“30 DAYS OF NIGHT” (2007)

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster, Mark Boone Junior, Mark Rendall, Amber Sainsbury, Manu Bennett, Megan Franich, Joel Tobeck & Camille Keenan
Written by Steve Niles (comic/screenplay), Stuart Beattie (screenplay), Brian Nelson (screenplay) & Ben Templesmith
Directed by David Slade

Polly Staffle Rating: ****

Everybody has something they’re truly scared of. Not scared in the sense of movie monsters, but real life fear. Deep down we all have at least one thing that terrifies us. There’s fear of losing a loved one, fear of those that are different, fear of the dark, fear of being in small places, fear of being trapped, fear of isolation, fear of being burned alive, fear of being attacked, fear of being murdered, fear of betrayal, fear of seeing a loved one killed, fear of a child turning bad, fear of getting old, fear of dementia, fear of losing control, fear of having to cause harm to others, fear of losing one’s identity, fear of others taking what’s ours, fear of evil, fear of anarchy, fear of rejection, fear of the unknown, fear of starvation, fear of no shelter, fear of nature, fear of dying and lots more.

On the surface, David Slade’s “30 Days of Night,” based on a 2002 graphic novel by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith, appears to simply be about movie monsters. But what makes it such a mesmerizing masterpiece is how Slade taps into every one of the previously mentioned fears. This beast of a vampire film is scary. Real scary.

I love horror movies, but they don’t usually scare me. Often there are horror films that give me the creeps (“Session 9”), ones that disturb or shake me up (“Amateur Porn Star Killer”), others that blow me away with their brutality (“High Tension”), others that have intrigued me to the point of obsession (“The Blair Witch Project”) and lastly, those that have moved me (“May”). Rarely do they ever actually frighten me. “30 Days of Night” completely did the trick. I not only jumped a number of times while watching the film, there were other moments that had me completely lost in the scenes that I felt truly scared.

I can not say enough about this film. Not only is “30 Days of Night” the best vampire movie since “From Dusk Till Dawn,” it is easily the very best horror movie in 33 years. That’s right - this bad boy is so good that it should be placed alongside Tobe Hooper’s 1974 classic “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

What makes it so dazzling is it has so much more going for it than scares. It’s touching, visually beautiful and completely uplifting. I was worried going in that “30 Days of Night” would be a one-note film, but it rises well above its great concept. While reflecting on the movie, I’ve actually found the concept, which is so ingenious that you can’t help, but wonder why it took so long for it to be made, is its biggest weakness. The pitch: This is a vampire film set in the northernmost part of the United States, were once a year there is darkness for a month and there’s no way out due to heavy snow. This element of the film surely helps with a level of fear playing on the fact that there is no place to run, no place to hide and waiting for sunrise is a long cold and bitter wait. However, even without that gimmick, say “30 Days of Night” was to take place over the course of one night, like “Night of the Living Dead,” it would still be a kick ass work of art.

“30 Days of Night” gives us two different groups of people. Both appear to look out for their own. There’s the townsfolk of Barrow, Alaska, whom we identify with, and then there are the vampires. The undead predators look slightly different than the people of Barrow, especially in the eyes and forehead area, their flesh is also of a different skin tone, and they speak their own language. These are no ordinary “movie vampires.” They’d eat Dracula and Lestat for breakfast. Instead of the glamorous, romanticized and over sexed bunch of bloodsuckers we have grown accustom to, these guys look more like Max Schreck (“Nosferatu”) crossed with Bat Boy and Marilyn Manson. They don’t seduce anyone. They aren’t interested in having others join them. They are simply hungry as hell and with dark skies above, theses wicked forces of nature have come to enjoy a buffet of Barrowians. They are also super strong, fast and almost seem like a zombie, vampire, alien, demon, werewolf and hillbilly hybrid with black holes for eyes, claw hands and a mouth full of filthy shark teeth.

Darkness and snow falls and the foreigners attack. Terror, chaos and panic ensue. Action on the ice-covered streets resembles riots. There is no communication to the outside world, which at the closest is 300 miles away. There is no electricity. People are forced to hide under and in their homes. No child, woman or man is safe. A small group of people find safety in a tiny attic. They do not have much food. They keep track of the outside world by occasionally peaking through cracks. They hear screams, cries, pleads for help and the vampires feasting on their neighbors. There isn’t anything they can do and not anybody or anything is coming to save them.

Nevertheless, this is no downer of a film. It’s not mean and grim like most of the horror that is out these days. In the end, “30 Days of Night” is very empowering. It frightens, delivers a number of adrenaline rushes and good wins out over bad, but that isn’t all that is at play. Instead of everyman for himself, Slade’s film is about love and sacrifice. Like animals, the vampires don’t know love. At first they appear loyal, but survival instincts take priority over loyalties. The vampires not only backstab, but also turn cannibalistic when it’s the easiest way out. The townspeople on the other hand, put themselves in harms way to protect and save those around them. What really struck a chord in me, and it always does, is seeing the giving of oneself, for the better of the many. “300” had this same underlying theme (which is the same reason we are told Jesus Christ died, and what we like to think America was founded on, and it’s the lie they always feed us about modern day wars), but here the self sacrifice is more intimate because “the many,” isn’t very many at all.

Gimmicks, plot and themes aside, “30 Days of Night” is also extremely well done. It starts off with intentionally slow pacing that builds and builds. At first we are blasted with scares in between quiet scenes until finally all hell breaks loose. It’s as if this is a thrill ride that stops, starts, stops, starts and then completely opens up the flood gates. Slade uses the same type of technique with the movie’s gore and cinematography. The film’s visuals switch back and forth from beautiful to ugly for most of its 113-minute runtime, while Slade slowly reveals more and more of the bloodshed on screen. Most of the movie, we don’t see as much of the violence and gore as we think we are seeing. Slade uses the less is more approach perfectly with quick cuts, fast motion, shaky camera movements, darkness and sound. The former music video director, whose resume includes Muse’s “Bliss,” “New Born” and AFI’s “Girl’s Not Grey,” then turns that all on its ear, giving audiences a gory, yet realistic bloodbath to wrap the whole thing up.

Supporting Slade is the film’s wonderful ensemble cast. Genre regulars Josh Hartnett (“Halloween: H20,” “The Faculty,” “Sin City”) and Melissa George (“Turistas,” “The Amityville Horror,” “Dark City”) are great, leading the way for the townsfolk, while Danny Huston and Megan Franich are menacing villains dictating the vampire clan. The always overacting Ben Foster, who till now has really annoyed the hell out of me, is creepy, playing the archetypal horror movie doomsayer (“They’re Coming to Get You, Barbara!”/“You’re all going to die!”).

Forget the Splat Pack’s Alexandre Aja (“Hills Have Eyes”), Darren Lynn Bousman (“Saw II” and “Saw III”), Eli Roth (“Hostel” and “Hostel II”) and Rob Zombie (“Halloween”), and their nasty, crappy remakes and sequels. This guy is a master of terror. I absolutely loved his directorial debut “Hard Candy,” which won the ‘Best Movie’ Polished Apple award last February. Now he’s 2-for-2 with another four-star treat. His two films put him right along side Zack Snyder (“Dawn of the Dead”, “300”) and above Christopher Smith (“Creep,” “Severance”) on the list of directors making must see genre films in my book. He should already be an Oscar winner, headed to accept another. He also should be one of the most sought after filmmakers working today with the ability to make any movie he wants, on any budget he needs. David Slade is a complete cinematic bad ass. What more can I say?

- CCF, October 2007