The preview for 30 Days of Night promised a new-take on the vampire. What I saw was simply all the character and personality that make vampires interesting, taken away; leaving a screeching and hissing animal that doesn't seem to drink blood so-much-as play in it. I really don't think this is an advancement on Vampires in the way people say 28 Days Later was an advancement on zombies. (Though running and even smart zombies were first featured in Return of the Living Dead, I believe.) They essentially dumbed the Vampire down, and believe me, these vampires were dumb.
The vampires seem very incompetent. Sure, we're talking about more savage like vampires, but they can talk to in three languages (*Something I didn't recognize, English, and Screech: which involves making high-pitched noises and jolting of the head), they knew how to dress themselves, and they understood the concept of doors, cell phones, sled-dogs, and electricity, yet, when it came to hunting humans, they never thought to just look under a car or building. And, they're supposed to be super-strong, high-jumping, deadly fingernail-wielding mofo's, but someone with an ax can tear them apart, literally! Then, when the town is down from it's 153 population to about..uh 8 or something, the vampires only attack one at a time. So every time a vampire finds their hideout, it's just one..odd, don't you think?
The tension and consistency of danger are fumbled and lost. At the beginning of the movie, the vampires could be any where and every where. But by the end, people could walk on the street, kill a vampire in the most noisy way possible and not attract attention, or even look at a vampire face-to-face (within 20 feet) and then just run away to safety. And, as I mentioned before, they had a very lame habit of attacking one at a time.
But despite the silliness of the film, the only truly unbearable quality was the lack of plot and total boredom this movie provides. The movie claims to be 30 days of night, and it really is just 30 days of night..with a bunch of vampires eating people. There were about three or four attempts at depth and plot, but nothing is really developed or even that interesting. In reality, I would have enjoyed the film more if it were just a silent film, because there really wasn't a single line of dialogue that was truly worth saying. The sudden time advancement also pulled away from the whole "Oh no, we're in-danger" feeling because at one moment everyone would be afraid their sanctuary would be discovered, then it's suddenly 7 days later or 20 days later without incident.
The two things that I legitimately enjoyed about the film featured an overhead camera angle that showed the massacre in full-effect and a rather desperate scene involving a vampire of the smaller persuasion. But two spurts of entertainment couldn't make me sit through this snorror film again. I emphasize that silent horror films really had something, because only two things truly matter in a simple film like this: gore and people looking scared. But as scared as the characters are, it's going to take more than loud noises and stupid prosthetic teeth to make me afraid to be alone at night.
