Why "30 Days of Night" Doesn't Work

Let me offer a two disclaimers before posting about "30 Days of Night." Disclaimer 1 - I am not a movie critic. I took one graduate-level film class and I think one of the best movies ever made was "The Breakfast Club." Disclaimer 2 - I offer this "spoiler alert" in case you haven't seen the movie.

I love the vampire myth, but "30 Days of Night" for all its gore, quick pace, and good intentions just doesn't work. Director David Slade's foray into the vampire film genre lacks the one element that makes any film work - that we care about the characters. Unfortunately "30 Days of Night" doesn't work because it doesn't make us sufficiently care - either for the humans or the vampires.

Based on the mini-series comic written by Steve Niles and illustrated by Ben Templesmith (IDW Publishing), the story is set in Barrow, Alaska, an isolated town so far North there exists a period of darkness lasting 30 days. The vampires are led by "the master" (Danny Huston), named Vicente in the mini-series but, I believe, unnamed in the film, to Barrow to feed unencumbered by bothersome daylight and the need to sleep. Married sheriffs Eban and Stella, in the middle of an impending divorce, are left to calm the terrified and confused townspeople, at least the few who make it past the first day.

While movie critics may get the benefit of privately screening a film, we did not. The over-the-top gore and violence, coupled with the fact that the vampires were presented as "outsiders" or "foreigners" that did not even speak an understandable language but some guttural, clucking tongue, caused laughter from the audience in inappropriate moments. We are so far removed from anything resembling humanity in the vampires that we have no connection to them, hence we can barely care if Eban, Stella and the townspeople survive.

"30 Days of Night" suffers, likewise, from some classic horror film pit falls. When dealing with extended periods of time, your actors should appear to have been ravaged, have suffered, have dwindled down to mere shells of themselves (think 28 Days Later). These folks look very good for having little food, ability to bathe, shave, groom themselves and being hunted by vampires that seem to be incredibly ineffective at tracking humans. It's a small town with few places to hide and they have 30 days to find them. Time itself seems to pass without much fanfare or interruption. We move swiftly from day 7 to day 18 to day 27. In the last moments, when we think Eban will make it, he makes the ultimate sacrifice by shooting up with vampire blood to have vampiric strength the fight off "the master." Only to have the vampires disappear into thin air before daylight a few moments later - a total let down and cop out plot wise.

When it comes down toit, it's not as if it's a bad movie - Underworld is a bad movie. It's a good movie that could have been great, could have worked on a much higher level had Slade spent less time grossing us out and more time with character engagement.