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30 Days of Night (2007) – Overview

Tagline: Pray for sunrise.
Director: David Slade
Screenplay: Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie, and Brian Nelson (based on the comic book series by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith)
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster

Plot Summary

The film is set in the remote, isolated town of Barrow, Alaska (now Utqiagvik), the northernmost settlement in the United States. As winter approaches, the sun is about to set for a final time, plunging the town into a month-long period of perpetual night.

Act I: The Calm Before the Storm

• Estris: The town is preparing for the long darkness. We meet Sheriff Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnett) and his estranged wife, Stella (Melissa George), a fire marshal who missed the last flight out.

• Ominous Signs: Strange events begin to occur. The town’s cell phone tower is sabotaged, all the sled dogs are brutally killed, and a mysterious stranger (Ben Foster) arrives, warning of impending doom. He is creepy and cryptic, claiming “he’s coming” and that the townsfolk are “all food now.”

Act II: The Invasion

• The Attack Begins: As darkness falls, a group of feral, intelligent vampires, led by the ruthless Marlowe (Danny Huston), descends upon Barrow. They systematically cut off all escape routes and begin hunting the residents with terrifying efficiency.

• Survival: A small group of survivors, led by Eben and Stella, hole up in an attic and then a network of crawlspaces and abandoned buildings. The vampires are nearly unstoppable—fast, strong, and speaking in their own ancient, guttural language (with subtitles). The survivors must use their wits and knowledge of the town to stay alive.

Act III: The Desperate Plan

• Sacrifice and Adaptation: As the survivors are picked off one by one, Eben realizes they cannot last 30 days. In a desperate move, he injects himself with vampire blood from a captured foe. This temporarily grants him the strength and senses of a vampire without fully turning, allowing him to fight them on their own terms.