30 Days of Night: Dark Days (2010)
I've never been a fan of the original "30 Days of Night" movie. It was slow-paced, unengaging, and it mostly relied on its nice visuals and flashy special effects. I thought it was mediocre at best and only mildly entertaining. Nevertheless, I decided to give this straight-to-DVD sequel a shot, and while "30 Days of Night: Dark Days" was far from terrible, it was a half step below its predecessor. It tells the story of Stella Olemaun, who after surviving the incidents in Barrow, Alaska, relocates to Los Angeles, where she intentionally attracts the attention of the local vampire population in order to avenge the death of her husband, Eben. The story is ambitious, but very flimsy, and stretched way too thin. The acting from all the actors involved was pretty average. Kiele Sanchez as Stella did an adequate job. Coiro, Baird and Perrineau gace belivable performances as the enthusiastic vampire killers. Troy Ruptash as Agent Norris was good, and looked pretty terrifying when he became a vampire. Mia Kirshner was very unconvicing as Vampire's "Mother Bee", Lilith. I thought her acting was laughably bad and I didn't believe for a moment that she's a Vampire queen. The special effects for a low-budget STV movie were surprisingly well-made, though nothing mind-blowing. The make-up and gore effects were decent as well, and did't look cheap as expected. The action sequnces are well-handled for most part and they're actually entertaining to watch. Although it was refreshing to see a change in the scenery, "Dark Days"' warehouse/tunnels/urban scenery was too simplistic and grim, and it became boring very quickly. The ending really let this film down, since it was very predictable. Actually, with bigger budget, more imaginatie story and more talented director, "Dark Days" could have get a theatrical release. It has its moments and it's visually-adequate, but it just did't provide enough thrills and rousing action sequences.
- My Rating: 4.75/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 50% (2 Reviews)
- IMDb: 4.9/10
12 comments:
Never a fan of "30 Days of Night" movie as well so I'm just uninterested with its sequel.
By the way, when will you launch your review for Aftershock, really can't wait.
30DON would have to be my fav vampire flick of the last decade Nebular old buddy. I've yet to see any vampire flick with such an awesome display of true vampirical sociopathic tendancies, coupled with sheer on-screen brutality. Sure, Lugosi & Lee embodied all that is the mythos of "Dracula", but the 30DON kids were just plain badass blood sucking freaks. I wish more vampire films would take a similar "serious" approach to the sociopathic side of the vampire. And the blatant brutality too. I've yet to see Dark Days, but your review echoes similar takes currently doing the rounds.
Damn shame...
The music of the first was an outstanding work.
-mAQ
Takes place in LA? Removes all the allure of the original's desolate and claustrophobic atmosphere. What little it had...
Good review--I meant to see this one night but I think it was sold out...I liked reading what you had to say about it, though.
Jaccsy, the original was well.. a bit dull. :)
I was planning to post my "Aftershock" review yesterday, but I just didn't have enough time, so expect it later today ;)
stonerphonic, I really wanted to like "30 Days of Night", but I just didn't, mainly because of Slade's direction, which wasn't exactly my cup of tea. Yes, it was brutal and extremely gory, but so shallow and so brainless, just like the vampires in this film. Your words make sense, but I feel like you're analyzing another, much better vampire flick. For example, this year's "Daybreakers" was a masterpiece compared to 30DON. The sequel was a bit flat and less entertaining than its predecessor, but there were moments, that I really liked, especially the opening sequence.
Soiled Sinema, the original was so forgettable, I don't remember a single note of its score.
Alex, yep, no more Alaska! :) I missed the old scenery as well, but hey, what could be more claustrophobic than old dark tunnels? :)
Sadako, thanks. Glad you enjoyed reading my review. You should see this film for yourself though. ;) It was exactly what I expected it to be.
Thanks Nebular. I do agree the "story" and delivery to Daybreakers was far superior, and I don't just say that coz it was made in my home town. I admit to liking 30DON purely for the ultra-violence as opposed to either story or character development. If i want a good vampire story with proper vampire lore & decent character development, then I have no choice but to go back to Hammer films of the 60's & 70's...
stonerphonic, 30DON was far from terrible, but I thought it was joyless, and its entertainment value was rather low. Story-wise, it sucked :) Scenery and special/gore effects were great though. No more arguing :)
Post a Comment