30 Days Of Night - Special Edition 2 DVD set with 48-page Graphic Novel & Slipcase [2007]

RRP £19.99
Lowest New Price
£10.40

Suitable for 18 years and over

Icon Home Entertainment

Release date: Monday 14th of April 2008

Starring:
Manu Bennett, Danny Huston, Joel Tobeck, Melissa George, Josh Hartnett,

Director(s):

Format: PAL,
Region code: 2
Running time: 109 minutes

RRP: £19.99
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

The problem with vampires is that, usually, they can't go out in daylight. That means that, however menacing they might be after sunset, when morning rolls around again, the heroes can just dig 'em up and stick a stake in them. 30 Days of Night sidesteps the whole daylight problem by setting its story in Barrow, Alaska, a town which is so far north that during the winter, the sun doesn't rise for a month at a stretch. It's such a perfect setting for vampires that it's almost shocking no-one's thought of it before now.

30 Days of Night has another trick up its sleeve, too. Its vampires aren't gothic hedonists who enjoy their claret out of jewelled goblets. Nope, these are vicious, nasty, brutal creatures who'd snap your neck as soon as look at you. They look terrifying, all misshapen foreheads and far too many teeth, and the creepy shrieking noise they make only makes it worse; they seem entirely inhuman. Barrow's isolated, blizzard-stricken location makes for a literally chilling atmosphere even before the monsters show up.

The plot loses its way towards the end, and the inevitable triumph of the heroes stretches logic to its limits, but the setting is original enough to make up for that. 30 Days of Night isn't a film you'll forget in a hurry. --Catherine Haskins

Pretty damn good!
Review date: 2008-07-06 Rating: 8 out of 10

I'm a bit of a vampire fanatic, so this film was a must-watch for me. Based on a graphic novel, 30 Days of Night has an excellent plot. In Barrow, Alaska, they have one month of the year without any sunlight, due to their positioning on the planet. The sun sets, and doesn't come up for another thirty days. Eastern European vampires have come to hear about this town and their month-long darkness, and decide to take advantage. So the vamps travel to Barrow and when the sun goes down for the last time in a month they go on a killing spree. They've had a little helping hand from a human who believes that they will turn him into one of them as a reward, so the town has no sled-dogs, no phone lines, power, etc... They're basically stuck in the town at the mercy of the vampires.

Josh Harnett plays Eben, the Sheriff of the town. When strange things start happening, he can't make head nor tail of it... until he goes out to investigate a problem with the power and finds his friend's head on a pole - then he realises there are some seriously sick weirdos creeping around in the darkness. Paired up with his estranged wife, Stella (played by Melissa George), they investigate what's going on... and when they realise, it's time for action. They gather all the residents who haven't already been killed in the safest place they can think of, and work out how they're going to survive until the sun comes up... in four weeks' time. They hole up in the Sheriff's office, a very cleverly secreted attic and flit from place to place, hoping they won't be discovered, and slaughtered.

The vamps are picking off more and more of the town's residents, leaving very dramatic looking stains all over the snow on the ground, and emitting blood-curdling shrieks every now and then. You find yourself wishing the days along for the survivors, but as time goes on, their situation looks more and more grim. Things hot up as the vampires realise that if they don't kill every person left and destroy the evidence, when the sun comes up and people come back to Barrow, the world will soon rethink their opinions on the existence of vampires. It's certainly a race against time.

For me, there are generally two kinds of vampires: sexy, hedonistic ones... the type you'd quite like to bite you and make you one of them; and the monstrous ones who rip throats out and generally make lots of mess. And the ones in this film are the latter. They don't really look that much like vampires, because they have tons of teeth and faces smeared in blood, rather than fangs in the right places. They're more like gory monsters to me, and that makes them rather less creepy and more slasher-style. But hey, that's just my opinion.

Overall, I thought this was a good film. The plot itself is absolutely ingenious, but the vamps were just 'OK'. But in all fairness, I'm not sure sexy vamps would have worked in this kind of flick. The blood on pure white snow and screaming in the pitch darkness probably added to the effect of horror. So if you're a fan of vampire films, particularly ones with damn clever plots, this is the one. The ending became a little mediocre, but the very end part made up for it. Excellent.

Reviews

Different spin on the vamp genre
Review date: 2008-07-06 Rating: 6 out of 10

This isn't a great film, but it is good.

I don't like to go into plot too much in a review - why bother watching the film if you know everything that's going to happen? - but briefly; a group of vampires turn up in the small Alaskan town of Barrow where, for 30 days (& nights), the sun doesn't rise. Perfect for the vamps, not quite so pleasant for the remaining residents who are all now on the menu. Usual horror rules apply here... most of the residents are dispatched quickly leaving the main characters to figure out how to survive until sunrise.

As a horror film it doesn't offer anything really different to what's been seen before but what it does do is give a new & refreshing take on the vampire genre & that's it's saving grace.

The vamps in this film are de-humanised beyond the norm seen in other films - i was reminded a bit of Boris Karloff in the old b/w Nosferatu film! They communicate in a different 'language' & there's certainly nothing sexy or glam about them! You can forget about the romantic 'suck on the neck' too - when these guys pounce they do so with about as much grace & elegance as a car crash!

There's a LOT of gore, a couple of 'make you jump' moments but i didn't find it had much suspense. I was a bit disappointed with the ending - i thought it was quite lame.

It's definately worth watching but it's not a film that i'll be keeping in my collection.

A much needed addition to the genre
Review date: 2008-06-28 Rating: 8 out of 10

The classic vampire films seemed to have disappeared and then along came '30 Days of Night' After a long wait we finally have a new Vampire flick that's actually scary, I did enjoy the 'Blade' films, but purely as action movies not as horror.

Josh Hartnett plays a strong lead as a believable character, Melissa George did a passable job in support and the vamps were delightfully menacing.

30 Days of Night is definately worth a viewing, it's nicely paced, atmospheric, dark, gorey and frightening.

Ok the ending could have been a little better IMHO but it's forgivable.

4/5

A new twist on the vampire genre makes for a good horror
Review date: 2008-06-24 Rating: 6 out of 10

When you think about it the concept of a vampire is very scary and it's a surprise Hollywood has never quite known how to handle the vampire genre. There's been scary vampires films, but also plenty of very corny and dull ones that generate more laughs than scares. So whenever a new vampire film comes along you really don't know what to expect, a horror or an unintentional comedy. Well I can confirm that 30 Days Of Night is most definitely the former, a film with plenty of genuine scares.

The film itself is set in a remote town in Alaska that, every winter, experiences one month of non-stop night. It is during this month that a group of vampires descend upon the town and cause carnage. No daylight means the vampires usual handicap of having to disappear during the day is gone, meaning the town is totally at their mercy.

30 Days Of Night borrows ideas from a few films, but puts its own twist on them. The Alaskan town is very remote and desolate and has its own eeriness that is very much reminiscent of the beginning of The Thing, with all the main characters in a cold isolated location where you are just waiting for something horrible to happen.

The film also has many influences from George A. Romero's zombie films. Like Dawn of the Dead where the characters are under siege from a horde of zombies, in 30 Days, the characters are under siege from a crazed group of vampires. The vampires also have a few zombie-like traits, so whereas a normal vampire just bites their victim's neck and sucks the blood, these monsters horrifically butcher their victims as well.

The vampires have super-human strength and agility, but as well as this they also have intelligence, hunting in packs and communicating in their own vampire language, which is a novel touch. So all in all they make for formidable adversaries and the battle for survival the main characters have to fight is a desperate one.

There are many real scares in this film as well as a good dose of suspense and tension as you wonder what will happen next and how the characters can possibly survive the onslaught.

I would have given this film 4 stars but I've deducted a star because of the ending. I won't give anything away as you need to make up your own mind but, in my opinion, the ending is, well, a bit silly.

But all in all a very effective horror with plenty of chilling moments and definitely worth watching.

Modern Vampire Blood Fest
Review date: 2008-06-16 Rating: 8 out of 10

This is a brilliant film, the plot is well thought out, tense, and offers great violent scenes. You must see this film, the only downside is the story is fairly rushed.

Product Details/Specifications

Actor(s):
Manu Bennett
Danny Huston
Joel Tobeck
Melissa George
Josh Hartnett

Director(s):

Recording label: Icon Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Icon Home Entertainment
EAN: 5051429101316
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2008-04-14
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 109 minutes

Tech info, cast and quotes/trivia when available. Exclusions may apply with free delivery. Price and availabiltity subject to change

30 Days Of Night - Special Edition 2 DVD set with 48-page Graphic Novel & Slipcase [2007]

Reviews

Product Details/Specifications

Search

Similar Products