30 Days of Night (Film Review)

2007 Columbia Pictures
Directed by: David Slade; Written by: Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie, and Brian Nelson
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster, and Mark Boone Junior
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 113 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 3/10

Barrow, Alaska, north of the Arctic Circle, is at the top of the world, the northernmost city in the United States. Now, the town prepares for its annual 30 straight days of night. As the daylight sets, many leave for sunnier lands, while a core group stays behind. Unfortunately for that group, an ancient gang of vampires has happened upon Barrow, starving and ready for a 30-day feast.
30 Days of Night, whose concept and main story beats are taken directly from Steve Niles' comic of the same name, seems like a surefire horror hit. However, it just never quite clicks. The pacing never falls into any sort of satisfying rhythm. As the lead, town sheriff, Eben Oleson, Josh Hartnett exudes little of the charisma he displayed in his debut role. As the charming slacker/action hero in 1999's The Faculty, Hartnett was magnetic, but in 30 Days of Night, he's got one setting: dour. This may not be all on Hartnett--it's not like he's exactly given anything fun to do.
For the majority of its runtime, 30 Days of Night is a siege picture, with a small handful of humans surviving the vampires' initial attack, and hiding out and fretting in an attic. Any time the film threatens to become fun and entertaining, like when one character gets on a snow plow and starts mowing down vampires left and right, it has that character do something dumb, like nonsensically driving that snowplow into a house. This lame propensity stymies the movie every time it feels like it is taking off. Furthermore, all vampire movies must at least give a loose outline of its vampires strengths and weaknesses. 30 Days of Night's vampires simply seem to have whatever strengths and weaknesses are currently necessary to the plot. The biggest bummer is, the film--appearing to have mostly been filmed day for night--ends on a beautiful image. It's a shame nothing leading to that moment gives it any resonance.
My only experience with the world of 30 Days of Night up to this point came from an X-Files/30 Days of Night comic crossover. I enjoyed it immensely more than I did this film.