30 Days of Night (film)

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30 Days of Night
Image:30 Days of Night teaser poster.jpg
Teaser poster
Directed by David Slade
Produced by Sam Raimi
Ted Adams
Written by Steve Niles
Starring Josh Hartnett
Melissa George
Danny Huston
Ben Foster
Mark Boone, Jr.
Mark Rendall
Music by Brian Reitzall
Cinematography Jo Willems
Editing by Art Jones
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) October 19, 2007
Running time 113 min.
Country Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States
Language English
Budget $32 million
Gross revenue $50,127,792 (worldwide)
Official website
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

30 Days of Night is a 2007 horror film based on the comic book miniseries of the same name. The film is directed by David Slade and stars Josh Hartnett and Melissa George. The film was released in the U.S. on October 19, 2007 and November 1, 2007 in the UK.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Barrow, Alaska is preparing for its annual "30 days of night," a period during the winter when the sun will not be seen. People who don't want to suffer the extended darkness leave for Fairbanks or other parts south. As the town gets ready, The Stranger (Ben Foster), rows ashore from a larger ship, then trudges towards Barrow. Once he arrives, he sets about sabotaging the town. He steals and destroys most of the cell phones, destroys the town's only helicopter and kills all of the sled dogs.

Barrow's sheriff, Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnett) investigates these crimes. As he does so, he learns that his estranged wife, Stella (Melissa George), who moved out of town awhile ago, missed the last plane out of town and will have to spend the 30 day period in Barrow. Although they try to avoid one another, when Eben confronts The Stranger in the town diner, she helps subdue him and take him to the station house.

From the jail cell, The Stranger taunts Eben, Stella, Eben's teenage brother, Jake (Mark Rendall), and grandmother, telling them that death is coming for them. Just then, vampires attack the local telecommunications center and power supply, rendering the town dark and cut off from the outside world. Eben goes to the telecommunications center and finds the operator's head on a spike. He and Stella then go through town, trying to find the ones responsible for the gruesome crimes.

Meanwhile, the vampires, led by Marlow (Danny Huston) attack the town. Marlow speaks in an ancient, guttural language; the other vampires shriek. He tells them after they feed on the humans to take off the head, to make sure that there will not be anymore competition. Unless they are shot in the head, bullets are useless against them, and they slaughter most of the town, including Eben's grandmother. Those who survive congregate in the diner. The vampires attack Eben and Stella but Beau Brower (Mark Boone, Jr.), the local snowplow driver, rescues them. They too go to the diner. Everyone decides to go to the boarded up house of someone who had left town earlier that day. The house has a hidden attic where they will be able to hide. Marlow finds The Stranger in the jail and, taking mercy on him, thanks for his work on the vampires' behalf and kills him quickly. Marlow orders the vampires not to turn anyone into a vampire; they will slaughter the town and then disappear in order to preserve modern humanity's belief that vampires are the stuff of bad dreams and nothing more.

Over the next week, Eben, Stella, Jake and seven others stick it out in the attic. They fight about leaving but most stay; only Wilson and his senile father, Isaac, are lost. Eben ventures out to try to help a stray survivor and learns that beheading the vampires will kill them. When a blizzard hits, Eben and the others use the whiteout conditions to make it to the general store. There, a young girl vampire attacks them, wounding one of them. The whiteout conditions end, preventing them from making it back to the abandoned house. Eben decides everyone should go to the police station. He will provide a diversion by running to his grandmother's house to retrieve an ultraviolet lighting system she used to grow marijuana. Eben makes it to the house, turns on the generator and turns the light on the vampires who have followed him. It hideously burns one, forcing Marlow to kill her. Eben escapes the house but the vampires are in pursuit. Beau comes to the rescue again, killing many of the vampires with his backhoe. He crashes into a hotel and then ignites a box of road flares, trying to kill himself. His ploy is unsuccessful though as Beau lives through the blast and Marlow crushes his skull, but it gives Eben the time to make it to the police station. There, the wounded member turns into a vampire. With some shred of his humanity left, he asks Eben to behead him. Eben complies.

Two more weeks pass. Stella and Eben find his deputy, Billy Kitka (Manu Bennett), signaling them with a flashlight from across the street. Eben and Stella make it to Billy's house. When the vampires attacked, he killed his wife and daughters but his gun became jammed when he tried to commit suicide. Stella and Eben take him back to the station house. There they learn that the others have made it to the utilidor, a power station that controls the oil pipeline, the only structure that still has power. Eben, Stella and Billy begin to sneak towards the utilidor. Stella stops to rescue a young girl who is being stalked by a vampire, Zurial (John Rawls). Eben and Billy try to distract him while Stella gets the girl to safety. Instead, Billy and Eben are separated. They both eventually make it to the utilidor, but another vampire follows Billy inside.

Eben is happy to see the rest of the survivors have made it alive. The vampire attacks Billy, ripping into his neck and dazing him. When the vampire turns to attack Eben, Billy gets up and knocks it into the gears of the utilidor's pump, shredding the creature. Billy's arm gets caught in the gears as well and his entire forearm is completely gone. Billy screams in pain as Eben tries to calm him down. Eben then realizes that Billy's screams become vampiric screams. Eben is then forced to kill Billy with an axe - chopping off his head.

The sun is due to rise in a few hours. The vampires decide to burn the town to cover their tracks. Stella radios to Eben that she and the young girl are hiding under an abandoned truck across the street from the utilidor, the flames rapidly approaching them. Realizing he cannot beat the vampires as a human, Eben injects himself with Billy's infected blood so he can fight them as a vampire. He and Marlow fight a vicious battle which Eben wins. Leaderless, with the sun about to rise, the other vampires disappear.

Eben & Stella watch sunrise together. While Stella rests on Eben's shoulder, they share a romantic kiss and Stella holds him strongly in her arms as he lets out a bloodcurdling scream and is turned to ash. As the movie ends, Stella closes her eyes while she buries her head in Eben's sherrif jacket.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Production

Following the publication of the 30 Days of Night comic book miniseries in 2002, studios, including DreamWorks, MGM, and Senator International, bid in the $1 million range for rights to a potential vampire film based on the story. Director and producer Sam Raimi expressed interest in adapting the miniseries and was negotiating a production deal with his producting partner Robert Tapert to establish a label with Senator Entertainment, of which Senator International is the sales division.[1] In July 2002, Senator International acquired the rights for 30 Days of Night in a seven figure deal with Raimi and Tapert attached as producers. 30 Days of Night author Steve Niles originally conceived of the story in the form of a film but after meeting a lack of interest in initial pitches to studios, Niles was able to produce it as a comic with Ben Templesmith deciding to collaborate on the project and provide artwork. When Niles and his agent, Jon Levin, shopped the comic around as a potential film adaptation, Niles found that the idea "went shockingly well," with Sam Raimi and Senator International picking up the property based on the original concept and Templesmith's unique mood and concepts for the vampires.[2] According to Raimi, the potential project was "unlike the horror films of recent years".[3]

By October 2002, Niles was working on adapting 30 Days of Night for the big screen, keeping the film true to the miniseries, though fleshing out the characters more significantly in the adaptation process.[4] In February 2003, Columbia Pictures partnered with Senator International to work on 30 Days of Night, which was developing under Senator internationals newly-established production company, Ghost House Pictures. Mike Richardson, the Dark Horse Comics publisher who supported the adaptation project from the beginning, after having turned down an offer to initially publish the project, was attached as executive producer.[5] The following March, Richardson revealed that Steve Niles had turned in the initial draft for the 30 Days of Night screenplay.[6] In March 2004, however, Columbia Pictures requested that Niles's initial screenplay to be rewritten in preparation for production.[7] Sue Binder, the business manager of Ghost House Pictures, indicated that filming for 30 Days of Night was still at least a year away, as Ghost House planned to produce three films before the vampire thriller.[7] The following May, Stuart Beattie, one of the writers for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, was rewriting Niles's 30 Days of Night draft for production.[8] Niles was pleased with Beattie's faithfully rewritten script, which was submitted to the studio in October 2004.[9]

In September 2005, it was announced that director David Slade had signed on to 30 Days of Night, which would be distributed by Columbia Pictures mainly in North America and Mandate Pictures in international territories.[10] In March 2006, Slade revealed that screenwriter Brian Nelson, who wrote the screenplay for Slade's previous film Hard Candy, was writing a new draft of the 30 Days of Night script, replacing Beattie's draft.[11] The director said that filming would begin in summer 2006 in Alaska and New Zealand.[11]

In June 2006, it was announced that Josh Hartnett was cast as the husband of the married couple that serves as the town's sheriff team.[12] Melissa George joined the 30 Days of Night cast as the wife of Hartnett's character.[13] Danny Huston joined the cast as the leader of the vampires.[14] Filming did not begin immediately, but in a September 2006 interview, executive producer Mike Richardson said that 30 Days of Night would be shot on 35 mm film, though there had been discussion to shoot the film on Genesis.[15] In an interview prior to filming, Slade explained that the illustrations of the graphic novel's illustrator, Ben Templesmith, would be reflected in production design. Slade also considered Nelson's draft to be the most faithful to the graphic novel. He also stated his intention to make a "scary vampire film", of which he didn't think there were many. "The rest of them, they fall into all kinds of traps. We're going to try to do our best... and one of the ways we have to do it is be more naturalistic than the graphic novel, because it's very over-the-top," said Slade.[16]

By February 2007, the production phase was completed, and a rough cut of the film was prepared.[17] In April, composer Brian Reitzell was hired to score the film.[18]

[edit] Inaccuracies

The actual number of dark days in Barrow is 67 rather than 30. Furthermore, the polar night is not characterized by a plunge into and out of total darkness, as suggested by the film; rather a period of bright twilight exists during the midday hours except close to the winter solstice.

Barrow is not isolated without outside contact while the sun is down as portrayed in the film, but in fact has daily commercial 737 airline service from other cities in Alaska[1] even during the depths of winter. That fact has been noted in a number of sources, including the comic, reviews by AP movie reviewer David Germain, and others. Inupiat people make up 60% of the town, contrasting sharply with the film which presented a largely white profile. Residents do not leave en masse during winter, as suggested by the film, and the town has no sheriff in real life.

Though the film was set in Barrow, Alaska, nearly all filming took place in other locations, and the town portrayed in the movie actually bears little resemblance to the real town. While some filming did occur in Alaska, none was in Barrow and most of the film was shot in New Zealand.

Towards the end of the movie, the vampires attempt to destroy the town by leaking oil out of the pipeline through Barrow. The pipeline, however, does not go to Barrow, but goes east of Barrow to Prudoe Bay.

[edit] Release

30 Days of Night was released in 2,855 theaters in the United States and Canada on October 19 2007. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $15,951,902,[19] placing first in the box office.[20] Film site Bloody Disgusting called it the "best vampire film in decades."[21] As of November 18th 2007, 30 Days of Night has grossed $39,141,000 in the United States and Canada and $10,986,792 overseas. It has grossed $50,127,792 worldwide.[19] On Rotten Tomatoes, 51% of the 105 film critics gave the film positive reviews.[22] On Metacritic, the film received a metascore of 53 out of 100 from 28 reviews, considered to be mixed or average reviews.

[edit] Dvd Release

30 Days Of Night is to be released on February 26th on DVD, HD-DVD, and UMD for PSP.

[edit] See also

30 Days of Night: Blood Trail

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Raimi Mulls 30 Days", Sci Fi Wire, 2002-07-15. Retrieved on 2006-10-13. 
  2. ^ SCI FI Wire. "30 Days grabbed Raimi's Eye", SCI FI Wire, 2007-07-30. Retrieved on 2007-07-30. 
  3. ^ Jonah Weiland. "Niles Looks Forward to At Least '30 Days' of Screen Time", Comic Book Resources, 2002-07-22. Retrieved on 2006-10-13. 
  4. ^ Ace MacDonald. "Horror is October Month", Comicon.com, 2002-10-14. Retrieved on 2006-10-13. 
  5. ^ "Columbia Acquires 30 Days of Night", Ghost House Pictures, 2003-02-27. Retrieved on 2006-10-13. 
  6. ^ Jonah Weiland. "Dark Horse's Mike Richardson Talks Comic Book Movies", Comic Book Resources, 2003-03-31. Retrieved on 2006-10-13. 
  7. ^ a b Kyle Hopkins. "Bloodthirsty in Barrow", Anchorage Press, 2004-03-03. Retrieved on 2006-10-13. 
  8. ^ "Steve Niles Talks Movies", Comic Continuum, 2004-05-04. Retrieved on 2006-10-13. 
  9. ^ "30 Days Moves Forward", Sci Fi Wire, 2004-10-13. Retrieved on 2006-10-13. 
  10. ^ Tatiana Siegel. "Slade has eyes for Col's 'Night'", The Hollywood Reporter, 2005-09-07. Retrieved on 2006-10-13. 
  11. ^ a b Edward Douglas. "David Slade on 30 Days of Night", SuperHeroHype.com, 2006-03-24. Retrieved on 2006-10-13. 
  12. ^ "Hartnett in Flight with Sony 'Night'", 2006-06-15. Retrieved on 2006-10-13. 
  13. ^ 30 Days of Night, Melissa George and Josh Hartnett. MelissaGeorge.co.uk (2006-07-31). Retrieved on 2006-10-13.
  14. ^ Borys Kit. "'Night' dawns for Huston in Col horror pic", The Hollywood Reporter, 2006-09-11. Retrieved on 2006-10-13. 
  15. ^ Robert Sanchez. "Exclusive Interview: Part II With Dark Horse's Mike Richardson", IESB.net, 2006-09-28. Retrieved on 2006-10-13. 
  16. ^ Daniel Fienberg. "'Candy' Director Prepares for '30 Days of Night'", Zap2it.com, 2006-04-13. Retrieved on 2006-10-13. 
  17. ^ Andy Khouri. "NYCC, DAY 2: MYSPACE MYSTERY PANELISTS REVEALED!", Comic Book Resources, 2007-02-24. Retrieved on 2007-04-06. 
  18. ^ "Brian Reitzell: 30 Days of Night", Film Music Weekly, 2007-04-03. Retrieved on 2007-04-10. 
  19. ^ a b 30 Days of Night (2007). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
  20. ^ Pamela McClintock. "Audiences sink teeth into 'Night'", Variety, 2007-10-21. Retrieved on 2007-10-21. 
  21. ^ 30 Days of Night (2007). YouTube. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
  22. ^ 30 Days of Night (2007). Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.

[edit] Further reading

  • Tim Lebbon (September 2007). 30 Days of Night (Mass Market Paperback), Novelization of the film, Pocket Star. ISBN 1416544975. 

[edit] External links


Preceded by
Why Did I Get Married? 		Box office number-one films of 2007 (USA)
October 21, 2007 		Succeeded by
Saw IV
de:30 Days of Night

fr:30 jours de nuit (film) ru:30 Дней ночи (фильм) zh:屍城30夜

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