

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