30 Days of Night Features the Best Vampires in Horror

 

Credit to 30 Days Of Night Review | Movie — Empire

I was not expecting 30 Days of Night to be my favorite vampire film ever made. The film does not hesitate to delve into the terror of being in the middle of nowhere, with a horrible threat lurking in the shadows. We follow a group of people that live in a small town in Alaska, that find themselves getting picked off one by one by a group of vampires. 

The townspeople must do whatever they can to survive…but there is a huge problem. In certain parts of Alaska, nights can last up to thirty days. (Yes, this is a real thing). And the vampires happened to show up at the perfect time, getting ready to hunt during an entire month in this small town. 

These people must survive and thrive during thirty days of night, hiding from creatures that love the hunt. 

We follow the story of a couple on the brink of divorce. 

Credit to ’30 Days of Night’ a ruthlessly dark tale

Eben and Stella are planning to separate during the arrival of the thirty days of night. Stella was about to leave the town before she gets into a car accident, her vehicle getting damaged by a machine that crashes into her. She finds herself stuck in the town for the next thirty days, not realizing that something is already arriving to the town. 

Random characters are getting taken or murdered in ruthless ways, and Eben, the sheriff of the town, becomes determined to protect his people and search for this mystery killer. The town meet a stranger/messenger that appears out of nowhere, and he tells them that ‘people’ are going to come and kill everyone. 

No one takes him seriously until the murders occur, and Eben gets the same old information from the man that doesn’t make any sense. He locks him in a prison cell, and the man continues to warn them that something is coming. 

Shit immediately hits the fan when the vampires show up. 

We get an entire sequence of the people in the town getting slaughtered one by one. 

Credit to 30 Days of Night — Plugged In

This is one of my favorite scenes in a horror film. 

When the beasts arrive, Stella freaks out when she sees something offscreen as Eben is driving a car. A vampire hops onto their vehicle, attempting to attack the duo. They escape, only to get attacked by a group of vampires. They lift up their car, flipping it upside down. Stella and Eben are able to escape once again, but not everyone got the same luck they did. 

We next get an entire scene of the whole town getting killed by the vampires. And everyone dies in absolute fear and is ruthlessly killed by these beasts. I don’t think I have ever seen such terrifying vampires that are freaking HUNGRY. 

They throw people around, feast on their blood, literally ripping their throats out and leaving behind nothing but carnage. It’s a brutal scene that any horror fan will appreciate. How the director was able to pull this whole scene off is incredible, especially with one of the best shots of the film, that hovers over the people getting slaughtered from above. 

Despite this horrible outcome, we do get a small group of survivors. 

Stella, Eben, and some of the townspeople are hiding out in a house from the beasts. 

Credit to 30 Days of Night Was Set in Alaska — But Where Was It Filmed?

A small crew has survived, but they wonder if they will be able to last until the thirty days is up. We watch as the days pass, as the group struggle to survive. They endure so much loss and suffering as they continue to do whatever it takes to keep going.

They kill a vampire kid by chopping off her head. (Yes, not even kids are given mercy in this movie).

They witness a woman being used as bait to lure out the other survivors. When they doesn’t work, the vampires torture her before sucking her dry. (This part is really tough to watch).

Two of Eben’s friends suffer horrible fates. One of them becomes a vampire and Eben is forced to put him down. His partner in the police station killed his own family so that they wouldn’t meet the same fate. He is later killed when he becomes a vampire himself. 

Eben is able to kill one vampire with a specific light, using it like the sun against one of the female creatures. This action leads to one of their comrades getting killed, as a sacrifice to save the group. 

Another dude in the group becomes a vampire, and asks Eben to chop off his head, so that he won’t hurt anyone else. 

This film sounds so damn bleak, huh?

Well, it’s about to get even more depressing that that. 

Eben and the group are at a standstill when the vampires start to burn down the entire town to hide their evidence of the slaughter. 

Stella founds herself stuck between the creatures and the fire, along with a little girl she saves, that is covered in blood. (It’s implied that her parents were murdered in front of her. Poor kid).

Eben realizes that in order to save Stella and the girl, he must do the impossible. He turns himself into a vampire with the blood of one he recently killed. The group watches in horror as he turns into one, and he sets out to challenge the head vampire in a fight. 

Eben becomes the victor, taking out the head vampire. The rest of the vampires silently leave after their leader is killed, and Eben reunites with Stella as the town burns. The rest of the survivors appear, watching their town burn. 

The film ends with a heartbreaking goodbye. 

Credit to F This Movie!: Neon Badges: 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, Part 3

Once Eben kills the head vampire, Stella realizes that the thirty days of night is over, and the sun is finally coming back. Eben decides to end his life, so that no harm will come to her. Stella and Eben share one final kiss, and she holds onto him as the rising sun turns him into ash. 

The film ends with Stella expressing sadness and anger, as she holds onto the dead man she never stopped loving. 

This ending pisses me off every time I watch it. 

I’m such a huge fan of this vampire flick, and I always get depressed whenever Eben gives up his life for Stella. You will love the characters as the story progresses, and Eben is a great warrior who never stopped fighting until the end for his people. 

It’s a powerful way to end this fantastic film, and it’s another reason why I consider this to be the best vampire film ever made.