30 days of Night

[Underbelly]

This is one of those films I had heard about but never actual seen, until Saturday night. I'm a big fan of horror and vampire films but this was a horrible film. There wasn't one interesting character, the dialog was flat. I could have cared less who lived or died. The plot itself didn't make any sense. It was almost like every seen was designed just to have some great, gory, vampire killings. The end has laughable!

If this had been made on a low budget, which cheesy graphics, it might have been enjoyable.

I want those 2 hours of my life back!

[xupernaut]

 I saw that a few months ago.I didn't think it was that bad.That said I had problems suspending my disbelief off the top of my head........

 1)In this day and age how can a town be totally cut off from the world? I know the cell phone tower got taken out iirc but aren't there satellite phones? that the authorities would surely have.Anyway wouldn't anyone wonder why they couldn't get through after a day or 2 and send someone to check it out.

 2) Can't planes fly at night?I mean its Alaska not the dark side of the moon.Sure weathers a problem but still.....

 It is kind of a cool premise for a vampire flick though.

[JaseSF]

I was disappointed by this as well. Sure the premise is cool and I even liked the ending. Problem was I never really was made to feel or care enough about any of the characters and the vampires could just have easily been werewolves or wild beasts........I disliked the lack of style and substance and that these vampires seemed mostly like faceless interchangeable baddies. Even with villains, some character development will often enhance them and their motives.

[Jack]

I've been meaning to check this out because it sounds like a very cool concept, but I think it just sunk a bit lower on my wish list    I really don't care for movies where the characters aren't developed, and completely undeveloped antagonists is the greatest sin a movie can commit.

[Warp Ninja X]

When it first came out I went to see it because of the commercial looked like The Movie 28 Days Later. But this movie is no 28 Days Later it don't even come close to it. Where are the weapons only one stupid axe that must some magic axe. No guns, no chainsaws, no TNT. This movie was a very mega disappointment of being a vampire movie.

[Neville]

I thought it was OK. It didn't do anything memorable with the vampire lore, but the setting was both unusual and attractive, and some of the visuals were cool.

My main problem with it is how they handled the time issue. The main characters spend 30 days hidden, yet nothing changes much, they don't even look unkempt, and we don't know how they manage to keep themselves warm or find food or water.

[JaseSF]

Having the vampires snarl and at one time, the lead one overall say "no God" wasn't enough characterization of them IMO.

[Underbelly]

Exactly, the time thing. Like they are up in the attic, and the vampires are searching all the homes, they have no food, if they stay, they might be caught . . . and its a week and a half later and they are still up there? Huh?

[JaseSF]

Also the vampires here were supposed to be able to smell blood so how is it none of them sniffed those hiding in the attic out. Maybe it was one of those stinky mothball odor attics that drowned it out but hey the film sure didn't explain it. Also wouldn't they have one heck of stinky bathroom up their all those days and no one flushing.

[Kester Pelagius]

Talk about syncronicity, I just posted a review of this at Mise-en-scene Crypt and typed up a longish post on another board!   

I agree with the OP, but not about the movie being forgettable, just the characters.  Certain scenes stick out in my mind, granted for all the wrong reasons, but the characters?

I couldn't tell you the name of single one, they were that one dimenional.  I mean you had the sheriff, the kid, the spunky lady, the old curmudgeon. . .

yadayadaclicheclicheyadaclicheZZzzzzzboringcliche

 

[Dennis]

I liked this movie, the premise is good and I found that I could identify with the people of the town, watching some of their friends and family go south for the 30 days because they can't handle a night that long, and then settling in for a normal yearly event. The only fly in the ointment is all those murdered sled dogs but the stalwart sheriff is on the job and it'll be solved by daylight if not sooner, then the phones go down and life as they know it goes right out the window. There is one thing that I did find a little hard to get around, after a week or so hiding in a crawlspace/attic with out proper sanitary facilities, the vampires wouldn't need to smell blood to find the survivors. Other than this I found it very easy to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the story. I will admit that all the points raised against the film are true, in spite of this I liked this one enough to buy the DVD, but then I'm not a smart man.
 

[the master]

some kid at my school said this was the greatest vampire movie ever
the next day he said i am legend was the greatest movie ever made

[Underbelly]

Suspend of disbelief. As I get older, I find is harder and harder to do. Maybe that's my problem with this film. And believe me Criswell, I make no claims of intelligence!

[Kester Pelagius]

I liked this movie, the premise is good and I found that I could identify with the people of the town, watching some of their friends and family go south for the 30 days because they can't handle a night that long

Like I said in my review/rant it's not a bad sounding premise.  But. . .

What night?

Have you ever been in an attic?  Try climbing into one at noon time sometime, I think you'll be surprised how dark attics really are.  The attic in this movie was better lit than the room I am typing in.

Have you ever been camping, I mean really camping where there's NO city and NO city lights?  Now try to imagine that darkness 24/7.

And don't even get me started on the conditions of arctic snow and cold.

[Dennis]

I have been backpacking in the San Gabriel mountains, miles from anything, and you're right on a moonless night its black/dark as in blind, I also agree that this particular attic was pretty brightly lit but if it wasn't you couldn't see the actors, so in this case the lighting had nothing to do with the story line.
I still liked the movie in spite of its very obvious flaws. I've also had to work in snow, that's why I live in California now and not above the arctic circle like the lunatics in the movie, of course this state has a fairly large number of loonies too.