30 Days of Night

AT the northernmost point of North America lies a sleepy Alaskan city called Barrow, which endures a winter of permanent darkness.
This was the setting for the film translation of the comic 30 Days Of Night about a gang of vampires that go bump in the night.
On paper, this appeared to be the perfect premise for a straightforward horror movie but in practice, it lacks the tension to provoke fear or even capture the imagination.
Despite some vague attempts at characterization, director David Slade fails to inject any life into the Barrow residents led by Sheriff Eben Oleson (Josh Harnett).
Apart from a good job by Mark Boone Junior, the characters are two-dimensional throughout and frankly seem to have less soul than the undead bloodsuckers, making it very difficult to vie for them.

Meanwhile, with glazed eyes and vicious claws and teeth, the vampires look great but the effect is somewhat ruined with their annoying shriek.
The vampires also needlessly have their own language which makes no sense since the creatures used to be human. (Where do they learn this new language? Ghoul school?!)
30 Days Of Night does have some nice touches though. Horror fans will rejoice at the sheer level of blood and gore and a magnificent bird’s eye shot reveals the extent of the vampiric carnage.
But beyond that, there is very little to be desired. It has none of the sophistication of Interview with the Vampire, none of the slick execution of From Dusk ‘Til Dawn and none of the gothic style of Underworld. If you want a good film set in the dark, watch Pitch Black instead.