2008 Woodie Awards
SectionsVampires gorier than ever
Thaddeus Stoklasa
Issue date: 10/23/07 Section: Features
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Vampires suck.
I'm picky when it comes to my portrayals of the undead - specifically when it comes to vampires. Most screen versions of the bloodsucking menaces just don't do it for me. The romantic, prettified versions that you can see in "Underworld" or "Interview with the Vampire" just aren't what I imagine lurking in the darkness.
Enter "30 Days of Night."
Based on the first in a successful graphic novel series of the same name, "30 Days of Night" brings vampiric horror to a new, gore-filled life.
Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost town in America, is, as the film's title explains, in a state of perpetual darkness for a month out of each year. As the townsfolk who can't handle the pressures of unending night prepare to jump the last plane out of town, strange occurrences begin: all the town's satellite phones are found, rounded up and destroyed; every sled dog has been killed; and the town's only helicopter is sabotaged.
Sheriff Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnett) arrests a mysterious vagrant (Ben Foster) for the crimes, and the man's rantings tell of a coming darkness.
One would think this would send up more warning signals, but it isn't until the screams begin and the blood starts splattering that anything gets done.
Eben's estranged wife, Stella (Melissa George), becomes stranded in the town, forcing the two to set aside their problems for the sake of survival.
Hartnett does a decent job in the leading man slot - a little rough in the opening, but he grows into it. He and George pull off the broken marriage setup well, and there are plenty of other interesting and entertaining characters to keep things from getting too mopey.
The visual effects in this movie leave a strong impression. The vampires are bizarre and brutal nightmares with oddly deformed features, black eyes and mouths full of sharp teeth. More "Nosferatu" than "Dracula," a welcome change to be sure. The modern idea of the vampire has become seriously cliché and a leap back to the idea of ravenous, corpse-looking creatures makes for a welcome change.
I'm picky when it comes to my portrayals of the undead - specifically when it comes to vampires. Most screen versions of the bloodsucking menaces just don't do it for me. The romantic, prettified versions that you can see in "Underworld" or "Interview with the Vampire" just aren't what I imagine lurking in the darkness.
Enter "30 Days of Night."
Based on the first in a successful graphic novel series of the same name, "30 Days of Night" brings vampiric horror to a new, gore-filled life.
Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost town in America, is, as the film's title explains, in a state of perpetual darkness for a month out of each year. As the townsfolk who can't handle the pressures of unending night prepare to jump the last plane out of town, strange occurrences begin: all the town's satellite phones are found, rounded up and destroyed; every sled dog has been killed; and the town's only helicopter is sabotaged.
Sheriff Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnett) arrests a mysterious vagrant (Ben Foster) for the crimes, and the man's rantings tell of a coming darkness.
One would think this would send up more warning signals, but it isn't until the screams begin and the blood starts splattering that anything gets done.
Eben's estranged wife, Stella (Melissa George), becomes stranded in the town, forcing the two to set aside their problems for the sake of survival.
Hartnett does a decent job in the leading man slot - a little rough in the opening, but he grows into it. He and George pull off the broken marriage setup well, and there are plenty of other interesting and entertaining characters to keep things from getting too mopey.
The visual effects in this movie leave a strong impression. The vampires are bizarre and brutal nightmares with oddly deformed features, black eyes and mouths full of sharp teeth. More "Nosferatu" than "Dracula," a welcome change to be sure. The modern idea of the vampire has become seriously cliché and a leap back to the idea of ravenous, corpse-looking creatures makes for a welcome change.
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