30 Days of Night or "What Twilight Should Really Have Been Like"

When you were a kid you feared the dark. What seemed safe and cheery turned into something evil and menacing once the lights went out, every little bump and creak was that boogeyman in the closet coming out to get you and drag you away. How many of us turned that light off and made the running leap into the bed so the monster under there couldn't reach out and grab your ankles and pull you into the black, inky swirl that existed under there? We all knew you could cover yourself with the sheets and the monsters couldn't get you as long as you were under them.
    
Enter Steve Nile's 30 Days of night...this is not the typical vampire film we have had for our mainstay for the last 5-10 years. This story at it's time was something different than most of the vampire fare we had been getting. This is a balls to the wall, no doubt about it, straight up horror film. No tortured emo whining, no frilly puffy shirts, and these vampires do not in ANY way sparkle!
But more on that later.............   

 

Set in Barrow, Alaska, one of the few cities that get a month of little to no sun for an entire month in winter. The opening of the movie has a lone man trekking thru the snow, after what appears to be, rowing to shore from a tanker anchored off in the bay. We spend a couple of minutes watching his slough his way thru deep snow until he ends at the top of a hill overlooking Barrow. This is one of my favorites sections, visually, of the movie. As the camera tracks him it switches between long shots and close ups of his face, you never get a good look as to who he is until later in the movie. 

 

The next few scenes of the movie follow Eben (Josh Hartnett) ,the sheriff, and Billy (Manu Bennett), his deputy, as they try to prep the last few things before sunset. This routine is interrupted by some strange instances. The first being what appears to be a large mound of satellite phones that was burned, which they questions since if they were stolen most people would sell them, not burn them. They continue on with their duties, While we find more out about the characters through Eben and Billy's back and forth, including that all might not be well with Eben and Stella (Melissa George), his wife. The last thing the pair do before heading back to town is change the population on the city sign from 563 to 152 to reflect how many people stayed behind for the longest night of the year. ( Now for those score keepers out there pay attention to this number).

 

Basically from here things rapidly head downhill. Our mysterious stranger proceeds to kill every sled dog in town, someone disables the only helicopter by ripping it's blades and throttle off and throwing them in the Utilidor's giant crusher. These things seem to have no connection, but when you slow down and think about it the satellite phones are gone, the copter is gone,and the dogs are dead. Basically, this town is little by little being cut off from the outside...::insert dramatic creepy music here:: Finally our "Renfield" is caught and put in jail, and shortly after the computers, phones and electricity are taken out.

 

Enter the vampires. Now these are your touchy feely, sparkly, "I'm so tortured" vampires.

These are "I will f' you up for fun and then eat you", scary, toothy, evil S.O.B. vampires.

Basically take a shark, give it legs, and intelligence and there you go. Right about here this lovely little band or bloodsuckers proceeds to slaughter the town. And unlike most vampire films it's not sexy, and it's not to make more vamps. In fact Marlow (Danny Huston) gives specific instructions to remove the heads from the body so no one turns.After the initial massacre only a few people are left, including "Renfield" (Ben Foster) locked up in a cell. Of course he believes he is going to be "turned"as a reward, but since he was found out and captured Marlow decides to change the deal.

At this point we end up with just a few of our citizens left, and the vamps start to become a little more creative in their hunting.

 

After this, the movie becomes a little predictable, don't get me wrong that's not a bad thing, but most movies of this kind will work their way down to the inevitable showdown. The vampires know the buffet is coming to an end, as tomorrow the sun will come back up, so they decide to flood the town with oil from the nearby pipeline and burn the whole place to the ground. Eben figures out that the only way to end this is turn himself into one of the monsters, so injecting blood from a dead vamp into his arm he heads out to confront Marlow. After solidly getting his ass handed to him, Eben looks like he is down for the count, Marlow being the cocky creature he is leaps at Eben to deal the killing blow only to get Eben's fist planted solidly in his face.....thru the back of his head. I personally love this scene just for the looks on the remaining vamps' faces....a true "Oh shit!" look. Needless to say as Eben has proven himself as the alpha male the rest of the vamps.

 

This brings us to the end...and here we go scorekeepers...told you I wouldn't forget about you. We have a total of 5 survivors, not including Vampire Eben. Remember that number I told you to watch at the beginning...152? This means we had a body count of 147...THAT my friends is an impressive number by horror movie standards.

 

The last scene is a touching one. The sun is rising, and Eben knows there is only one solution to his new condition. Stella and Eben sit on the ridge where they spent their first date and watch as the sun comes up and Eben turns to ash.

 

 

 

So all in all, really enjoyed this film. It grabs you from the first shots, of that stark whiteness, to the last shot was the sun comes up. This is not your upbeat, happy, go- lucky film. It is dark, tense, and sometimes downright depressing. This film explores relationships, love, hate, community, the general theme of "what would you do" when it comes down to your well-being vs. the well being of the community. If you have not seen this film I would recommend that you go out and watch it now. If you REALLY enjoy it then run out and get either the graphic novels or the novels, hell get both, they are worth the read.

 

30 Days of Night-

Written by Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie, and Brian Nelson 

Directed by David Slade

Produced by Sam Raimi

Starring Josh Hartnett, Mellisa George, and Danny Huston

Rated R

Run time: 113 minutes

 

Now as a special treat for those of you who like to eat while you watch a movie here is a suggestion to keep in the theme of the movie:





 

Steak Bites With Bloody Mary Dipping Sauce

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup vodka
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
1 cup tomato sauce
1 rounded tablespoon prepared horseradish
Salt and pepper
1 1/3 pounds beef sirloin cut into large bite-sized pieces, 1 by 2 inches
Steak seasoning blend or coarse salt and black pepper
6 to 8 inch bamboo skewers
Directions

1. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add oil and onions and saute 5 minutes.
2. Add vodka and reduce by 1/2.
3. Add Worcestershire, hot sauce, tomato sauce and horseradish. Stir to combine the dipping sauce and return the sauce to a bubble. Add salt and pepper and adjust seasonings.
4. Heat nonstick skillet over high heat. Coat meat bites lightly in oil. Season with steak seasoning blend or salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Cook the meat until caramelized all over, about 2 minutes on each side.
6. Transfer dipping sauce to a small dish and place at the center of a serving platter. Surround the dip with meat bites and set several bamboo "stakes" or skewers along side meat.

Serves 6.





 

 

 

 Hope you enjoyed the first "Main Attraction", hope to have about two of these, at least, per month, as well as many "Mini-Reels" throughout the month as well. The "Minis" will be  reviews but more of a kamikaze in and out, one and done type of thing. Thanks for joining me and hope to see you next time!