30 Days of Night

Name: 30 Days of Night
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Released: October 19, 2007
Duration: 113 min
Rating: 53
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George

2007

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 448 Ratings

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8.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 448 Ratings

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30 Days Of Night

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Movie Details & Credits

Sony Pictures Releasing | Release Date: October 19, 2007 | R

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George

Summary: For 30 days every winter, the isolated town of Barrow, Alaska is plunged into a state of complete darkness. It's a bitter time when most of the inhabitants head south. This winter, a mysterious group of strangers appear: bloodthirsty vampires, ready to take advantage of the uninterrupted darkness to feed on the residents remaining in town.For 30 days every winter, the isolated town of Barrow, Alaska is plunged into a state of complete darkness. It's a bitter time when most of the inhabitants head south. This winter, a mysterious group of strangers appear: bloodthirsty vampires, ready to take advantage of the uninterrupted darkness to feed on the residents remaining in town. Barrow's Sheriff Eben, his estranged wife Stella, and an ever-shrinking group of survivors must do anything they can to last until daylight. (Columbia Pictures)… Expand

Director: David Slade

Genre(s): Thriller, Horror

Rating: R

Runtime: 113 min

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Critic Reviews

Pete Vonder Haar

Decent vampire movies are few and far between, and I’m having a hard time remembering a recent one that impressed me like 30 Days of Night. Read full review

James Berardinelli

Works on its own terms, which is more than can be said of most horror films these days. If this is the kind of movie you're looking for, it delivers. Read full review

Tirdad Derakhshani

It's a bloodsucker's paradise. Read full review

Connie Ogle

Based on a graphic novel, 30 Days of Night opens with a premise so promising it seems almost impossible to screw up. Read full review

Andy Spletzer

With such a good concept for a vampire movie, it's hard to believe it turned out to be this boring. Read full review

Dennis Harvey

Excels at bloodthirsty action, though dialogue and human-interest aspects are a tad anemic. Result is a mixed bag but has a catchy premise and quite enough splatter to satisfy gorehounds. Read full review

Kyle Smith

The movie approaches the final scene with a straight face, but it left the audience giggling spasmodically. This script probably should have gone all the way and thrown in a few quips: If your movie is a joke, at least be intentionally funny. Read full review

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User Reviews

Lambo442

Aug 22, 2011

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,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

44 of 46 users found this helpful442

Lauren

Apr 9, 2008

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 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

0 of 0 users found this helpful

KentC.

Mar 8, 2008

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 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

0 of 0 users found this helpful

TheFilmDoctor

Mar 22, 2016

It's a pleasant change of pace to get a vampire movie where the bloodsuckers are allowed to be monsters. You know what I'm talking about - no more of this brooding, tortured soul **** The undead here are hardcore killers, ripping apart their victims' throats then walking around with theIt's a pleasant change of pace to get a vampire movie where the bloodsuckers are allowed to be monsters. You know what I'm talking about - no more of this brooding, tortured soul **** The undead here are hardcore killers, ripping apart their victims' throats then walking around with the blood caked all over their faces. Even Dracula wasn't this cold-blooded. Too often of late, motion pictures have defanged their vampires, turning them into whiney, pseudo-romantic figures. That's not a mistake made by director David Slade. Finally - a modern vampire movie where audiences sympathize with the victims rather than their attackers. If you think these creature are sexy, you need therapy.

The setting is Barrow, Alaska - the northernmost outpost of the United States - on the eve of the annual month without sunlight. Barrow doesn't have a large population during the summer but, when the sun goes down for the long, cold night, only the hardiest souls - about 150 of them - stick around. By the end of 30 Days of Night, most of them will wish they had followed the birds and flown south. Vampires have come to Barrow this winter with the dual goal of feeding and eliminating witnesses. Their initial attack is swift and brutal. Within a day, most of the town's citizens have become fodder. A small group of survivors, led by the sheriff, Eben (Josh Hartnett), and his estranged wife, Stelle (Melissa George), fight to survive, moving from place-to-place while occasionally dispatching a vampire if it gets too close. In Halloween, Dr. Loomis uttered the refrain that "death has come to your little town." That's an appropriate phrase for Barrow in 30 Days of Night.

The premise - providing vampires with a month of sun-free opportunity to wreck havoc - is clever and, if it's not fully realized, at least enough is done with it for 30 Days of Night to represent two hours of solid, gory entertainment. This isn't one of those neutered PG-13 horror movies. There's enough blood and viscera coating the screen to earn the R-rating without things tipping the scales into the "torture porn" category. In many ways, what Slade has wrought here is reminiscent of an amped-up version of a Hammer vampire movie. In fact, Danny Huston alternates between channeling Christopher Lee and Max Schreck.

Most vampire movies have their own "rules," and that applies here, where there are variations on a theme. There's no religious iconography and, while a wooden stake driven through the heart might make an impression, it's never tried. The way to eliminate a vampire is to sever the spinal cord or destroy the brain. Hence, the most effective weapon is an axe. Bullets only work if fired directly into the head. Humans killed by vampires will transform if given the chance. However, the undead are jealous of their status and prefer to decapitate their victims before the transformation can occur rather than growing the ranks. Sunlight is fatal but holy water probably isn't. 30 Days of Night also doesn't provide a clue whether garlic does anything more substantive than causing bad breath.

The movie, which is based on comic book, is set up more as an action thriller than a straightforward horror movie. Slade, whose previous feature, Hard Candy, touched on a horror of a different sort, establishes the framework largely as that of an extended chase. There are some "boo!" moments but those are largely beside the point. 30 Days of Night is more interested in getting the adrenaline flowing than in scaring viewers, although Huston's grim goth lord is pretty freaky. (This is arguably the most convincing portrayal Huston has ever given.)

Viewers have come to expect a lot visually from comic book adaptations, and 30 Days of Night delivers. There's nothing here as radical or groundbreaking as can be found in the likes of Sin City or 300, but Slade crafts a number of scenes that stand out. Perhaps the most indelible of these is an overhead shot of Barrow as the vampires hunt down and dispatch humans. The final scene is also effective in the way it marries beauty and horror.

One aspect of 30 Days of Night that's refreshing is that it doesn't require the survivors to have undergone frontal lobotomies in order to move the story forward. Yes, characters occasionally do stupid things, but they're not unreasonably stupid and they don't force members of the audience to fight against the suspension of disbelief gag reflex. I'm not going to claim that the screenplay is either airtight or brilliant, but it is smarter than the average genre entry, and that's a big plus. 30 Days of Night works on its own terms, which is more than can be said of most horror films these days. If this is the kind of movie you're looking for, it delivers.… Expand

1 of 7 users found this helpful16

kublay0880

Dec 10, 2012

The movie has very cliched type of characters, but at the same time it's a different vampire perspective, as well as the location, overall I think that the whole idea was not properly exploded, you are in Alaska! surprise us with something that it hasn't been seen! you can have a fewThe movie has very cliched type of characters, but at the same time it's a different vampire perspective, as well as the location, overall I think that the whole idea was not properly exploded, you are in Alaska! surprise us with something that it hasn't been seen! you can have a few minutes of fun with this movie.… Expand

0 of 17 users found this helpful017

JadaG.

Oct 22, 2007

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.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

franty1977

Nov 29, 2007

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.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

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49	#49 Most Discussed Movie of 2007
35	#35 Most Shared Movie of 2007