I read the graphic novel 30 Days of Night a few years ago and liked it a lot, so I was happy to hear that a film adaptation was on the horizon. (Before you correct me, yes, it was originally a three-issue series, but I read the first paperback collection.) I just watched the trailer, and it looks decidedly horrifying. It’s produced by Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert — they brought us Xena: Warrior Princess, which is either a good sign or a terrible sign, depending on your predilections.
Before I ramble on further, let’s just take a minute to look at this shot from the trailer — this is Melissa George of Alias fame. But doesn’t she look like an exhausted Sarah Warn? (This is probably how tired Sarah looked the morning after she finished gathering photos for the Hot 100 list.)
The premise of 30 Days of Night is simple but brilliant: In Barrow, Alaska, which is about as far north as you can go without falling off the planet, the sun does not rise between November 18 and December 17. So vampires have 30 days of night to play with. But they don’t just play: These clever creatures know how to make the most of their opportunity, ensuring from the beginning that Barrow’s denizens have no recourse.
In the movie (slated to premiere October 19), Josh Hartnett and Melissa George play the town’s sheriff and deputy, who are also husband and wife. Judging by the trailer, it looks like the movie will have the same creepy, stark atmosphere as the graphic novel, and won’t romanticize the vampires a bit. Like many a sapphic, sappy sort, I prefer to think of vampires as misunderstood aesthetes, but I can also appreciate a good monster movie.
The thing that really gets me about the 30 Days vampires is their relentlessness; they’re sort of like a cross between a vampire and a zombie. They just won’t stop. And it’s, like, really really dark. For days and days. And it’s freezing. OK, I’m getting creeped out again. Help us, Melissa-Lauren-Sarah! (By the way, if they make a sequel based on the graphic novel Dark Days, Melissa’s character is going to kick ass.)
Oh, one other note: Amber Sainsbury is also in this movie. I know her best as Roxanne in Hex. I can’t say I’ll be sorry to see her succumb to a creature of the night!
