Bring on the Cold
posted on Wednesday, October 31, 2007 in Movie Reviews
Horror films of the past few years have generally been pretty bad. They've been formulaic and often ridiculous, relying on cheap scares and silly twists to compensate for what was usually a stupid story matched with poor filmmaking. But 30 Days of Night does horror right. It is far from a perfect film, but the sheer energy and freshness it brings to its genre makes it worth seeing.
The film is based on the popular graphic novel of the same name. It documents the thirty days of darkness that the town of Barrow, Alaska experiences every year. It just so happens that this year, a group of vampires decide to take advantage of the sunless month and invade the unsuspecting little town. The town's sheriff, played by Josh Hartnett, has to try to stop the monster's feast.
The concept is undeniably cool, but it isn't really the story that sells this film. What elevates this film from typical horror fare is the filmmaking. Instead of relying on silly tricks to scare its audience, 30 Days of Night earns every scare by creating atmosphere. Whereas the typical horror film creates artificial tension by ramping up the spooky music and playing with shadows, this film raises the stress level by making it seem like something genuinely horrible was waiting at every corner. The vampires in this film are vicious creatures, and they make for a very convincing threat. As the film goes on, it becomes abundantly clear that these characters could just die a terrible death at any time.
The filmmakers put the audience right in the middle of all the horror. They shot the film using the same shaky camera style employed in films like The Bourne Ultimatum, and it really makes the action leap off the screen. When all hell breaks loose in the film, we're right there with it. It makes for a visceral, almost primal experience that really adds to the terror. All in all, it's really great filmmaking, and it almost perfectly captures the tone and style of the source material.
All this craft, however, is hampered by some dubious script choices. The plot doesn't move as naturally as it should, and some of the dialogue is downright painful. The differences between the film and the graphic novel are glaring and at times inexplicable, weakening the emotional impact of some moments. The performances were mostly okay, but nothing exceptional.
But for all its flaws, 30 Days of Night is still a refreshing take on what's generally considered a pretty stale genre. It makes vampires scary again, and it does it with a lot of style.
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