30 Days of Night

[wonkabar]

Well, like I said....if you're into vampires that act like retards, or I don't know, trying to do that "scary-smile" crap... like the Joker or ALIEN or some shit... drooling like morons the whole damn way through....then this flick is for you. It's so been there, done that. Really boring

[junesquad]

Thanks for saving me some potentially wasted time. I'll be sure to veer clear of the movie.

[burlivesleftnut]

The movie isn't boring, imo. Thing is, despite the lame vampires, there is a great storie there. I wish it had been less aimless, but it was still well done.

[Fried Gold]

I liked it quite a bit. It was not boring.

The only two things that bothered me were 1) the sound design/mix/somethingorother and 2) the ending, sort of...

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

I liked it quite a bit. It was not boring.

Yes, but a your abject devotion to a the Heroes, she makes a your opinions alla suspect, eh?

[burlivesleftnut]

But no less valid. Stop being a fucking fan-dork.

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

But no less valid. Stop being a fucking fan-dork.

Two words, eh?

Fantastic. Four.

FANTASTIC FOUR, BURL!!!

[burlivesleftnut]

Osnap, you got me. The way you hold that DIFFERING OPINION inna front of my face. God, the fact that I liked the first Fantastic Four indicates that I must not ever have any valid opinion ever again! Damn, you really got me.

/whatevr

Oh and ONE word:

MANDINGO.

Suck on that, you old guinea fuck.

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

God, the fact that I liked the first Fantastic Four indicates that I must not ever have any valid opinion ever again!

That... anna the fact that I wasted 3 hours of a the little time I have left onna reading "The Ruins" based onna your recommendation, eh?

Suck on that, you old guinea fuck.

I may a be old, eh? Whereas a you, you are a the misanthrope, anna tomorrow, you will a still a be a the misanthrope whereas I, the Dino, will a be... prolly dead.

Goddamn.

[burlivesleftnut]

Dude whatever. The Ruins was awesome. I want one of those plants.

[The Vicar]

SPOILER FILLED VENTING AHEAD



For vampires, they sure were a sloppy bunch of asshats.
I thought vamps were supposed to drink blood, not wear it or leave it all over the snow.
They were like slobbering drunks who leave most of their drink on the floor.

Where in hell could these jerks have come from? Vampires were dangerous because they could walk among us, looked like us.
Unless these clowns took a freighter from a country filled with side show performers, they couldn't pass unnoticed anywhere.
Maybe LA.

I'd read plenty of dumb assed reviews remarking on one scene in particular: the girl walking through the town crying for help.
Read words to the effect of " if vampires over-run your town, be sure to walk down the middle of the street yelling for help...".
Apparently they weren't paying any fucking attention to the fact that the vamps were using her as bait...and when she got to the end of the street she TELLS the vamps "I tried...they're all dead."

And why wasn't the blood on any of the vamps frozen? They should have been covered with bloody ice....they weren't.

I thought the vamps having their own language made some sense - until they used it to spout brainless dialog. It might have been better if the vamps had no dialog at all. They never said anything worth shit anyway.

The scene, shot from overhead, of the carnage going down was pretty cool - blossoms of (wasted) blood, gunfire, some nice open field tackling by the vamps.

The whole 150 odd townspeople did little or no damage to the marauding vamps, but the Grizzly Adams character, all by his lonesome, splashed a goodly number of wanks by beheading them with a shot gun and some inspired use of earth moving equipment.
Should have put HIM in charge.

The sheriff's wife was hawt.

How in fuck did Renfield get everyone's cell phone?
That left me meshuggna.

Seriously, who the fuck was he - David Copperfield?

A lot of pretty good moments that worked, some that were weaker, and the vamps themselves just, at times, laughable.

Maybe an 80% successful effort that could have, should have been so much more.

Compared to some of the other recent entries into the horror genre, this was an improvement.
Still, a wasted opportunity.

[Mrs McClane]

I saw this recently and I wasn't a fan. IMO, as a graphic novel it works well but on film I think it lost a lot. It lacked tension and was pretty dull. The end bothered me too. I couldn't get to like any of the characters so when/if they died I wasn't affected by it and I lost interest pretty quickly in them trying to survive. Near the end I was just wanting them all to die so I could go home. The effects were good in parts but that's the only good thing I have to say about it tbh.

[The Vicar]

I saw this recently and I wasn't a fan. IMO, as a graphic novel it works well but on film I think it lost a lot. It lacked tension and was pretty dull. The end bothered me too. I couldn't get to like any of the characters so when/if they died I wasn't affected by it and I lost interest pretty quickly in them trying to survive. Near the end I was just wanting them all to die so I could go home. The effects were good in parts but that's the only good thing I have to say about it tbh.

The only person I wanted to make it was the sheriff's wife.
Grrrr.
And the "fight" was pretty weak.

[wonkabar]

And the "Alien-smile" really started pissing me off.

You know the one....the "look at me I'm really, really evil. Look at my big scary teeth... it looks like a big scary-evil-smile!"...and they kinda tilt their head back and forth while they do it....like a fuckin dog after you blow a whistle or make a high-pitched fart-sound with your lips.

Assholes

[The Vicar]

Word that.

[Mrs McClane]

And the "Alien-smile" really started pissing me off.

You know the one....the "look at me I'm really, really evil. Look at my big scary teeth... it looks like a big scary-evil-smile!"...and they kinda tilt their head back and forth while they do it....like a fuckin dog after you blow a whistle or make a high-pitched fart-sound with your lips.

Assholes

Yeah, exactly. The smile was, at first, sinister looking but as you said, it was on screen far too much. They showed too much of them in general. There was no mystery surrounding them. It made them less scary, well not scary at all actually.

[wonkabar]

Holy crap this review nails it! My thoughts exactly on every count. He even mentioned "retard-vampires" but missed the "alien-smile" ...oh well.

Man. I wish I'd read it before seeing....I'm so hard-core about avoiding spoilers these days though. I SO wanted to like 30DON

Well, maybe this will help someone else. Seriously, don't even rent it...wait for HBO or something.

[Mrs McClane]

Holy crap this review nails it! My thoughts exactly on every count. He even mentioned "retard-vampires" but missed the "alien-smile" ...oh well.

Man. I wish I'd read it before seeing....I'm so hard-core about avoiding spoilers these days though. I SO wanted to like 30DON

Well, maybe this will help someone else. Seriously, don't even rent it...wait for HBO or something.

That is pretty much, exactly what we've said. Good find!

[RogueScribner]

Wow, after reading that review I'm surprised the movie made any money at all.

[Pacino86845]

Where does one begin when discussing 30 Days of Night? It's a complete failure on almost every level... I think its only saving grace may be Josh Hartnett. Ok he's not the best actor out there, but how does he always get involved with these horrible projects? It's like his agent is out to get him.

Anyway, the film can also serve as a textbook example of what NOT to do in case you were interested in making your own horror film with few means at your disposal. Right at the forefront we have an illiteracy of the visual language, and this is nicely paired with an embarrassed editing, desperately trying to hide just how shoddy all the action is.

ALF vampires? Yes, ALF vampires.

Imagine a b-movie without the charm, passion or sincerity in filmmaking.

2/10

[travis-dane]

SUNSHINE movie review
just kiddin'

Whats left to be said about 30 days.....
Looks like not much,so I go through some thoughts....

Josh Hartnet does a good job(The beheading of his deputy stands out,
a great moment,gore and acting wise...)

The Vampire language "sucked",whats the point?....
But the Vampires were nicely done,BUT the "Evil" grin was a little overused....

The last few shots are a rip off of BLADEII(thats a fucking GREAT Vampire movie)

The Movie was to LONG,almost TWO hours?Come on,after 90 minutes I thought,how long can they drag this thing on....

Giving up a "save" hideout is always dumb....

So all in all I give 30 Days of Night.....


2 of 5 Vampire Stars.

[AtomicHyperbole]

I'm going to be a total contrarian bastard on this one.

I liked it.

No, wait, I REALLY liked it.

I honestly couldn't quite see what peoples problems were with it, from reviewers down to some of those opinions written here. It's a solid horror and the vampires were a nice, original take which I don't really remember seeing before. They reminded me a touch of The Salem's lot TV adapation lot - it's nice seeing a fresh reinvention. I didn't get that they were ALF at all... just that they were beasts more than humans, with interest only in lining their stomachs.

They didn't need intimate backstories, their nature was purely to kill. They don't need to think because their prey is so weak. Even though they'd obviously been together as a group for a while and had some kind of relationship to eachother, the passing of another wasn't a great deal. They were hungry animals and accepted themselves as that - which is why the lead vampire probably looked down on humans as much as he did... in fact their sheer bloody-mindedness actually made me shudder. The grin was just how they looked... I don't know, I just disagree. I thought it made an effective change from the usual stuff that's been around since... oh, forever...

Anyhow, totally digressing. For the most part the cinematography is incredibly beautiful. Extraordinarily well shot and effective at conveying the feeling of this open yet entirely closed-off environment, the small habitation in an icy wasteland hasn't been as effectively captured in a horror since The Thing. OK, it's no way NEAR on the same level as that classic - don't get me wrong - but it's got a kind of classic Carpenter thing to it. The frenzied mob with barely any dialogue and extremely nice gore effects place it more in the region of Prince of Darkness, minus Alice Cooper. Also gets plus points for the fantastic opening... never has the atypical vampire arrival been done so well, with a wonderful nod to Dracula in the bleak grey ship sitting in the frozen bay.

The acting was otherwise pretty solid, the script could probably have worked some of the ideas far better (man, who was hoping for a scene where THEY choose to kill the old man?)... and true, the timing of the film was inconsistent, or at least felt so. I could imagine that there was ample opportunity to expand the every day life in between the main events and make much more of an interesting idea, for sure. Make the movement between hideouts feel more urgent as food runs out, vampires ransack the houses nearby... just do a little more with the idea.

But for all its faults, I do genuinely get the feeling it was made with some real care and attention, and in these days when Hollywood seems to throw out ANY old shit as horror, from pathetic gore-soaked torture-porn through to ill-advised remakes of foreign classics (nope, using the original director does NOT get you bonus points), it should at least be commended for trying.

8/10 for me. You guys are a tough audience!

(then again I've been defending The Mist a shitload from some other peeps elsewhere on the 'net... that film is no way near as loved here as it is elsewhere)

[AtomicHyperbole]

I liked it. No, not perfect. Any time Danny Huston is cast in anything it automatically means the movie is going to have some major shitty acting from atleast one character. But overall, I liked it. There are some nice kills, and some gore that made me think, "oh cool I can't believe they just did that." I do agree that the vampires are fucking stupid. All the hissing became a joke, but I did appreciate that they were otherworldly enough that it took ALOT to take one down.

Anyway, way above average horror film for me. The direction, cinematography is all aces. Most of the acting is okay. The script is a tad weak, and the plotting leaves ALOT to be desired, but atleast it tries harder than say Halloween, Friday the 13th, or any number of slasher films.

The only other crime I can cite is that Ben Foster is kind of wasted.

Oh I see Burl already went there.

/hugs Burl

(ooh I just remebered after reading Pacino's bit... I do remember like one or two REAL nasty line crosses... tut tut, Mr Director)

[papalazeru]

I liked it. No, not perfect. Any time Danny Huston is cast in anything it automatically means the movie is going to have some major shitty acting from atleast one character. But overall, I liked it. There are some nice kills, and some gore that made me think, "oh cool I can't believe they just did that." I do agree that the vampires are fucking stupid. All the hissing became a joke, but I did appreciate that they were otherworldly enough that it took ALOT to take one down.

Anyway, way above average horror film for me. The direction, cinematography is all aces. Most of the acting is okay. The script is a tad weak, and the plotting leaves ALOT to be desired, but atleast it tries harder than say Halloween, Friday the 13th, or any number of slasher films.

The only other crime I can cite is that Ben Foster is kind of wasted.

Oh I see Burl already went there.

/hugs Burl

(ooh I just remebered after reading Pacino's bit... I do remember like one or two REAL nasty line crosses... tut tut, Mr Director)

I'll watch it if you promise never to post again.

[AtomicHyperbole]

Fuck off?

[papalazeru]

Fuck off?

So, I'm never seeing this film, like I'm never playing Almost Heroes.

heheh!

You did make it sound cool though. I might actually go see this film but I DO have to pretend I never saw your review.

[AtomicHyperbole]

Oh, it's on DVD... you don't have to go anywhere. To be honest loads of people fucking hated it, don't take my word on it at all! I had all the complaints lodged in my head and was well prepared to shit on it afterwards but needed to see it to sate my curiousity. I'm glad I did now, it passed the evening by pretty nicely. Oh, and great decapitations!

[Fried Gold]

I liked it. No, not perfect. Any time Danny Huston is cast in anything it automatically means the movie is going to have some major shitty acting from atleast one character. But overall, I liked it. There are some nice kills, and some gore that made me think, "oh cool I can't believe they just did that." I do agree that the vampires are fucking stupid. All the hissing became a joke, but I did appreciate that they were otherworldly enough that it took ALOT to take one down.

Anyway, way above average horror film for me. The direction, cinematography is all aces. Most of the acting is okay. The script is a tad weak, and the plotting leaves ALOT to be desired, but atleast it tries harder than say Halloween, Friday the 13th, or any number of slasher films.

The only other crime I can cite is that Ben Foster is kind of wasted.

Oh I see Burl already went there.

/hugs Burl

(ooh I just remebered after reading Pacino's bit... I do remember like one or two REAL nasty line crosses... tut tut, Mr Director)

I went there too, but was informed my opinion wasn't valid...

[AtomicHyperbole]

I liked it. No, not perfect. Any time Danny Huston is cast in anything it automatically means the movie is going to have some major shitty acting from atleast one character. But overall, I liked it. There are some nice kills, and some gore that made me think, "oh cool I can't believe they just did that." I do agree that the vampires are fucking stupid. All the hissing became a joke, but I did appreciate that they were otherworldly enough that it took ALOT to take one down.

Anyway, way above average horror film for me. The direction, cinematography is all aces. Most of the acting is okay. The script is a tad weak, and the plotting leaves ALOT to be desired, but atleast it tries harder than say Halloween, Friday the 13th, or any number of slasher films.

The only other crime I can cite is that Ben Foster is kind of wasted.

Oh I see Burl already went there.

/hugs Burl

(ooh I just remebered after reading Pacino's bit... I do remember like one or two REAL nasty line crosses... tut tut, Mr Director)

I went there too, but was informed my opinion wasn't valid...

I validate your opinion with the Official Seal of Contrarian Bastardship. If it wasn't so effin' late I'd also photoshop a seal for you. An actual seal.

/claps flippers

[papalazeru]

I liked it. No, not perfect. Any time Danny Huston is cast in anything it automatically means the movie is going to have some major shitty acting from atleast one character. But overall, I liked it. There are some nice kills, and some gore that made me think, "oh cool I can't believe they just did that." I do agree that the vampires are fucking stupid. All the hissing became a joke, but I did appreciate that they were otherworldly enough that it took ALOT to take one down.

Anyway, way above average horror film for me. The direction, cinematography is all aces. Most of the acting is okay. The script is a tad weak, and the plotting leaves ALOT to be desired, but atleast it tries harder than say Halloween, Friday the 13th, or any number of slasher films.

The only other crime I can cite is that Ben Foster is kind of wasted.

Oh I see Burl already went there.

/hugs Burl

(ooh I just remebered after reading Pacino's bit... I do remember like one or two REAL nasty line crosses... tut tut, Mr Director)

I went there too, but was informed my opinion wasn't valid...

I validate your opinion with the Official Seal of Contrarian Bastardship. If it wasn't so effin' late I'd also photoshop a seal for you. An actual seal.

/claps flippers

Right that its. I'm not seeing this now thanks to your George Clooney Smugmanship award.

[AtomicHyperbole]

Don't fucking insult me - George Clooney? I'm fucking Jude Law, bitch.

[AtomicHyperbole]

That is to say, not actually FUCKING Jude Law, but "am akin to".

...

/sidles out

[Fried Gold]

[AtomicHyperbole]

Needs 100% more Contrarian Bastard.

... doesn't that mean Zod would be replaced by Supes?

[papalazeru]

Needs 100% more Contrarian Bastard.

... doesn't that mean Zod would be replaced by Supes?

No, it means you will be replaced by WheredidIgo.

[Fried Gold]

Needs 100% more Contrarian Bastard.

... doesn't that mean Zod would be replaced by Supes?

No, it'd be BIZAAAARRRO Zod.

[AtomicHyperbole]

GTA IV is FUCKING AWESOME by the way, you should play it. Like now! It's great! Wonderful! Sublime! Better than life!

[AtomicHyperbole]

Needs 100% more Contrarian Bastard.

... doesn't that mean Zod would be replaced by Supes?

No, it'd be BIZAAAARRRO Zod.

Make it so.

[Lord Voldemoo]

I finally saw this tonight. Instead of actually writing anything about it i'll just plagiarize Burl:

I liked it. No, not perfect. Any time Danny Huston is cast in anything it automatically means the movie is going to have some major shitty acting from atleast one character. But overall, I liked it. There are some nice kills, and some gore that made me think, "oh cool I can't believe they just did that." I do agree that the vampires are fucking stupid. All the hissing became a joke, but I did appreciate that they were otherworldly enough that it took ALOT to take one down.

Anyway, way above average horror film for me. The direction, cinematography is all aces. Most of the acting is okay. The script is a tad weak, and the plotting leaves ALOT to be desired, but atleast it tries harder than say Halloween, Friday the 13th, or any number of slasher films.

The only other crime I can cite is that Ben Foster is kind of wasted.

I agree with all of that, except i wouldn't say it was "way above average". It was pretty average but the level of gore/blood made it enjoyable. The story had potential to be REALLY cool and they missed out on that alot by not sufficiently building tension...pretty much at all. That and some enormous plotholes and the silly hissing kept it at average for me, but I wasn't bored by it...

I haven't read the GN so no idea about how it compares, etc.

[aura]

The only other crime I can cite is that Ben Foster is kind of wasted.

Complete agree.

However, that was one of the movie's primary crimes to me.

Any time a movie has chaotic elements in it and doesn't allow Ben Foster to work his magic...well, that's just unforgivable. Unforgivable, I say.

[Raziel]

Saw it the other Night (haha!! Geddit?!), while it was well made with some pretty cool moments, overall it was a bit crap. The vampires were annoying, and the story dragged in places. An obvious The Thing influence in parts. Did anyone else think Marge Gunderson when they saw Melissa George?!