Movie Review: 30 Days of Night
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this vampire horror movie (which
was based on a graphic novel) isn't for kids. While the themes
aren't especially sophisticated, the imagery is
very bloody, with bodies getting torn, beaten, chewed,
and graphically abused. Children are in danger and killed (one
is a bloody-mouthed vampire who's eventually slain by an
adolescent boy), and there are explosions, car crashes,
shootings, foot chases, and lots of tense scenes. Language
includes several uses of "f--k" and other profanity, there's
some drinking, and a grandmother grows medicinal marijuana.
Families can talk about the continuing appeal of vampire stories. How does this movie compare to other vampire movies and TV shows you've seen? Are vampires always depicted as bloodthirsty monsters in the media? Can you think of any exceptions? If you've read the graphic novel that the movie was based on, which do you like better? Why? Parents and kids can also discuss the way that families are presented in the movie. Why do the characters that are part of families do some of the violent things they do?
Common Sense Media Review
The most impressive effect in 30 DAYS OF NIGHT is Danny
Huston's haircut. Short, grim, and graying, it suggests not
only that the vampire he plays, Marlow, is severe and
self-important, but also that he pays particular attention his
personal grooming. This -- along with his subtitled, guttural,
vaguely Eastern European language -- sharply differentiates him
from the humans he's hunting; the citizens of Barrow, Alaska,
are a rough-hewn, rag-tag bunch of good ol' Americans.
The humans' leader is Sheriff Eben Oleson ( Josh Hartnett), unhappily and recently estranged from his pretty wife, Stella ( Melissa George). Handily, the vampire invasion helps them realize how much they really do love each other -- and makes Eban see that he needs to be a nurturing role model for his younger brother, Jake ( Mark Rendall). The unlucky part is that the invasion also decimates the town's population, which was only 152 to begin with.
The humans are warned by someone called The Stranger (Ben Foster), who arrives in town seeking a bowl of raw hamburger, and then intones, "That cold ain't the weather, that's death approaching." Part wannabe and part fanboy ("The undead, man!"), The Stranger has led the vampires to Barrow because, in winter, the sun disappears for an entire month. (For some reason, this darkness also means that no planes fly in or out of Barrow -- an illogical premise that leaves the citizens utterly alone and abandoned.)
The movie's action follows the basic rhythms of a slasher film, showing one terrible assault after another, with the ugly deaths of disposable extras leaving the small band of stars bickering and learning important lessons about how to look after one another. The humans alternately hide in attics, scavenge from the well-stocked market, and fight off the monsters with all manner of makeshift weapons, ranging from flares and axes to shotguns and sunlamps. As the days tick by (marked by captions so you can keep track), the vampires inexplicably leave the survivors alone for long stretches.
The vampires, much like the humans, travel as a pack, led by Marlow and his apparent girlfriend Iris (Megan Franich). Except for Marlow, they all have digitally distorted faces -- enlarged or misshapen noses, jutting jaws, huge scars, and increasingly bloody and gaping mouths -- that mark their strangeness and capacity for brutality (they consume humans and dogs with equal abandon). As usual, human self-sacrifice appears to be the most effective weapon against the vampires, who are selfish by definition and endlessly "thirsty."
Though Eban announces early on that the Barrowites have an advantage over the vampires because they know the town and the cold, the film never takes advantage of this detail. Instead, it relies on a hackneyed "us vs. them" dynamic.
Fans may prefer From Dusk Till Dawn or Night of the Living Dead . Or try other films based on graphic novels, like Sin City and From Hell. And for a more effective horror film set in the cold, lonely north, check out The Last Winter.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
