A clever new take on an old genre, but it is far longer than it needed to be which ended up making the graphic violence more mind-numbing than scary or intense.



Amazon did a fine job giving us a synopsis of the story wherein our most northern Alaskan community which suffers through 30 days of night is besieged by vampires. While this is a fun graphically violent, atmospheric, and generally well-acted horror flick, it really doesn't deserve much more from me than my hits and misses evaluation.



The Misses:



(1) Overly long by about 30 minutes. One becomes disconnected to the characters and plot after so much violence for such an extended period of time as the violence is rather repetitive in nature.



(2) Tissue paper thin plot even though it was a clever take on an old genre.



(3) Too many people wondering in and out from nowhere in what is supposed to be a very small isolated town.



(4) The lack of a real climax and any kind of satisfying resolution.



(5) A completely silly and nonsensical fight scene near the end that is supposed to be our climax, but is laughable, uninspiring, and just down right stupid.



(6) For all the cleverness of this film, the vampires are still reduced to simply screaming animals and often we just get these long shots of them doing just that. It seems endless and rather grating on the nerves after awhile.



Hits:



(1) The film is very nicely acted by all involved making the characters seem real in a very unreal situation. That really helps a film in this genre.



(2) The camera work is exceptional and I'm not referring to special effects and make up which are very good, but rather the actual camera movement and angles which create atmosphere, tension, and genuine creepiness. The best shot of the entire film is a straight down shot from above as the legion of vampires literally massacre the town. It is absolutely bone-chilling.



(3) A clever concept that re-invigorates an old genre.



(4) The set designs are excellent and reminds one of John Carpenter's version of The Thing (Collector's Edition).





In the end, this film comes off as more style than substance and forgive the pun here, but it was overkill of a good idea. I think fans of this genre will love it for what it is and those with only a passing interest in vampire films may be less impressed. I liked it overall, but just felt disappointed when it was over as the film really lacked punch at the end which became confused, out of focus in its inept attempt to be climatic and heart wrenching at the same time.