“30 Days of Night” was a bittersweet experience for me. It’s well shot, well acted, and has some great violence, but there’s something missing that I can’t put my finger on. But before I get into that let me tell you about the film. Based on the same-titled graphic novel, “30 Days of Night” takes place in Alaska’s northernmost town of Barrow. Once a year, the sun goes down for 30 days and nights, leaving the town in darkness. More than 2/3rds of the town’s population leaves during this period while the others wait it out. Only this time, a group of vampires have decided to trek into Barrow to exploit this sunless month for all the human blood they can get. Eben (Josh Hartnett), the town sheriff and his estranged wife huddle the survivors together to fend themselves from the bloodsucker’s relentless attacks which will end in 30 days when the sun comes up.

Okay, so...this movie isn’t bad. Not at all. I dig the vampires and their look. Danny Huston plays a really fucking great role as the lead vampire. There are some excellent fight scenes, some gory as hell scenes, and some “you go girl!” scenes. (Am I the only one who still yells that during movies?) But when those aforementioned scenes aren’t happening, the film feels a tad bland. The film feels like it takes place in one night, even with the editing at hand, yet it is supposed to span over 30 days. There’s the moment that every zombie/werewolf/vampire movie has to have where someone says “kill me before I change,” and there are a few cheesy moments (namely the little vampire girl saying “do you wanna play with me?”).

Regardless, the vampires look excellent, constantly walking around shrieking while covered with frozen blood. There are some great special effects moments at hand, mainly involving the use of an axe, and the final battle has one of those epic “Terminator 2” or “Kickboxer” vibes going on. Hartnett is great as always and really makes the film a lot better with his presence. The atmosphere and feeling of isolation are used well and give the film a good advantage for cinematography and palettes which are used to near perfection.

In the end, there’s still something missing from the film. I don’t know if it’s due to the movie not exceeding the expectations that have been garnered over the past year or if there are just too many little moments that take away from what it could’ve been. In any case, it’s definitely worth a watch. In a time where vampires aren’t that scary anymore, it’s nice to see a fresh take on the creatures and their behavior. But let’s be honest, this ain’t no “Dracula: Dead and Loving It!” am I right??

The Hidden Message: ..R…right?...anyone?