30 Days of Night: Dark Days Review

They replaced the original actress with a new girl? Really? I didn’t notice, probably because Stella was so static in the first movie when played by Melissa George. I can’t remember any line or contribution she made in 30 Days of Night. I will remember Stella, now played by Kelie Sanchez, because she is the central character of this film and is much more dark and disturbed…and a little dumb, but you’ll have to get to the end of the film to know what I’m talking about.

I think the best characteristic of 30 Days of Night: Dark Days is that it builds on to what was set up in the first film. At the same time, it ends Stella’s story with the vampires yet sets up the plot for further installments to be made. A lot of other critics have panned this movie for not sticking to the feel and continuity of the first film, but I tend to disagree. When you introduce a set of characters, vampires in this case, into an Alaskan setting, you will see certain aspects from them. On the flip side, if you were to go to vampires in Chicago, I’m sure they would speak and act differently as well. I can describe this thought only as – tribes. Different tribes have different features.

When we left off with the franchise in 2007, Barrow, Alaska, was being completely wiped off the map by a clan of vampires. A handful of survivors survived the first night’s slaughter only to have to lay in wait for the next 29 days to pass before the vampires would have to leave. Eben (played by Josh Harnett) and Stella take down the leader of the vampires, so they flee. However, Eben is in the midst of succumbing to his self infected vampire disease. Stella holds him close as the sun rises and he turns to ash.

When we pick up with this film, Stella is going across America speaking in theatres and college campuses. Her goal is to try and convince the public that vampires exist. The general consensus is that a fire somehow brutally mutilated the whole town of Barrow…somehow. Stella ends up in the presence of three other adults, all of whom survived a vampire attack of their own – and they want her to join him. Apparently there is a queen vampire that they are looking to take down, and by doing so will render the vampires unorganized without a leader. Stella reluctantly agrees to join their crusade and then the movie really begins with the action and suspense.

As I mentioned above, I enjoyed this film. It is clear that Stella is…damaged…because of what she has experienced and the loss of love when Eben dies. This makes her character particularly interesting to watch. In essence, you’re watching a woman take her power back, get revenge for her friends and family, and hurt the things that make her afraid to sleep at night. It is because of this feminist theory in place in 30 Days of Night: Dark Days that you really root for Stella, no matter what gender you are.

The action in this horror film is pretty good too. I think that pinning vampires vs guns is completely fair in this case, because the vampires are just so deadly. I believe that the heroes of this film could have been a little more heroic and a little more organized, but I guess they were going based on emotion and not intellect. Don’t get me wrong, this film was far from perfect, but it was pretty good. There are three kind of lame subplots, a crappy ending, and sometimes sloppy script. However, the bad parts of the film are vastly overshadowed by the positive parts.

Give 30 Days of Night: Dark Days a watch. I promise you won’t be disappointed.