Movie · 2007 · Horror, Thriller · 1h 53m · R · English
Curator score: 2.5/10 (344.8K ratings)
They're Coming!
Overview
This is the story of an isolated Alaskan town that is plunged into darkness for a month each year when the sun sinks below the horizon. As the last rays of light fade, the town is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires bent on an uninterrupted orgy of destruction. Only the small town's husband-and-wife Sheriff team stand between the survivors and certain destruction.
Ratings
Curator score: 2.5/10
IMDb: 6.6/10
Letterboxd: 3.14/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 50%
Metacritic: 53
TMDB: 6.4/10
Director
David Slade
Production
HorrorFlix, Columbia Pictures, Ghost House Pictures, Dark Horse Entertainment, Mandate International
Cast
Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster, Mark Boone Junior, Mark Rendall, Amber Sainsbury, Manu Bennett, Megan Franich, Craig Hall, Chic Littlewood, Nathaniel Lees, Elizabeth Hawthorne, Joel Tobeck, Kate Elliott, Camille Keenan, Peter Feeney, Pua Magasiva, Jared Turner, Kelson Henderson
Where to watch
AMC+, Philo
Curator Review
Verdict
A grim, icy vampire siege movie with strong atmosphere, nasty practical gore, and a genuinely oppressive sense of isolation. The characters are thin, but the setting, pacing, and creature design make it an easy recommendation for horror fans who want mood and brutality over wit or romance.
Best for
vampire horror fans
viewers who like bleak survival stories
fans of snowy, isolated settings
audiences who prefer practical gore and creature design
people who enjoy stylish early-2000s horror
Skip if
you need rich character development
you want sexy or romantic vampires
you dislike graphic gore and head-ripping violence
you prefer fast, joke-heavy horror
you want a more inventive use of its premise
Overview
30 Days of Night works because it understands how terrifying a month of darkness can be. The film turns an Alaskan town into a sealed-off trap, then lets a pack of vicious, feral vampires tear through it with icy efficiency. The result is less a gothic romance than a survival nightmare, and that shift gives it a mean, memorable edge.
Worth noting
David Slade keeps the movie patient and stylish, letting the setting do a lot of the heavy lifting before the violence arrives. Once it does, the film is unapologetically bloody and often genuinely creepy, with strong creature design and a few striking visual set pieces. The opening and the aerial chaos over the town are especially effective.
Bottom line
Its biggest weakness is the human side: the characters are mostly functional, not deeply drawn, so emotional investment can be limited. But if you’re here for atmosphere, snowbound dread, and vampires that feel like predators rather than pin-up monsters, it delivers the goods.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Erik 🎼 (4.5★) · 1121 likes
this movie absolutely goes off i don’t care what anyone says eat my ass
matt lynch (3.5★) · 989 likes
Got a real soft spot for this as it's patient and stylish rather than hyperactive, as well as being quite amusingly vicious and very goopy.
Chris 🍉 (4★) · 895 likes
ok but what kind of name is eben
Nakul (3.5★) · 807 likes
The premise of 30 Days of Night had a lot of potential (really liked the idea of setting a vampire horror flick during Alaska's annual month of darkness) however, they didn't fully exploit it. But this still holds up better than you think, it's an entertaining, grim, gory & stylish flick with great setting & atmosphere. The vampires are genuinely creepy. Tho the characters were thin and I found it hard to root for any of them. The one major issue I… more The premise of 30 Days of Night had a lot of potential (really liked the idea of setting a vampire horror flick during Alaska's annual month of darkness) however, they didn't fully exploit it. But this still holds up better than you think, it's an entertaining, grim, gory & stylish flick with great setting & atmosphere. The vampires are genuinely creepy. Tho the characters were thin and I found it hard to root for any of them. The one major issue I… more
Patrick Willems (2.5★) · 535 likes
Not a great movie but some A+ heads getting chopped off with axes