David Slade directed this brutal vampire tale that was adapted into film from the 2002 comic book mini-series. The story is set in the Alaskan town of Barrow which is so far north it is dark for a 30-day period once a year.  

A mysterious band of vampires take advantage of this period to descend upon the town and feed on its unsuspecting residents. Completely cut off from the outside world, the few surviving townspeople can only hope on the distant sunrise for their salvation.

Josh Hartnett gives a good performance as the sheriff of Barrow, Eben Oleson, who slays the beasts as best he can to protect his family and fellow townsfolk. His role and the somewhat original plot situation are not enough to make this movie great. The montage sequences leave the story with unknown gaps and spaces.

The fiendish vamps are quite terrifying, and the outlandish amounts of gore make those with even the strongest stomachs wince.  Where as most horror movies cut away from a brutal decapitation or bloodsuck, "30 Days" zooms in and gets the audience up-close and personal with the kill. These appalling sequences make this movie truly scary, but the story gaps and lack of character development leave this horror flick as one fueled mainly by its thirst for blood.