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.
| 30 Days of Night | |
|---|---|
 Official franchise logo | |
| Based on | An original story by Steve Niles & Ben Templesmith |
Release date |
|
| Country | United States |
| Language | American English |
The franchise has been met with an overall mixed critical reception.[1][2] The first movie though initially poorly received,[3][4] has since received praise in modern analysis and earned its status as a horror classic.[5][6][7] In contrast, its sequel and the limited series expansions which included the involvement of franchise creator Steve Niles, had greater negative critical reviews.[6][7] Financially, the franchise turned a profit for the studio at the box office.[8][9]
Origin
editThe 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.[10]
Films
edit| Film | U.S. release date |
Director | Screenwriters | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Days of Night | October 19, 2007 | David Slade | Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie & Brian Nelson | Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert |
| 30 Days of Night: Dark Days | October 5, 2010 | Ben Ketai | Steve Niles & Ben Ketai | Robert Tapert |
30 Days of Night (2007)
editOnce 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][11][12][5][6]
30 Days of Night: Dark Days (2010)
editEstella 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.[13][7][14][6]
Television
edit| Series | Season(s) | Episodes | Originally released | Showrunners | Executive producers | Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | ||||||
| 30 Days of Night: Blood Trails | 1 | 7 | September 13, 2007 | October 18, 2007 | Fearnet | Steve Niles & Ben Ketai | Jim Burns, Rob Sebastian, Steve Niles and Steve Hein | Ended |
| 30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust | 1 | 6 | July 17, 2008 | August 28, 2008 | Ben Ketai & Ed Fowler | Jim Burns, Rob Sebastian, Steve Niles, Steve Hein, Jonathan Dana and Shawnee Smith | ||
30 Days of Night: Blood Trails (2007)
editA 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.[15][16][17][6]
30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust (2008)
editOne 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.[18][19][20][6]
Main cast and characters
editThis section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.
- An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
- V indicates a voice-only role.
| Character | Film | Television | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Days of Night | 30 Days of Night: Dark Days |
30 Days of Night: Blood Trails |
30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust | ||
| Principal cast | |||||
| 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 the Vampire Queen |
Mia Kirshner | ||||
| Agent Norris | Troy Ruptash | ||||
| George Fowler | Andrew Laurich | ||||
| Jenny | Danielle Joy Foley | ||||
| Det. Nick Maguire | Christopher Stapleton | ||||
| Sara Maguire | Mimi Michaels | ||||
| Supporting cast | |||||
| 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 StehlinA | |||
| 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 | ||||
Additional crew and production details
edit| 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 | |
| 30 Days of Night: Blood Trails | Jermaine Stegall | Nelson Cragg | FEARnet Productions, Ghost House Pictures |
Fearnet | 3 hrs 30 mins (30 mins/episode) | ||
| 30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust | Andres Boulton | Mike Williamson | FEARnet Originals, Ghost House Pictures |
3 hrs (30 mins/episode) | |||
| 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 | ||
Reception
editBox office and financial performance
edit| Film | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Video sales gross |
Worldwide total gross income |
Budget | Worldwide total net income |
Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America |
All time worldwide |
North America | |||||
| 30 Days of Night | $39,569,000 | $40,707,160 | $80,276,160 | #2,275 | #2,194 | $27,907,720 | $108,183,880 | $30,000,000 | $78,183,880 | [8][21] |
| Totals | $39,569,000 | $40,707,160 | $80,276,160 | x̄ #1,138 | x̄ #1,097 | >$27,907,720 | >$108,183,880 | >30,000,000 | ≥78,183,880 | |
Critical and public response
edit| Title | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Days of Night | 51% (158 reviews)[1] | 53/100 (29 reviews)[22] | C[23] |
| 30 Days of Night: Dark Days | 17% (6 reviews)[2] | [to be determined] (4 reviews)[24] | — |
In other media
editLiterary
editTo 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:
- 30 Days of Night (2007) by Tim Lebon
- 30 Days of Night: Rumors of the Undead (2006) by Steve Niles and Jeff Mariotte
- 30 Days of Night: Immortal Remains (2007) by Steve Niles and Jeff Mariotte
- 30 Days of Night: Eternal Damnation (2008) by Steve Niles and Jeff Mariotte
- 30 Days of Night: Light of Day (2009) by Jeff Mariotte
- 30 Days of Night: Fear the Dark (2010) by Tim Lebon
References
edit- ^ a b "30 Dyas of Night". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media LLC. 19 October 2007. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
- ^ a b "30 Days of Night: Dark Days". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media LLC. 17 August 2010. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
- ^ a b Harvey, Dennis (October 17, 2007). "30 Days of Night". Variety. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ a b Ebert, Roger (October 18, 2007). "Vampires where the sun don't shine". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ a b H.C., Luiz (January 19, 2021). "'30 Days of Night': Revisiting the Dark Thrills of the Bloody Vampire Horror Movie". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Yebra, Marieval (October 31, 2017). "30 Days of Night – Wreaking Terror 10 Years Later". Cryptic Rock. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ a b c Hunter, Rob (September 13, 2019). "Does '30 Days Of Night: Dark Days' Live Up To Its Predecessor's Awesomeness?". Slash Film. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ a b "30 Days of Night (2007)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services LLC. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
- ^ "30 Days of Night: Dark Days (2010)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services LLC. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
- ^ Collura, Scott & Eric Moro (October 18, 2007). "30 Days of Steve Niles". IGN. Archived from the original on 2007-12-08. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ Kermode, Mark (April 12, 2008). "30 Days of Night". The Guardian. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ Dyer, James (October 24, 2007). "30 Days Of Night Review". Empire. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ Shaffer, R.L. (May 4, 2012). "30 Days of Night: Dark Days Blu-ray Review". IGN. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ Mullen, Luke (October 15, 2010). "Fantastic Review: 30 Days Of Night — Dark Days". Film School Rejects. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ "30 Days of Night: Blood Trails". The A.V. Club. The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ "30 Days of Night: Blood Trails (2007–2007)". Hell Horror. Hell Horror. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ "30 Days of Night: Blood Trails". Radio Times. Radio Times. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ The Los Angeles Times staff (July 23, 2008). "Shawnee Smith's '30 Days of Night' Web scare". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ Barton, Steve (November 30, 1999). "Smith, Shawnee (30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust)". Dread Central. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ "30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust". The A.V. Club. The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ "30 Days of Night". Box Office Mojo. IMDb / Amazon. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
- ^ "30 Days of Night". Metacritic. Fandom Inc. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
- ^ "Cinemascores". Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ "30 Days of Night: Dark Days". Metacritic. Fandom Inc. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
- ^ Lebbon, Tim (September 25, 2007). 30 Days of Night novelization. ISBN 978-1416544975.