30 Days of Night

30 Days of Night brings Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith's graphic novel to the screen. Even though there is their fair share of horror movie standards, 30 Days of Night does have original plot and visual aspects.

Sheriff Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnett) prepares the town Barrows, Alaska for its annual thirty straight days of night. Unfortunately for the residents who stay behind to sit through the darkness, a coven of vampires have figured out they could have one month of free reign over the town; feasting until their vampirey stomachs are full. Sheriff Oleson has to protect the people who have found their way into his charge, including his ex-wife, Stella (Melissa George).

Ok, ok, I'll admit right out of the gate, I love horror movies. Even my adoration couldn't sway my expectations any lower. Josh Hartnett, graphic novel rip off, vampires, Alaska, seemed like mixing orange juice and peppermint ice-cream. Much to my surprise, it was more like cottage cheese and salsa; sounds gross until you taste it.

My problem with most horror movies where there is an alpha male lead is they always turn into an irrational bad ass and the women into mindless boob carriers. 30 Days of Night could be the first horror movie with superhuman bad guys I've seen with a physically strong male lead and mentally strong leading lady that don't lose their minds and fall into those clichés. Hell even the vampires don't suffer from being entirely run of the mill.

Now, don't get me wrong, this won't be a movie that redefines the genre or anything. The vampires are mostly standard fare. They even speak their own stupid language, which sounds like a bastardized Swahili. What really annoyed me about the vampires was the head shaking like they were having seizures while they were feeding. They must have super healing powers to recover from the whiplash. Most of the time, though, they were pretty fun.