30 Days of Night is a 2007 American horror film based on the comic book miniseries of the same name. The film was directed by David Slade and stars Josh Hartnett and Melissa George. The story focuses on an Alaskan town beset by vampires as it enters into a 30-day-long polar night.
30 Days of Night was originally pitched as a comic, then as a film, but it was rejected. Years later, Steve Niles showed IDW Publishing the idea and it took off. The film was produced on a budget of $30 million and grossed over $75 million at the box office during its six-week run starting on October 19, 2007. Critical reviews were mixed.
Its success resulted in a franchise that followed, including: a prequel miniseries, Blood Trails in 2007, a sequel miniseries, Dust to Dust in 2008, and a straight-to-home video sequel film Dark Days in 2010.
Plot[]
The town of Barrow, Alaska (now Utqiaġvik) is preparing for its annual period of the winter with a month-long polar night. As the town gets ready, a stranger arrives from a large ship and sabotages the town's communications and transports. Barrow's sheriff, Eben Oleson, investigates and learns that his estranged wife, Stella, missed the last plane out of town and must stay for 30 days.
That night, a band of vampires, led by Marlow, attacks and slaughters most of the townspeople, forcing Eben's family and several other survivors to take shelter in a boarded-up house with a hidden attic. Resident Wilson is forced to chase after his amnesic father, Isaac, out into the open, and both are killed. When the vampires torture a civilian as bait, Eben takes the opportunity to save a resident named John, who was hiding underneath a hut, injured from trying to protect his wife; however, Eben is horrified to see he has turned and forced to kill him when John tries to devour him. In the police station holding cell, Marlow finds the stranger, who believes the vampires will "turn" him as a reward for his help. However, Marlow snaps his neck.
18 days later, when a blizzard hits, the group uses the whiteout to go to the general store for supplies but gets stranded after the blizzard ends. They head for the station while Eben creates a diversion. He lures the vampires to his grandmother's house and uses one of her ultraviolet lights to severely burn Marlow's lover, Iris, forcing him to mercy-kill her. Eben is aided by Beau, the town snowplow operator, who kills many vampires with his tractor. When he crashes, Beau attempts a suicide bombing to kill the remaining vampires. However, Beau and the vampires survive the explosion, and Marlow crushes his head.
On Day 27, Stella and Eben see the deputy, Billy, signaling them with a flashlight and bring him back to the station after finding out he killed his family to save them from a more painful death. The trio find the others have made for the utilidor, a power and sewage treatment station that still has power, and head over there, but are separated after Stella saves Gail Robbins, a young girl whose family was slaughtered by the vampire Zurial. Eben and Billy make it to the utilidor but are attacked by the vampire Arvin. Billy kills Arvin but gets bitten in the process. Eben is forced to kill him when he starts to turn.
As the month ends, with the sun due to rise, the vampires prepare to burn the fuel line running through the town, which will cause it to explode and destroy evidence of their presence. Realizing Stella is trapped and that he cannot beat the vampires in his current state, Eben injects himself with Billy's blood. Now a vampire, Eben confronts Marlow and manages to kill the vampire leader after a vicious fight, causing the remaining vampires to flee. Eben and Stella watch the sunrise together, sharing one last kiss. As the sun rises, Eben's body burns to ash in Stella's arms.
Cast[]
- Josh Hartnett as Sheriff Eben Oleson
- Melissa George as Stella Oleson
- Danny Huston as Marlow
- Ben Foster as The Stranger
- Mark Boone Junior as Beau Brower
- Mark Rendall as Jake Oleson
- Amber Sainsbury as Denise
- Nathaniel Lees as Carter Davies
- Megan Franich as Iris
- Andrew Stehlin as Arvin
- Manu Bennett as Deputy Billy Kitka
- Craig Hall as Wilson Bulosan
- Elizabeth Hawthorne as Lucy Ikos
- Jared Turner as Aaron
- Kelson Henderson as Gabe
- Abbey-May Wakefield as Little Girl Vampire
- Pua Magasiva as Malekai Hamm
- Joel Tobeck as Doug Hertz
- Kate Elliott as Vampire
- Ben Fransham as Vampire
- Kate O'Rourke as Vampire
- Melissa Billington as Vampire