| 30 Days of Night | |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | American English |
The 30 Days of Night franchise consists of American horror installments including a theatrical film, a prequel miniseries, a sequel limited series, and a direct-to-home video sequel movie. Based on the comic series of the same name created by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith, the plot centers around an unsuspecting Alaskan town in the US that is overtaken by a swarm of vampires during a thirty-day polar night period of time. Throughout the franchise, townspeople fight through the events to defeat the mystical creatures with all their resources to survive.
The franchise has been met with an overall mixed critical reception. The first movie though initially poorly received, has since received praise in modern analysis and earned its status as a horror classic. In contrast, its sequel and the limited series expansions which included the involvement of franchise creator Steve Niles, had greater negative critical reviews. Financially, the franchise turned a profit for the studio at the box office.[1]
See main article: article, List of 30 Days of Night comics and 30 Days of Night.
The 2002 successful American miniseries, written by Steve Niles and illustrated by Ben Templesmith, and published by IDW Publishing, resulted in the 2007 feature film and its subsequent continuations. Originally developed as film pitch, the comic book series was a critical and financial success, followed by various spin-offs and expansions. The plot centers around a small community in Alaska, that is violently hunted by vampires, during a full month of darkness.[2]
| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriters | Producer(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Days of Night | David Slade | Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie & Brian Nelson | Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert | ||
| Ben Ketai | Steve Niles & Ben Ketai | Robert Tapert |
See main article: article and 30 Days of Night (film).
Once a year the remote small town of Barrow, Alaska experiences a month of darkness. Though many of its citizen travel southward during this month, Sherriff Eben Oleson and his estranged wife the deputy sheriff named Estella are among those charged with monitoring the town. A seemingly routine season turns into a living nightmare as its citizens begin getting killed one by one in with violently gory evidence. As the pair begin their investigation, they find that supernatural means may be the source of the town's terror. A group of hungry vampires who with their leader Marlow have begun a feeding spree. Forced to overcome their differences and work together, Eben and Estella band together with the remaining townspeople to fight back against the monstrous creatures with hours until dawn, and create a plan to escape with their lives.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
See main article: 30 Days of Night: Dark Days.
Estella mourns the passing of her husband one year ago, when he sacrificed himself to save his neighbors from the vampiric massacre at Barrow, Alaska that nearly decimated the population during its annual month-long darkness. Through her grief, she travels the world attempting to convince others of the supernatural events that occurred in her town, resulting in her arrest and questioning of her sanity given the demonic nature of her story. After learning that the vampires who attacked Barrow were under the direction of their queen named Lilith, she assembles a small team to hunt down her location and end their monstrous reign of terror. Determined to exact revenge, Estella travels to the underworldly organizations of Los Angeles with a resolve to find a means of bringing back her husband.[9] [10] [11]
| Series | Season(s) | Episodes | Originally released | Showrunners | Executive producers | Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | ||||||
| 30 Days of Night: Blood Trails | 1 | 7 | Fearnet | Steve Niles & Ben Ketai | Jim Burns, Rob Sebastian, Steve Niles and Steve Hein | Ended | ||
| 30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust | 1 | 6 | Ben Ketai & Ed Fowler | Jim Burns, Rob Sebastian, Steve Niles, Steve Hein, Jonathan Dana and Shawnee Smith | ||||
A young drug addict named George is hired by a weary vampire hunter from New Orleans, to acquire covert information. Determined to remain sober and to leave town to change his life forever, George takes one final assignment. The job quickly escalates, when vampiric monster begin pursuing him and his contacts are murdered. George fights to stay alive while maintaining his sobriety, and attempts to warn humanity of an impending "feeding" frenzy in Barrow, Alaska.[12] [13] [14]
One month after the horrific massacre in Alaska, George Fowler is ruled a convicted murderer and sentenced to prison. Though he tries to warn others about the reality of vampires, they question his sanity. In the process, a nurse at the facility named Sara and a number of security guards are ambushed by a vampire. During the attack Sara's throat is slashed, while George escapes the prison. Her brother Nick, who was previously a police officer, investigates the event believing that the escaped prisoner is responsible. When Nick confronts the escaped prisoner, the same vampire once again attacks. After Sara begins to turn into one of the monsters herself, she calls her brother for help. Together Nick and George race to find her, trying to save her from the nightmarish reality she faces.[15] [16] [17]
| Character | Film | Television | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Days of Night | 30 Days of Night: | 30 Days of Night: | 30 Days of Night: | ||
| Sher. Eben Oleson | Josh Hartnett | Stephen Huszar | |||
| Stella Oleson | Melissa George | Kiele Sanchez | |||
| Jake Oleson | Mark Rendall | ||||
| Dep. William "Billy" Kitka | Manu Bennett | ||||
| Beau Brower | Mark Boone Junior | ||||
| Doug Hertz | Joel Tobeck | ||||
| Gail | Rachel Maitland-Smith | ||||
| Marlow | Danny Huston | ||||
| the Stranger | Ben Foster | ||||
| Dane | Ben Cotton | ||||
| Paul | Rhys Coiro | ||||
| Lilith | Mia Kirshner | ||||
| Agent Norris | Troy Ruptash | ||||
| George Fowler | Andrew Laurich | ||||
| Jenny | Danielle Joy Foley | ||||
| Det. Nick Maguire | Christopher Stapleton | ||||
| Sara Maguire | Mimi Michaels | ||||
| Denise | Amber Sainsbury | ||||
| Lucy Ikos | Elizabeth Hawthorne | ||||
| Carter Davies | Nathaniel Lees | ||||
| Wilson Bulosan | Craig Hall | ||||
| Isaac Bulosan | Chic Littlewood | ||||
| John Riis | Peter Feeney | ||||
| Iris | Megan Franich | ||||
| Arven | Andrew Stehlin | Andrew Stehlin | |||
| Zurial | John Rawls | ||||
| Seth | Jacob Tomuri | ||||
| Amber | Diora Baird | ||||
| Todd | Harold Perrineau | ||||
| Jennifer | Katie Keating | ||||
| Stacey | Katharine Isabelle | ||||
| Jane | Stacey Roy | ||||
| Sandbag | Tapas Choudhury | ||||
| Eben | Stephen Huszar | ||||
| Axel | Marco Soriano | ||||
| Gunther | John De Santis | ||||
| Eddie | Trip Hope | ||||
| Chad | Geoff Stirling Jr. | ||||
| Cal | Shawn G. Smith | ||||
| Luis | Jeremy Lee Shranko | ||||
| Pat | T.J. Zale | ||||
| Judith Ali | Marilyn Johnson | ||||
| Vampire 1 | Patrick Logan Pace | ||||
| Vampire 3 | Tiffany Barrett | ||||
| Jim Maguire | Al Burke | ||||
| Susan Maguire | Angelique Yalda | ||||
| Det. Gina Harcourt | Shawnee Smith | ||||
| Tracy | Rainie Davis | ||||
| Title | Crew/Detail | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Cinematographer | Editor | Production companies | Distributing companies | Running time | ||
| 30 Days of Night | Brian Reitzell | Jo Willems | Art Jones | Columbia Pictures, Dark Horse Entertainment, Ghost House Pictures | Sony Pictures Releasing | 1 hr 54 mins | |
| Jermaine Stegall | Nelson Cragg | FEARnet Productions, Ghost House Pictures | Fearnet | 3 hrs 30 mins | |||
| 30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust | Andres Boulton | Mike Williamson | FEARnet Originals, Ghost House Pictures | 3 hrs | |||
| 30 Days of Night: Dark Days | Eric Maddison | Ben Ketai | Sony Pictures, Ghost House Pictures, Stage 6 Films, RCR Media Group | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | 1 hrs 32 mins | ||
| Title | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Days of Night | 51% (158 reviews)[20] | 53/100 (29 reviews)[21] | C[22] |
| 17% (6 reviews)[23] | (4 reviews)[24] | ||
A novelization, written by Tim Lebbon was released on September 25, 2007, and published by Pocket Star. To coincide with the film's release, a novelization by Tim Lebbon was published by Pocket Star on September 25, 2007.[25] Alongside the novelization, a book series published in collaboration by IDW and Pocket Star publishing was released.
The series of novels include: