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"30 DAYS OF NIGHT" (2007) (Josh Hartnett, Melissa George) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Extreme Extreme *Heavy Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate Moderate Extreme None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Mild None Moderate Mild Extreme QUICK TAKE: Horror: When they're plunged into perpetual darkness in the middle of winter for 30 straight days, the residents of Barrow, Alaska must contend with vampires who've descended upon their town, intent on killing everyone. PLOT: It's the middle of winter in Barrow, Alaska, and the residents are preparing for the month-long period where the sun won't ever rise. Fire marshal Stella Oleson (MELISSA GEORGE) is there doing inspections and hopes to catch the last flight out, and hasn't informed her sheriff husband, Eben (JOSH HARTNETT), that she's there. He and his deputy, Billy (MANU BENNETT) have their hands full, however, when a number of peculiar incidents start occurring, including the arrival of an odd man, The Stranger (BEN FOSTER), who claims that "they" are coming for him. Little do any of the locals, including loner Beau (MARK BOONE JUNIOR) or Eben's 15-year-old brother, Jake (MARK RENDALL), realize he's referring to a bunch of vampires, led by the foreign-speaking Marlow (DANNY HUSTON), who've descended upon their town. Having knocked out both the power and any communication with the outside world, the vampires proceed to kill most everyone in town. Once they realize what's occurring, Eben, Stella and a handful of other survivors do what they can to avoid the monsters and try to figure out a way to survive until the sun rises again. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into horror and particularly vampire movies, or are fans of anyone in the cast, they just might. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For strong horror violence and language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: JOSH HARTNETT plays the Barrow sheriff who must contend with the arrival of vampires, as well as his estranged wife, in his town. He uses strong profanity while trying to figure out how to protect himself and the few survivors who are left. MELISSA GEORGE plays his estranged wife, a visiting fire marshal who ends up stuck in the town on business where she must similarly contend with the vampires. She uses strong profanity. DANNY HUSTON plays the lead vampire who orders the others to kill all of the humans (and he joins in on the murderous mayhem). MARK RENDALL plays Eben's 15-year-old brother who kills to protect and preserve human life, briefly drinks, and briefly uses strong profanity. BEN FOSTER plays a peculiar man who seemingly leads the vampires to the town, and then warns the residents about what's coming their way. MARK BOONE JUNIOR plays a loner in the town who takes matters into his own hands about killing the vampires. MANU BENNETT plays Eben's deputy who assists him and takes extreme measures with his family after the vampire attack. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated horror film. Profanity consists of at least 11 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. There's brief, sexually related dialogue, as well as some brief sexual flirting. Violence consists of many scenes of vampires killing humans and vice versa, via various means, usually with bloody results (to varying degrees, but often quite gory). That material, standard-issue horror moments, potential peril, and various visuals might be unsettling, suspenseful, and/or scary to various viewers. Some of the action and such might be enticing for some kids to imitate. Characters have bad attitudes, some drinking occurs, and there are some brief drug references, while some tense family material is also present. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, a great deal of handheld camerawork is seen throughout the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE The Stranger mentions no whiskey or rum being available, and a waitress explains that it's outlawed for 30 days due to the potential of worsening seasonal emotional disorder. A man carries a bottle of booze. About something he's spotted in the police station, Eben asks his 15-year-old brother, "What the hell is that?" Jake replies that it's pot that helps with their grandmother's cancer. Eben then jokingly responds that now he knows why the teen wanted to live with their grandmother. Not realizing they're vampires, one local guy says he thinks they're people "all coked up on PCP." A woman finds some vodka and shares a little with Jake (who's 15). BLOOD/GORE A knife is stabbed into some sled dogs. We hear but don't see the impact, but do see some blood spray out into the surrounding snow, and then a close-up of at least one dead and bloody dog body. We later see another brief view of the dead and bloody dogs where the mouths are torn and/or frozen open. The Stranger orders raw hamburger, but isn't served any. One man is suddenly yanked away from two other people into the darkness. His dead and bloody body then suddenly flies out and lands hard on the snow. The power goes out in the police station and Eben then walks out, gun drawn, slowly following a trail of blood in the snow until he finds a severed and bloody head impaled on a post. A husband and wife are bloody to varying degrees when vampires attack them. The Stranger suddenly grabs Jake by the neck and yanks him up against jail cell bars. Eben then arrives and shoots The Stranger, splattering his blood onto the wall, but the shot is not deadly. We see a lot of blood on a jail cell floor and wall, while The Stranger's clothes are bloody from his earlier shooting. A man shoots one vampire, but it does no good as the vampire knocks his wife down. The vampire then grabs the man, lifts him from the floor by his neck, and then stabs a poker into his gut (we don't see the impact of the latter). Various vampires then attack and bite into the wife (with bloody results). After their attacks on the humans, various vampires have blood on their faces, around their mouths, and under their long nails. We see a montage of vampire attacks on the humans, from both ground level and an overhead, aerial view. We see biting, slicing, and such from the vampire side (as well as throwing humans around, including one off a roof), while humans blast the vampires with shotguns or rifles and such, both with bloody results (seen from near and afar, and on the humans and vampires, as well as in the snow). Marlow kills a human, and while we don't see the impact, we hear it along with resultant spilling of blood. Eben rescues a man he knows, but the latter turns out to be infected and partially turned into a vampire. He tries to bite Eben and they struggle, with Eben finally hitting that man several times with an ax (we see the first impact at the neck and then hear the rest). We then see a back view (at night, dimly lit) of that man tangled in a swing, headless, with the head on the snowy ground and blood running down from the body. Later, Marlow examines that severed and bloody head. A little vampire girl has blood on her mouth, and her dead victim is bloody. When she's later killed, that has bloody results as well. Eben uses a UV light to burn a vampire that comes in after him (singeing her face and arm, which are now blackened). Beau shoots many vampires with a shotgun, including blowing off one's head. Marlow puts his foot down onto a bloody man's head, and then stomps down on that, killing the man (partially seen, and fully heard). A young girl survivor has blood on her face. Marlow wipes a victim's blood around his own head. A vampire attacks a man, followed by Eben hitting that vampire with an ax. The vampire throws Eben aside, others try to grab him, and the vampire then head-butts Eben. The first man, now bloody, drives the vampire into an industrial shredder where he's instantly ripped apart and disappears into the blades, but the man then pulls back to reveal that his arm was torn off (all of that has very bloody results). Eben then does a mercy killing on that man, striking him repeatedly on the neck with an ax until he nearly severs the head (with very bloody results seen then, and again later). A man drives his fist through a vampire's mouth and out the back of his head, killing him (with bloody results). At dawn, a vampire's exposed flesh starts to turn to black ash and then floats away. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE The vampires obviously have bad attitudes for wanting to kill everyone in the town. Some viewers might not like when Marlow tells a human victim that there is no God. We see bodies covered by a sheet, and the husband/father says he killed his wife and child before the vampires got there, and that he tried to take his own life, but his gun jammed. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful, or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. The appearance (mouthfuls of sharp teeth, crazed eyes, bloody mouths, etc.) and demeanor (desirous of killing the humans) of the vampires may be unsettling, suspenseful, and/or scary to viewers, particularly younger ones and/or those with low tolerance levels for such horror mayhem. A man hears odd thumping sounds, the power goes out, and he then goes out to investigate with a flashlight. He and then we see various figures passing around him, with one then seemingly slicing his throat, and another bites into his neck and/or chest, with bloody results. One man is suddenly yanked away from two other people into the darkness. His dead and bloody body then suddenly flies out and lands hard on the snow. We then see vampire figures in the background behind the other man there. The Stranger's appearance (especially his black teeth and crazy eyes) and warnings of pending doom might be unsettling for some viewers. The power goes out in the police station and Eben then walks out, gun drawn, slowly following a trail of blood in the snow until he finds a severed and bloody head impaled on a post. A vampire crashes through a kitchen window, grabs the wife there, and yanks her away as her husband rushes out to try to save her. She's then yanked under the elevated house, and when John tries to save her, a vampire scratches his face (with bloody results) and then his leg. The wife, with bloody hands, is then yanked under that house and then off to the underside of another one. The Stranger suddenly grabs Jake by the neck and yanks him up against jail cell bars. Eben then arrives and shoots The Stranger, splattering his blood onto the wall, but the shot is not deadly. Eben then pushes The Stranger back against the cell bars where he cuffs him. Eben and Stella drive through the dark and she sees something through her night vision goggles that prompts her to yell at Eben to get into the truck. He does and they speed off, but a vampire races up behind them and jumps on their truck, trying to tear his way into it. Eben fires at least one shot up through the roof, followed by Stella slamming on the brakes, sending the vampire falling off. A man shoots one vampire, but it does no good as the vampire knocks his wife down. The vampire then grabs the man, lifts him from the floor by his neck, and then stabs a poker into his gut (we don't see the impact of the latter). Various vampires then attack and bite into the wife (with bloody results). We see a montage of vampire attacks on the humans, from both ground level and an overhead, aerial view. We see biting, slicing, and such from the vampire side (as well as throwing humans around, including one off a roof), while humans blast the vampires with shotguns or rifles and such, both with bloody results (seen from near and afar, and on the humans and vampires, as well as in the snow). Vampires catch Stella and Eben's truck from behind and then lift it off the road from the rear, eventually flipping it over onto its roof (but not before one vampire breaks a window, and Eben shoots a vampire, with bloody results). The two inside are dazed, and try to prevent the vampires from dragging them out of the vehicle. Just then, Beau smashes into and runs over various vampires with his snowplow, allowing the other humans to escape and race to catch up to his still moving truck. Human survivors take refuge in an attic from where they hear occasional and distant sounds of gunfire and human screams. We see a lone woman walking down the snow-covered street at night, but also see vampires moving along rooftops behind her, with Eben realizing they're using her as bait to lure out other human survivors. Eben rescues a man he knows, but the latter turns out to be infected and partially turned into a vampire. He tries to bite Eben and they struggle, with Eben finally hitting that man several times with an ax (we see the first impact at the neck and then hear the rest). We then see a back view (at night, dimly lit) of that man tangled in a swing, headless, with the head on the snowy ground and blood running down from the body. Later, Marlow examines that severed and bloody head. A man panics when his partially senile, older father escapes via a bathroom window, thus going into harm's way of the vampires. That man then races out into the night to try to find him, thus exposing himself as well. We see vampires on the hunt as Eben and Stella try to hide from them. Huddled in an attic, survivors hear vampires on the roof above them. When a blizzard strikes, the survivors quickly go on the move through the town's snowy streets. A little vampire girl has blood on her mouth, and her dead victim is bloody. Eben then slowly goes hunting for her, and she suddenly springs forth from the darkness. His swing at her with an ax misses, and she then attacks him. Others then grab her, pin her to a wall, and Jake strikes her twice with an ax, killing her. Eben uses himself as a diversion, making noise to have the vampires chase after him, while the others make their way to another destination. Eben then tries to start a generator (to power a UV light), but it won't initially start, and the vampires are closing in. Beau shoots many vampires with a shotgun, including blowing off one's head. He then uses the large auger on a truck to grind up others, drives over more, and then crashes the truck into a building. As vampires then come in for him, he lights some dynamite, resulting in a large explosion that injures him, kills other vampires, and causes property destruction. Marlow puts his foot down onto a bloody man's head, and then stomps down on that, killing the man (partially seen, and fully heard). A man who's starting to change into a vampire talks of his family that was killed by a drunk driver in the past. He then wants Eben to do a mercy killing on him, so they walk off into another room and we hear two sounds of the deadly impact, with Eben then walking back out. Various survivors run from vampires. A vampire attacks a man, followed by Eben hitting that vampire with an ax. The vampire throws Eben aside, others try to grab him, and the vampire then head-butts Eben. The first man, now bloody, drives the vampire into an industrial shredder where he's instantly ripped apart and disappears into the blades, but the man then pulls back to reveal that his arm was torn off (all of that has very bloody results). Eben then does a mercy killing on that man, striking him repeatedly on the neck with an ax until he nearly severs the head (with very bloody results seen then, and again later). Stella hides out in the snow and cold with a young girl, under a vehicle. We then see a flow of oil spreading through the snowy streets, with Marlow then lighting that (thus putting Stella and the girl in danger from the fire and the vampires should the humans come out of hiding). A man injects himself with infected blood, and his eyes get cloudy and black (all so that he can better battle the vampires). GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/Shotguns/Rifles/Axes/Dynamite: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others (mostly vampires, but some humans in mercy killings) and/or cause some property damage. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "F*ck you to their parents," "Nothing I can't handle my own f*cking self," "F*cker," "Stop the f*cking truck," "Get in the f*cking truck," "C'mon, m*therf*ckers," "F*ck off," "Are you f*cking crazy?" "To sh*t," "You sh*t-head," "Holy sh*t," "Oh sh*t," "Bullsh*t," "You're a bad little bitch" (intended sexually), "Kicked your ass," "That sucks," "Hell of a day," "What the hell /is that/is going on/was that?" "Trying to freak us out," "Shut up" and "Run like hell." The action and stunts might be enticing for some kids to imitate. Eben finds a pile of burned cell phones in the snow. Marlow has a tattoo on his head. JUMP SCENES A worker accidentally drives a large piece of equipment into Stella's truck as she races down a snowy road for the airport (no one is hurt, but her SUV is damaged). A figure suddenly passes by in the foreground of a shot. The Stranger suddenly grabs a waitress' hand. A man is suddenly grabbed and yanked away by vampires. A vampire jumps down on a victim, killing that person. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of suspenseful and ominous music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 11 "f" words (1 used with "mother"), 10 "s" words, 8 hells, 2 damns, 1 ass and 1 use each of "Lord," "Jesus Christ" and "Oh God." SEX/NUDITY As Eben and Billy watch the last sunset, Billy says he brought his wife Peggy up there, with Eben joking, "We all did...not all with Penny" (the daughter). A woman leaves work with two men who both want to go out with her. She playfully says she won't let either of them get her alone, and one man says they can share (her). One then promises to be good, but she then flirtatiously replies, "Where's the fun in that?" One man then says, "Oh, you bad little bitch." Nothing sexual occurs, however, as the vampires attack. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Eben is surprised to hear that Stella, his estranged wife, is in town, and had no intention of letting him know. After she gets stuck there, they have some conversations about their past and present situation, with things being strained between them (although the vampire situation supersedes all of that). Jake reports that the vampires killed his grandmother. A man panics when his partially senile, older father escapes via a bathroom window, thus going into harm's way of the vampires. That man then races out into the night to try to find him, thus exposing himself as well. A man who's starting to change into a vampire talks of his family that was killed by a drunk driver in the past. We see bodies covered by a sheet, and the husband/father says he killed his wife and child before the vampires got there, and that he tried to take his own life, but his gun jammed. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The notion and fictional history of vampires. Living in places like Barrow that are plunged into nonstop nighttime for long periods in the middle of the winter. Having asthma. VIOLENCE Eben finds a pile of burned cell phones in the snow. A knife is stabbed into some sled dogs. We hear but don't see the impact, but do see some blood spray out into the surrounding snow, and then a close-up of at least one dead and bloody dog body. We later see another brief view of the dead and bloody dogs where the mouths are torn and/or frozen open. A worker accidentally drives a large piece of equipment into Stella's truck as she races down a snowy road for the airport (no one is hurt, but her SUV is damaged). A man hears odd thumping sounds, the power goes out, and he then goes out to investigate with a flashlight. He and then we see various figures passing around him, with one then seemingly slicing his throat, and another bites into his neck and/or chest, with bloody results. When he isn't served what he wants (something not on the menu), The Stranger grabs a waitress' hand. Stella then holds a gun to the back of The Stranger's head, followed by Eben grabbing and pinning the guy to the counter, twice. One man is suddenly yanked away from two other people into the darkness. His dead and bloody body then suddenly flies out and lands hard on the snow. The power goes out in the police station and Eben then walks out, gun drawn, slowly following a trail of blood in the snow until he finds a severed and bloody head impaled on a post. A vampire crashes through a kitchen window, grabs the wife there, and yanks her away as her husband rushes out to try to save her. She's then yanked under the elevated house, and when John tries to save her, a vampire scratches his face (with bloody results) and then his leg. The wife, with bloody hands, is then yanked under that house and then off to the underside of another one. The Stranger suddenly grabs Jake by the neck and yanks him up against jail cell bars. Eben then arrives and shoots The Stranger, splattering his blood onto the wall, but the shot is not deadly. Eben then pushes The Stranger back against the cell bars where he cuffs him. Eben and Stella drive through the dark and she sees something through her night vision goggles that prompts her to yell at Eben to get into the truck. He does and they speed off, but a vampire races up behind them and jumps on their truck, trying to tear his way into it. Eben fires at least one shot up through the roof, followed by Stella slamming on the brakes, sending the vampire falling off. A man shoots one vampire, but it does no good as the vampire knocks his wife down. The vampire then grabs the man, lifts him from the floor by his neck, and then stabs a poker into his gut (we don't see the impact of the latter). Various vampires then attack and bite into the wife (with bloody results). We see a montage of vampire attacks on the humans, from both ground level and an overhead, aerial view. We see biting, slicing, and such from the vampire side (as well as throwing humans around, including one off a roof), while humans blast the vampires with shotguns or rifles and such, both with bloody results (seen from near and afar, and on the humans and vampires, as well as in the snow). Vampires catch Stella and Eben's truck from behind and then lift it off the road from the rear, eventually flipping it over onto its roof (but not before one vampire breaks a window, and Eben shoots a vampire, with bloody results). The two inside are dazed, and try to prevent the vampires from dragging them out of the vehicle. Just then, Beau smashes into and runs over various vampires with his snowplow, allowing the other humans to escape and race to catch up to his still moving truck. Marlow kills a human, and while we don't see the impact, we hear it along with resultant spilling of blood. Eben pins another survivor to the floor to prevent him from going outside and thus giving away their hiding location to the vampires. Various vampires surround a loner woman, taking turns scratching and otherwise striking her, before delivering the fatal bite (which we don't see in full). Eben rescues a man he knows, but the latter turns out to be infected and partially turned into a vampire. He tries to bite Eben and they struggle, with Eben finally hitting that man several times with an ax (we see the first impact at the neck and then hear the rest). We then see a back view (at night, dimly lit) of that man tangled in a swing, headless, with the head on the snowy ground and blood running down from the body. Later, Marlow examines that severed and bloody head. When Stella tries to stop a man from leaving the house (to try to rescue his senile father who's already left), that man backhands her, sending her crashing into some furniture onto which she bangs her head. A man is suddenly grabbed and yanked away by vampires. A little vampire girl has blood on her mouth, and her dead victim is bloody. Eben then slowly goes hunting for her, and she suddenly springs forth from the darkness. His swing at her with an ax misses, and she then attacks him. Others then grab her, pin her to a wall, and Jake strikes her twice with an ax, killing her. A vampire jumps down on a victim, killing that person. Eben uses a UV light to burn a vampire that comes in after him (singeing her face and arm, which are now blackened). Beau shoots many vampires with a shotgun, including blowing off one's head. He then uses the large auger on a truck to grind up others, drives over more, and then crashes the truck into a building. As vampires then come in for him, he lights some dynamite, resulting in a large explosion that injures him, kills other vampires, and causes property destruction. Marlow puts his foot down onto a bloody man's head, and then stomps down on that, killing the man (partially seen, and fully heard). A man who's starting to change into a vampire talks of his family that was killed by a drunk driver in the past. He then wants Eben to do a mercy killing on him, so they walk off into another room and we hear two sounds of the deadly impact, with Eben then walking back out. We see bodies covered by a sheet, and the husband/father says he killed his wife and child before the vampires got there, and that he tried to take his own life, but his gun jammed. A vampire attacks a man, followed by Eben hitting that vampire with an ax. The vampire throws Eben aside, others try to grab him, and the vampire then head-butts Eben. The first man, now bloody, drives the vampire into an industrial shredder where he's instantly ripped apart and disappears into the blades, but the man then pulls back to reveal that his arm was torn off (all of that has very bloody results). Eben then does a mercy killing on that man, striking him repeatedly on the neck with an ax until he nearly severs the head (with very bloody results seen then, and again later). An infected man battles Marlow, hitting him many times, but Marlow then repeatedly slams the man's head to a vehicle, and then throws him about. The two exchange more blows, with the man getting the worst of it (kicked, sliced, punched, etc.), including having his wrist broken, and then being backhanded. Just when things look bad, the man drives his fist through Marlow's mouth and out the back of his head, killing him (all of that has bloody results, particularly the last bit). At dawn, a vampire's exposed flesh starts to turn to black ash and then floats away. Reviewed October 12, 2007 / Posted October 19, 2007

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