Pretty frightening visuals throughout, but the film suffers a great deal from slightly bland storytelling and characters.

I think it is an excellent movie in its genre. In the beginning I didn't have many expectations for I thought that the 'vampire' theme was nothing new...and I felt that I perhaps made a mistake renting that film, but as the story developed I got caught! Not a typical vampire movie with sexual undertones...it is more than that. Yeah, there was a lot of gore -and I am not someone who enjoys gore for the sake of it, but somehow in this case, it did work. I believe it was also because the art direction was great. That was not the typical vulgar gore but the opposite. There are, however, things that could have been improved...and at times I thought that the vampire language was ridiculous, but then I just ignored it, for saying that is a bit unfair: since they are vampires, an alien language makes sense! We wouldn't expect seeing these vampires speaking English, Chinese, Spanish, or Finish, yeah? so that type of criticism is ridiculous and somehow naive. Besides, the pleasantness- or unpleasantness- of the vampire language doesn't affect the quality of the drama per se. I have actually enjoyed this film so much, that I want to buy it (and my movie collection is outstanding) An advice: In order to be truly enjoyed, this film should be watched with a very receptive mind, and even if you don't like it, at least you won't complain about the photography, for it works great with the location. A great atmosphere for a horror movie!...and yeah, as someone observed before...it reminded me a bit of The Thing too. If it was 'competing' with different genres of movies I wouldn't give it a 10, but in its genre I believe it could be a 8.5...however, I am giving it a 9, because I think the present overall score is pretty unfair...so it is a way to help! But I have noticed problems with the scoring before, for often, it doesn't add to the positive reviews after I write them (even after days, and I guess that also happens to others)...and yeah, I understand that it produces antagonistic views, but we all have different taste and expectations. With the sequel, don't bother, it is a 0 ....a huge 0! (you see I am harsh).… Collapse

This is actually a very good vampire movie. It had some sweet effects. The vampires were very creepy (especially the bald one). It had an interesting plot with some VERY smart vampires. I'd recommend seeing this movie whenever you get the chance.

Pas d'histoire, pas d'originalité, pas d'ambiance, pas de punch... 30 Jours de Nuit n'a pas grand chose à nous offrir. Du moins, tous ces défauts auraient pu être compensés par le reste. Il n'en est rien : les acteurs ne sont pas convaicants, les vampires grotesques, la mise en scène plate... Il reste néanmoins les effets spéciaux (scènes gores) pour combler les fans de suceurs de sang, et encore! Au final, ces 30 Jours de Nuit vont vous permettre de bien dormir durant un bon moment (pas un mois mais 1h48). Encore un film qui ne mérite pas toute la publicité faite autour...… Expand

A superb movie in every way. Very surprised at some of the negative reviews. I really don;t see any flaws with it. The pacing is brilliant, with a great lead up to the arrival of the vampires, the acting is first class, the characters believable, there's blood, action, decapitations, dismemberments, and the cinematography is very expertly done. In my opinion this is one of the greatest horrors ever made. John Carpenter loved it - say no more.… Expand

Great setting and idea. Vampires for 30 nights. I loved every minute of it and it was interesting to see how people react when suddenly they are the ones who get hunted.

This is one fine vampire gore fest! The vampires are truly something new to look at and study.....they are different than ones we've seen before. This is what I envision when I think of what vampires should truly be......not the lovey dovey commercialized teen dream vampires of late. The only thing these vampires are missing is an effective backstory....they don't even give a flavor of their past. The supporting survival team offers the terror and primal fear that we all would experience.… Expand

This is another great zombie flick that should be played/mentioned more. It holds my attention well, the way they do the effects/makeup/costumes rocked, thought they did well with the plot, not to complicated and it gets the job done. Good setting for this movie. NO GOD!

Vampires come to Alaska taking advantage of "30 days of night" in the winter.
The big problem for me is that the vampires really aren't scary but unintentionally funny. And the main one looks like Fat Boy Slim.
If you said to a 10-year old "Be a scary vampire" they'd act like the vampires in this.
Ironically the scariest vampire in it is a 10-year old.
Bit silly all round really although some nice axe action.… Expand

I imagine (after reading previous reviews for 30 Days of Night) that your opinion on this film rests firmly on whether you are a horror movie fan or not. However, I would recommend this film to anyone who can stand/loves gore, and appreciates films that have balls, a great unsettling score, and great cinematography. It was never going to win an Oscar, but I have lent my copy of 30 Days of Night to as many people I know as possible and so far everyone has enjoyed it. Whilst this method may not exactly be foolproof, it's got to give 30 Days of Night some kudos.… Expand

Finally, a vampire movie that depicts them in the old legend way: soulless, cunning beings who hunt and kill worse than animals and who are only looking to satisfy their own basic need to feed. Marlow was frightening and convincing.

Fun movie with a few flaws. Overall, if you like horror you should see it. I am a huge horror fan and I avoided this one for a while until last night when I Netflix-ed it. The vampires in this film are really creepy and will give you goosebumps. It's very 'Night of the Living Dead' in that they are trapped and have a swarm of evil creatures after them. Give it a watch, it's worth it.… Expand

I found this movie exciting and suspenseful. I had no idea of what would come next.

I can only describe this film as the motion picture equivalent for your brain as a turd sandwich is for your mouth. Theres chewing, alot of nashing and you feel like you've been violated. And it'll ultimately make you sick.

Welcome alaskanians to the wonderfull world of incorrect information. ITS A FREAKING MOVIE ABOUT VAMPIRES who cares if its accurate.

Marginally less stuipid than the comics, but that doesn't take much -- the AND THEN A MAGIC GHOST SOLVES EVERYTHING ending for the comics is somewhat better handled, but... garbage in garbage out, y'know?

Clearly, based on reviews from Alaskans, this movie made the Alaskans seem to smart.

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: New Zealand *is* a cold place, you twat. No Alaska maybe, but you ever been to the South Island in winter? Anyway, this is a very good horror film...certainly better than most that come out these days (which alone probably deserves recommendation.) If the synopsis tickles your fancy, then you should be smiling throughout.

Okay, this movie has its moments but really is a diappointment and could have been so much better. The vampires are cool and the lead vampire is great but there needed to be more plot to take up all the 30 days of this film and I was willing to forgive everything that I didn't like except the ending, doesn't make sense at all. If you haven't seen the movie, stop reading this review as I reveal the ending. Josh hartnet puts the vampires blood into his which is fine because he wants to have their power to fight back at them but that is the problem, he should want to kill all of his friends once he changed fully. He can't be part human and vampire, doesn't make sense. Disappointing, but I love some originallity it had.… Expand

First to Nolan, your comments are totally stupid...I couldnt care less if Barrow was depicted accurately or not...for accurate information I got to an enciclopedia or many other resoruces...for movies I dont expect it...if you do, you need a reality check. The movie is very nice...far from perfect but good and easily the best vamp movie in years.

I am from Alaska and this was horribly inaccurate of Barrow. I hate to think what Barrow people thought of it. I couldn't enjoy the movie because the IDEA of Barrow was so off in not just the big things but the little ones as well. I know it was just a movie, but some reality or just some investigation on Barrow would have made the movie a little better in my eyes. If it had been about maybe Canada or somewhere else in the North that i wasn't familiar with i may have enjoyed it more. Some research does wonders for the modern movie!… Expand

This is one of my favorite movies! It has an entirely different view of vampires and I love its originality. In the cinema they always try to depict vampires to be such haunting, erotic, melancholy souls. I just loved how this one went beyond that boundary and portrayed them as vicious creatures. It is one of the best vampire flicks I have seem in a while. It definitely had me on the edge of my seat! My favorite scene is when the camera does an overhead pan of the town, it captured the chaos, blood and pure madness that these creatures were havocking on the town.… Expand

Worthless movie. Ridiculously inaccurate. Now everyone thinks Barrow has 200 people and is a major oil town. Here's the deal folks- the two oil towns in Alaska are Prudhoe Bay and Valdez. Useless.

This is the scariest movie i have ever seen in my life!!!!! my husband loves it and whenever he watches it my heart starts beating really fast and i feel like i cant breath and i have to leave the room!!!!! but it is the most awesome movie b/c no movie has ever scared me like that and i watch alot of scary movies!!!!!

This was surpisingly good, dark, and scary. I was riveted watching it. Don't know why this movie was deserving of a metacritic 50?

I was extremely frustrated during this movie. They go from day one to day seven and then day eighteen yet nothing changed. It all seemed to be going on during the first night. Terrible story line.... I never even made it to the ending....

I haven't seen a more entertaining vampire movie in a long time. You people who gave it a bad grade, what were you expecting? Sure, it has a lot of gore and blood, but if you don't like that kind of stuff, then it's your fault for not seeing the content descriptions. This movie did a good job of keeping the feeling of the graphic novel, in my opinion. The plot isn't hard to understand, the action is well paced, the acting is pretty good for the horror genre, the script is decent, and of course the vampires are awesome villains. There are some effective camera angles, especially the birds-eye view. The visuals and soundtrack are great. This is one hell of a vampire movie.… Expand

I went to this movie thinking it was going to be terrible...it was. But it was better than expected. Would have been ok if not for the terrible design of the vampires and the screaming. It wasn't scary it was just aggravating.

Basically its another Hollywood psycho splatter movie I wish Hollywood realize that loads of blood and guts are not scary any movie,theres no mystery to this movie theres no psychology theres no timing- they should learn a thing or two from some of the Asian horror I'm so fed up with vampires please do something new and thats actually scary.. very average film.

Overall, a disappointment, but I give it points for portraying vampires as hungry monsters rather than fey poets. It was also nice to see some decent gore. Could have been much better had the characters been developed and the ending changed.

30 Days of Night is exactly what you expect it to be, at least in terms of it's plot

Good concept and creepy title. But then there's more gore than horror and it lacked more suspense than what you would expect from it's title. Still, I think you should watch this movie for it's nice plot and story .

A very stupid movie. nothing interesting here. You basically watch a group of people move here and there hiding from the most stupid looking and acting vampires I've ever seen. They speak a stupid language that just makes them look like idiots. I don't recommend it.

Excellent well paced movie. THe sense of isolation reminded me of "The Thing".

The dark, cold Alaska winter setting is a huge plus and it makes a very atmospheric film. There are some very chilling scenes. The cast is very good. Fast paced, the great score adds to the tension.

Hey man, you got what deserve if you want to see a Vampire movies, don't compare it with Script Oscar winners, just compare it with the other Vampire Movies.....with ALL others vampire movies, and you got one of the finest movies on the genre, its a nice survival and vampire film.

Since the upper-reaches of Alaska is a sparsely populated region, these marauding vampires must be hunting cold climate animals for sustenance, in lieu of human flesh, human blood. Sea lions? Mincemeat. Walruses? Mincemeat. Penguins? Mincemeat. These vampires are so lightning quick, they could probably take down a polar bear. The bloodsucking Popsicles must be starving when they arrive at the outpost in "30 Days of Night", the latest of the new breed of vampire pics that seem closer in spirit to George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" than "Dracula". Some attention must be paid to "30 Days of Night" for trying to establish dread(it establishes tedium instead) with a methodical approach that is admirable, and welcome. "30 Days of Night" is not all sound and fury. The characters act accordingly to their surroundings(again, admirable), but muted behavior and whispered conversations in service of routine plotting and rote dialogue will induce REM sleep, not heart palpitations. Of course, there's violence. Of course, you have to kill in self-defense. But Sheriff Oleson(Josh Hartnett) kills with a little too much exuberance; five hacks with the ax, when four would suffice(the sheriff isn't satisfied until one vampire's head is completely detached), and the little vampire girl gets it real good in the throat. There's also the question as to how these vampires knew that the sun rarely shines in the Arctic. Did they read about it on the Internet?… Expand

Awful film. The worst I've ever seen at the cinema. Terrible acting. Terrible script. Terrible monsters!

It was entertaining to see vampires that were almost believable. The reaction to hide seemed pretty realistic too. The bad guys were uniquely drawn and gave one a sense of hopelessness. The townspeople seemed to belong in the area. Overall I really enjoyed the movie.

The main problem with 30 days of night is that it's a brand new vampire flick trapped in the body of a 30-year old zombie flick. Replace vampires with zombies, add a shopping mall, and you basically have Day of the dead, complete with whiny, predictable characters ( the nervous guy who wants to run for it, the confident leader-type, the nurturing motherly type, the teen with no personality to speak of... the list goes on). Did anyone involved in this movie even bother to read the graphic novel it was based on? We've got the 30 days of night, vampires and that's about where the similarities end. A nice soundtrack, cool vampire language (Romanian perhaps?), nifty camerawork and a not-too horrible Josh Hartnett can't save this movie from the mediocre gore-fest pile. Too bad.… Expand

Like an hysterical woman, 30 Days No Shower, i mean 30 Days of Night doesn't make any sense, doesn't bother explaining what's going on and screams all the friggin time. Worst vampire movie ever. Not scary, annoying.

The movie tried to bring something new to a genre that has produced a lot of bad movies. The concept is brilliant and in the graphic novel this concept worked, but as a movie, it fails in every way.

This has been one of the best survival horror movies with Vampires that has been made within the last 20 years. I went in with low expectations and found that it was actually quite well done and I was really happy that I had gone to see it.

A great soundtrack and some decent visuals are the only positives, and these are overwhelmed by a dreadful script, leaden performances and an utter lack of tension.

Comically bad. seriously. the entire theater started laughing after it was over. I love horror movies and completely understand that they should be taken for what they are. In this case, it's a pile of crap and nothing else.

The start of the film was fab and the story line looked very promising, but was spoiled by the middle and end being slow and unsatisfying. The good points are has lots of gore blood and guts ( Man getting his head hacked off was great!!! ) ( Little girl in shop was freaky!!) Maybe a possibility of a 2nd one????? I hope so.

Loved it. The ending could have been better, but I cant wait for the sequel.

Best vampire movie ever.

Excellent horror film! Direction and story are tight. Photography is top notch and performances fantastic. Most terrifying vampires to appear on screen in years.

This was very well one of the best horror movies I have seen as far as vampires have come into play. It has a different plot and the story captures you and makes you want to know more about the vampires and their motives. The action and the gore make you think that all hope is lost for the town until the very end.

This movie was amazing. It went buy so fast and there were things I did not expect to happen that scared me so much. It was the most amazing vampire movie of all time and its probably because you got to see everything. All the killing and gore was on camera and I loved it. There also wasn't any sex at all which made the movie even more enjoyable. Just non stop violence!!

A fairly Decent horror film, with little horror. like amny horrors nowadays, there is very little actual horror, and mostly some gore and jumps, while this film is not to much on either side (gore or jumpy) and has a nice balance, it still isnt scary. the film is called 30 days of night, now from the title you thought it would be dark, but no its pretty light for night. i found the film made me loose interest at parts when the film mostly repeats the same senario over and over. hide somewhere, decide to make a break for it, loose someone, stay somewhere, hide somewhere, decide to make a break for it, loose someone, stay somewhere, hide somewhere, decide to make a break for it, loose someone, stay somewhere. which made the film that little bit less interesting, another bad point is i don't think the director successfully portrayed the story to be set over 30 days, it felt to me more like the film was set over one day, as everything that happened could have easily just have been done in one day /night besides that, its a fair Vampire film, with little horror, nice balance of jumps and gore, which will suprise you and it even made some people laugh (not me) so for that 6/10.… Expand

This movie is a huge pile of dogs*it. Seriously, its that bad.

When did horror movies quit being scary? Isn't that the point in the whole genre anyway? Like every horror movie that comes out, 30 days of Night is just another assembly line film with no scares and special effects trying to cover for it. The one positive thing is Danny Huston, almost unrecognizable as the head vampire, but that's not enough to make this worth seeing in a theatre- wait for the dvd.… Expand

Movie has no point, no explanations of antagonist.

[***SPOILER***] FOR THOSE WHO DON'T MIND GORE SPOILERS, HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT: 1. Lots of overhead aerial shots of town carnage that look quite "yummy". Blood soaked snow piles everywhere, highly reminiscent of any pictures you've ever seen of the Canadian seal hunts in the arctic. Battered broken bodies seen from high in the air. 2. The absolute best axe decapitation EVER! Imagine taking three hard swings, each one dismembering the head just a little more. Ultra gory and nicely displayed on-screen without any cuts at all! 3. A few slow and crispy dramatic sun incinerations, though this was done in a far superior way in Interview With the Vampire. Remember Kirsten Dunst disintegrating into ash? You'll see that again for the first time in a few years.… Expand

Taken from someone who has seen every horror movie ever made, this was a somewhat decent flick that suffered from a few callous drawbacks. I don't know if any other horror fan feels the same way, but I am so sick and tired of seeing CGI blood spatters. They look horrible -- completely unreal -- and almost black in colour. I am sick of frenetic movie cutting back and forth during action scenes (a la Saw II and III -- for this very reason I won't be seeing Saw IV unless I take my ADHD pills). When I go to the movies, I don't want to watch an episode of the Power Rangers. I want to see what is happening on the screen. The gore scenes in 30 Days of Night are like this too: far too choppy. Don't expect to see anything, especially on today's big digital screens. The best part of the movie, by far, was seeing Josh Hartnett in a new, adult role. I've been very biased against this guy in his other movies, thinking the only reason he was ever hired was because he looked like a young Tommy Lee Jones. He has certainly ascended to a new level. In this movie he is completely likeable and sports a new maturity. Kinda like the way Mark Wahlberg went from being "just another new face" to a truly seasoned actor in only a few years.… Expand

An excellent twist on the hardcore vampire flick. No goth emo wusspires in this one. The horror starts off quick and bleeds out right to the end.

One of best Vampire movies in a long time. Movie had a dark, intense tone missing from most horror films. Very good music score helped set dark mood.

It was a good movie.... but it kind of moved fast at the beginning and the vampires just seemed like smart zombies. other than that it was great, the gore was plentiful, but not over the top.

Tension was high after the introductory phase of the film, keeping me engaged throughout the viewing. The gore was quite welcome, as there haven't been any movies recently which have lived up to the amount advertised. Story was simple but entertaining, to expect a complex plot from a horror/thriller is not proper viewing attitude. The vampires were well done, makeup was terrific and the motion and style was refreshing and realistically terrifying. Characters were believable and easy to bond with. Few, though existent cheesy sequences, but not much to laugh at, a few funny decapitations and such. Excellent film, if you expect an adrenaline filled horror flick, it wasn't intended to be perplexing, romantic, funny, or mentally engaging, going to this expecting what they want to see in other genres is like ripping apart a children's film for not having character development and realism.… Expand

I have a lot of respect for this movie. Even since i saw "the hills have eyes" I had lost my respect for horror movies. It just seemed that horror movies had lost all of their style and substance. There was gore in this movie but it wasn't sprayed or gushed at every possible second that is unless one of the easily liked characters or easily hated monsters spills it. The fresh plot and setting, are what set this horror flick apart from other gore-fests and monster movies of today. Go See It!… Expand

It was all too heavy, quite un-inspired, rather dull and painfully predictable. But it was decently acted; mood had its occasional creepiness; pacing was fine, editing somewhat overworked to hide a shallow plot. I especially liked the setting of the film (hence the title) and the director's shooting style.

This movie is kind of interesting in the beginning, but it gets repetitive and boring towards the middle and end. The ending was a joke. Some parts of the movies had me saying "Oh wow" of how unreal it is. A man lights dynamite right in front of him and it blows up and hes not dead or on fire. Even in cartoons they turn black from the burns. Anyways, the story could have been delivered better and the best actors were the vampires who didn't speak English. If it had better acting, I might have given it two more points.… Expand

Just watched it, glad I didn't pay to see it in theaters.

This movie was laughable and scary. I was ready to walk out after the first 5 minutes. The acting was grade D. There was a Tea Leoni look alike and act alike. Next time, they need to sew her upper lip to her bottom lip. The vampires do not know how to ration food nor bathe. Wait for video.

Strays in some strange ways from the comic, but over all good if you have the patience for it.

A horror comedy. Very one note, but thats vampire slayings. The theatre I was in had one scream and more laughs. It wasn't scary, I didn't jump at all. Quiet a few people left early, and god knows how that guy (human) survived over 10 dynamite sticks at his feet blowing up, and not even being on fire. Strange. I wouldn't recommend you watch the movie in Theatre's, let alone rent the DVD. Maybe watch it on TV if you're bored.… Expand

For a vampire movie, it was all right. I say go see it!

I completely agree with Asian S... The movie was great and entertaining but then the end felt pushed and not really thought out... They definitely could have done something cooler or more clever with how it ends for sure.

This is a pretty solid updating of the vampire genre carried along mostly on the very clever idea of the bloodsuckers making themselves at home in a small American town that just happens to have 30 days of night every year. The vampires are scary in the kind of jittery, fast-moving undead thingy that's gotten popular since the genre-busting 28 Days Later a few years ago. (Spoiler alert!) There are some holes in the plot that you can drive a truck through. It's hard to imagine that an entire town would disappear off the map for a month and nobody would bother to check it out. But you know, it's a damned (ha!) horror movie. I remember years ago watching the Lovecraftian ReAnimator and a moron in the audience, three-quarters of the way into a completely silly movie filled with undead cats, undead-living sex scenes, and similar over-the-top moments, loudly objecting to the fact that a beheaded bad guy was having a conversation. "Heads Can't Talk," the moron insisted. My point is that horror movies have their own logic and if they're scary, that's what we paid for. And 30 Days of Night is scary.… Expand

Someone working for this film did something to make someone influential very mad. The film is being unjustly blackballed in the reviews. It is a horror movie, with vampires. It is just about on par with The Descent. Complaining about lack of character development? Stop whining; I don't remember anyone watching Dracula, Halloween, Alien, or really any other horror movie for character development. And for the comment about people laughing at the ending? Oh well, too bad, the ending was fine. Actually, I thought Hartnett did a pretty good job with the acting. And you actually don't see the monster right off, which is a step in the right direction. This actually is the best horror movie I have seen since the Descent and I go to them all...So what I really want to know is why the blackballing campaign? It is a solid horror movie that deserves much better reviews that it is getting.… Expand

This was without a doubt the best Vampire film since "The Lost Boys". It was all round an very well done film, until the ending witch was very cliched. Otherwise, i'm going to have to highly suggest to this film to anyone who enjoys a good horror film.. Without a doubt one of the best horror flicks in years.