The pitch of this one was what caught my eye: an American town in Alaska gets each year 30 days during which the sun doesn't show up (as often happens in those northern lands) and that's the time that a bunch of vampires choose to go downtown and enjoy themselves a bit...
Now vampires movies are cool already, but when properly handed, you can reach some pretty awesome levels. That material was properly treated.
In essence, it's pure 1st degree no-nonsense survival movie. A bunch of mismatched people are being hunted and they try to survive, as they see everyone else being killed.
In that sense the movie doesn't sport anything very ground breaking in the sense that you get the usual freak outs and surprise kills. Nothing madly original in concept but no disappointment as it's still very solid stuff.
And anyway with this genre, what matters is how the material is dealt with. It's all about style and atmosphere and it's truly here that the movie delivers.
First of all the vampires are really scary. They're beasts, only looking for humans to feed and despising them as mere cattle. Danny Huston who plays their leader is truly creepy here.
The tension starts building up straightaway and never let go, even during the ending credits, a sort of patchwork of torn pictures reminding of the massacre. You only get a few jump shocks to keep you on your toes and the movie concentrates on distilling a creepy atmosphere that does the job as well!
It is also beautifully shot. It might be a strange thing to say about a horror movie, especially considering the amount of violence and the number of shock moments, but it is! Each frame manages to convey the creepy atmosphere and also to remind of the comic book source. It's not as stylised as Sin City but still plays on a tasteful palette of black, white and red.
Overall what we have is one of the best survival horrors in years, coupled with one of best vampires movies in years!
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