30 Days of Night: Dark Days (V)
| release date | October 5 2010 |
| studio | Sony Home Entertainment |
| director | Ben Ketai |
| writer | Steve Niles and Ben Ketai |
| starring | Rhys Coiro, Mia Kirshner, Harold Perrineau, Kiele Sanchez, Diora Baird, Rhys Coiro, Monique Ganderton, Marco Sorian, Katherine Isabelle |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
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30 Days of Night: Dark Days is the sequel to the fairly well-done 30 Days of Night movie released a few years back. Based on the series of the same name by Steve Niles, it deals with Vampires in our modern world, with a slight twist. That being that these vamps are actual monsters, not broody sexy tweens sporting lots of hair care products.
Dark Says is only loosely based around the graphic novel of the same name, but does deal with the same characters. Shattered by the events of 30 Days of Night, Stella Olesun has embarked on a quest to spread the truth about what happened in Barrow, Alaska. As one of the few survivors from the massacre, folks have chosen to believe that she was merely a troubled survivor from an oil fire which killed 98 people in Barrow. What follows is a fairly tight, action-filled story centered on killing Lilith, the enigmatic leader of the vampires who helps keep them in the shadows, their existence largely unknown by society.
What really helps keep Dark Days from joining the ranks of the crappy Direct to Video club like the Pulse sequels, is that Dark Days features a fairly decent cast, all of whom turned in solid performances, despite a somewhat shaky script. Replacing Melissa George as Stella is the beautiful and capable Kiele Sanchez (the Glades). rounding out the cast is the always darkly sexy Mia Kirshner (The Crow: City of Angels, the L Word) and Rhys Coiro, best known for his role as Walsh the director on HBO’s Entourage.
Despite a small budget, Dark Days seems to make use of a variety of different sets for its various action pieces, ranging from Hotel Rooms, to sewer tunnels to ships. There is really only one or two scenes where the green screen CGI rears its ugly head. In fact, for such a gory film, the use of CGI is kept to a minimum, mainly for the uv burning scenes with the vamps.
While it succeeds on many fronts, Dark Days pales in comparison to the larger budgeted 30 Days of Night. Still, taking a decent cast and some great effects, they did manage to craft a decent direct to video sequel that expands Steve Niles’ 30 Days mythology, including an open ending that could easily be continued.
This is at the very least a worthy rental and a purchase for serious fans of the 30 Days of Night series.
A solid sequel, with good performances, cool vampires, and lots of carnage. Mia Kirshner was really good as ‘Lilith’ the queen vampire too! It’s not quite as good as David Slade’s 2007 film, but I still really enjoyed it. If your a fan of the first film, then you should totally like this one. 8/10
Nothing could ever compare to the first, but it’s a worthy companion, will I watch this one again. Naaaa… Mia Kirshner is fuckin hot as hell though. Decent if your bored, other then that it lacks what the other one had. Scares, and raw energy.
Not nearly as good as the 1st but its totally watchable and I have to say some of the death sequences were pretty cool and caught me off guard. If you liked the 1st one you should def. check out the sequel.
The first one may be my all time favorite vampire flick so I hold it high! The sequel is no where near as good! It’s a worthy sequel(no Scream 2 though) but it definitely feels like a cheap version.Still good, still fun but not the original!
I absolutely loved this movie. The effects were great,The acting was terrific, Kiele Sanchez was amazing as Stella, and it’s better then the first!
I haven’t read the Graphic Novels, I’m planning to, but, The story line was very well put together.
I was hoping for more Katharine Isabelle, but, her scenes were still great, I think of it as more of a Cameo, but, it was awesome seeing her in this.
I really hope they make Return To Barrow!
Although it’s not as good as the first film, Dark Days is a solid follow up. A decent cast with Sanchez being a good replacement for Melissa George, good direction, some great action and gore and an interesting ending.
I would be up for a third film.
30 Days of Night brought a nice refreshing view of Vampires. In this I mean, it was set in a remote location, as the title states 30 days of night, and most of all they weren’t all dressed as goths. Unfortunately Dark Days has decided that that was a mistake, whipped out as much PVC, black lipstick, chains, and velvet as possible, and placed a stereotypical darkly beautiful Vampire Queen as the antagonist.
When it boils down to it you as the viewer would be better off simply watching the Blade 2. If you like your stereotypical vampires with everything new or even different from the norm stripped from them, that would be a far better watch than the sad descent of what could have been an impressive series.
I really enjoyed this movie! Like others have all ready said, it’s not as good as the first but its a pretty solid film. Mia Kirshner was great!
Hmm, mixed feelings about this tbh.
It’s actually a solid film, especially for a sequel.
A major disappointment in the film that I can’t get over is how they replaced Melissa George.
A little over the top with the action at times, but all in all it’s a good watch for a sequel, give it a chance.
I only watched this because something in me hoped that this will be better than the original.
Well… it’s not. In fact it’s absolutely terrible and one of the worst and most boring vampire flicks I’ve ever seen. The story is stupid, the script is horribly written and the dialogue is mostly super-annoying. It’s filled with lame actors who probably never heard of words like ‘emotional’ or ‘believable’, the CGI effects look shoddy and the ending is definitely one of the most stupid endings I’ve ever seen. Some ok gore and 2-3 nice scares but overall just a piece of crap.
If you love schlock like “Skinwalkers” or the “Pulse”-sequels, you’ll enjoy this one too.
I watched it over the weekend and…. well I guess it was alright, it wasint great, not like the first one, they never are. Let me say this the best part of the movie was the ending. If it didn’t end like that or if they used a different ending then I would be rating this movie 2 out of 10. What really pisses me off though is that review on the front of the case “Dark Days makes Twilight look like Nursery school”. Any movie makes Twilight look like Nursery school, hell Cinderella makes Twilight look like Nursery School.
As a huge fan of 30 Days of Night (comics, novels, movie) this movie kicks ass. The best vampire series there is. Lots of action, gore, and most important: vampires! Real predator vampires that will rip your throat out. The important parts from the comics were kept intact (ending) while changing up others to fit into the movieverse. Though Stella should have had sex with Dane instead like in the comics. That would have been cooler.
Hopefully Return to Barrow is next. They could even combine Eben & Stella into that since chronologically it goes first. Time for vampires vs. vampires.
A fairly good followup to the first film. The concept of the original and execution was more frightening. This lacked the isolation till later in the film and really failed to capitalize on the atmosphere it could have had. Still an enjoyable watch, but I’d say a rental over buying.
I would’ve like to have seen the discussion before making this film.
“Ok, let’s take 30 Days of Night but move them from Alaska, where they were shrouded in darkness and completely isolated…and put them in sunny LA. THEN, let’s make the vampires act more like Zombies since zombies are really in right now. THEN, let’s add lots of guns and turn Stella into Buffy! Then, we’ll just throw in some flashback shots of Alaska so people don’t forget what sequel they were watching.”
I was highly disappointed. The fear and seclusion that 30DON brought was completely abandoned in this one. The action was too “guns-a-blazin” and lacked that sense of survival.
I’ve never read the entire series of graphic novels, but I doubt that it went in THIS direction.
The visual and acting were ok for a DTV sequel, but they lost sight of the original film.
In the shadows of the original, this movie falls a little short. But by itself, it delivers a consistent look that is sometimes hard to hold onto in a sequel. The vampires become the hunted as a team of revenge seekers set out to avenge their lost. “Dark Days” doesn’t stick with you the way the first did, but when you set the bar that high, what do you expect?
Compared to the first movie this really isn’t much chop at all. Taken as a stand alone film, it’s still not much chop. There are brief flashes of good stuff here and there, especially the beginning and ending but everything in between is cliched rubbish. The themes and feelings of isolation, dread and terror that are so dominant in the first movie have been taken out and in it’s place we have a rather bland Blade style action flick. The movie is filled with characters we don’t care for, including Stellar. The main villain has all the charisma of a block of concrete as all she does is stand around and stare at people. For a vampire Queen there is nothing remotely threatening about her. The plot does sound like a good one but the execution is typical of a DTV feature. Even the look of the vampires, supposedly recreated from the original, look horrible and cheap. Actors wearing black contact lenses does not a vampire make. People who enjoy the comics and vampire movies might get some enjoyment out of this but for fans of the first movie might want to look for something else to sink their teeth into.
This movie is just not very good.
This was fucking horrible! 30 days of 3 people walking around trying to find some nerded out halloween usa looking vampires. SyFy channel quality, bad story and fucking boring ass hell.
I wish I could get back the 90 minutes of my life I wasted on this abomination of a sequel. If syfy channel is your cup of tea, then this will fill in nicely for you. This movie bored me to no end, the story was rediculous, and the lead vampire was a joke. Avoid this movie like the plague!
Enjoy the originality of the first film, as well as of the comics. This film really seemed to only capitalize on the name of those things without utilizing what made those things so fun. It’s good to see vampires that are viewed as literal monsters, and also removing most of the wooden stake/garlic/holy water elements, but that’s about all it has going for it. The cast does their job, but the characters are somewhat incosistent. More information here:
http://thewolfmancometh.com/2010/11/02/30-days-of-night-dark-days-2010/
this is not like tipical straight to dvd film,its a good film,but not as good as the first
This sucked. The pace is slow, the characters are unintersting and there’s no story. There is a bit of action, but it isn’t worth it. Another direct to video sequal that’s a waste of time. Skip it.
Vampire gore action. lacked the desperity and isolation of the first, which really amped things up. Felt like The Descent II and Buffy put together. Wasnt theater worthy, but is a good DVD rental. A bit better than the pack you get from that, but didnt stand up to the rank of the first. Felt like a cheap DVD sequel, just a little better.
The first was was amazing…this one…no
1. the blood looked like cranberry juice
2. acting sucked
3. the nearly porn scene was not needed
4. story was good but the movie didnt live up to it
Bit of a laugher right off the bat due to the rag-tag Team-Blade wannabes out to kill rampaging vamps lol. C’mon, these softies couldn’t knock off a box of kittens, but give ‘em some guns and we’re supposed to buy them as killers–ughh. Rhys Coiro (film director Billy Walsh of Entourage fame) is actually more of a badass dick on the TV show than as a supposed killer of vamps in this movie. On a pos note, there is some ok action here and there, some decent vamp violence and bloodletting at times–but lots of garbage time in between as well. For a direct-to-vid sequel this is watchable for a cheap rental. Just don’t expect anything close to the original.
Just watched this movie. It is very entertaining and has a good storyline. The action is spectacular and the gore is awesome. I liked this one almost as much as the original. I hope there are more films to come after this one.
I love the 1st movies, i think this movie start of the was a bit good but i did not like the rest of the movie
I’m not a huge fan of the original film, but I thought it did have a great atmospheric tone to it. The vampires looked great and it was pretty violent. This is the direct to DVD sequel, with a different actress in the role of Stella. For me it’s always hard to connect to a character who is played by someone else in a sequel, the one notable exception for me is of course James Bond.
In this sequel, Stella has left Barrow for LA, where she has a book and tries to expose the truth. Vampires follow her and she soon discovers there is a leader, Lilith. Kill her and the rest will crumble. Joining a rag tag team of vampire hunters, they set out to kill her and end their nightmares.
This film plays more along the lines of Blade Trinity than 30 days of night. The vampire hunters are 3 people who have zero intelligence and no character development. In one particular scene they raid a vampires nest. They claim to have done this dozens of times. So what do they do? They walk in to the nest with a few guns, no exit strategy and no real plan what so ever. It was almost as if this was their very first time doing anything. We are then treated to the classic, “I can’t kill my friend even though he is a vampire and will likely attack and kill me” scenario.
Kiele Sanchez is in the lead role, taking over for Melissa George. Those who have seen the first film will know she is a survivor. In this film she goes commando and is all of a sudden a weapons expert, explosives expert and machete expert. When did she become Alice from the Resident Evil series? She has nightmares of vampires attacking her and constant guilt over the death of her loved one from the first film. That’s about as far as we go with any sort of character development here.
The vampires aren’t as scary this time around. Mia Kirshner is not as fearsome as Danny Huston and the vampires themselves loose their ‘danger’ aspect. It doesn’t help that the setting change to LA was not an improvement. I hear that most of what happens in this installment is true to the second book. I blame the source material then, because this film is not scary and entertaining.
I don’t want to get into the ridiculousness that is the ending, something out of character (yes it happens in the book, I know) and cheats the viewer. We are treated to a wonderful scene near the end that if a dead vampire has blood poured into their mouth, they can regenerate and come back. First of all, that is stupid, second of all…you know where I’m going with this regarding the ending.
30 days of night wasn’t a great film, but it had a creepy atmosphere that helped set it apart from other vampire films. This sequel just falls into the bunch of forgettable vampire films.
A missed oppurtunity at a good sequel!Starts off good but ends dumb.It did have some decent gore.But the vamps looked awful.The budget restrains were obvious.No were near the calibur of the original.The acting was pretty weak too.That being said if you can watch for free go for it.It’s not a big waste of time.Just don’t waste your money on it.
Pretty awful movie. Picked it up at Wal-Mart in $5 DVD bin because I was such a huge fan of the first movie. Needless to say, I should have saved the five dollars. This movie starts out half decent, with Stella from the first movie (played by a different actress) now looking to seek revenge on vampires after surviving and losing her boyfriend in Alaska during the 30 days of night that occurred there. The movie is set in Los Angeles and is nowhere near the caliber of the first movie. Some halfway decent gore will not resurrect this movie from the cheesiness that it suffers from. Bad dialogue, bad acting, bad screenplay, even worse ending that felt like it was straight out of the first Pet Sematary movie. Don’t bother watching this.
When I sat down to watch this movie I already knew it was a straight to video so i figured it wouldn’t be as good as I was hoping. Now I know I shouldn’t compare it to the original but the original was sooooo much better then this one. Its not the worst movie ever and I actually liked some parts but the makers could have done alot more with it. I’m hoping this will be the last of the series unless the next one is better then this one. Over all I’ll give it 3 out of 10
As much as I would like to say that this movie was amazing like the first one, I can’t. This movie was actually terrible in my opinion. Sure it may have had it’s moments, but it altogether sucked.
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