by The Film Blogger

Created on: September 02, 2009   Last Updated: September 03, 2009

David Slade's adaptation of Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith's cult series of horror comics is a curiosity, a film that is certainly uneven, but also a film that swings from clich-riddled fare to moderately enjoyable shtick. The opening shots, which convey the epic setting of Alaska in the most alluring fashion, instantly remind one of John Carpenter's fantastic remake of The Thing, and provide the hope that Slade can make the most of the snow-kissed environment, just as Carpenter did twenty-five years ago.

It's simply unfortunate that the film is so fickle by its own nature - the protagonist, Eben Oleson (Harnett), is the morally unambiguous Sherriff of the Alaskan town in question, a man far too certain of his own prissy ideals to invite any interest whatsoever. It's not as though one is asking for an anti-hero character either, as that would be just as unsatisfying, but Harnett's character (as well as most of the other characters) lacks depth, and we never really get to know (and therefore empathise with) him. If the "goody-two-shoes" ploy wasn't repugnant enough, Harnett's rather alienating, uninspired acting only reflects how wooden his character is.

As a band of vampires descend upon the quaint town, 30 Days of Night becomes a tiresome exponent of horror film stock elements - the fake-out scares, the red herrings, the strained love story - it's all there in great, despicable abundance. To further ridicule the viewer, the trite love story is interspersed amongst the painfully-slow moving plot. Even as the first human is slaughtered by the vamps, viewers, and moreover, gore-hounds, are cheated out of any excitement through hackneyed editing and antagonists shrouded in darkness. Hell, Slade even threw the "let's have the enemy pace past the foreground whilst our protagonist, in the background, fails to notice" technique in there.

It isn't long before Ben Foster (simply credited as "the stranger") appears on the scene, and is, in a wildly preposterous scene, promptly arrested for attempting to order some fish, of all things. Regardless of how much Foster impressed in 3:10 to Yuma, he, and the lines he's given, are guffaw-inducing, and he even spouts a classic crazy-loon bad omen for good, cheesy measure.

Things eventually do get moving, and what Slade captures best perhaps is the sense of community among the residents of the town, although hasn't the time to dwell on it before the beasts begin slaughtering the town, again, rather frustratingly disguised by

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