With the explosion of the film-noir genre, 30 Days of Nights becomes a pivotal film in horror movie cinema.
Recently, horror movies have taken the form brutal kill fests with almost pornographic undertones. Movies like Saw and Hostel have spurned a host of copycat type movies. However, the new generation of horror has seen a new face. With the release of 30 Days of Night, the world of cinematic horror will get yet another makeover.
The genre of horror has been an ever-changing storm of possibility. From the early days of Bella Lugosi, to timelessness of George A. Romero, movies have seen different style trends dictate the overall effectiveness of the movie. The genre is always changing, but this allows for new scare tactics to emerge. Yet, after 2007’s newest attempt at a vampire flick, a fresh light can be seen on the horizon.
Modern cinema itself is going down a new path, vying for the film noir style, which is contributed to by the influx of graphic novels. Graphic novels, essentially just long comic books, have lent themselves to many successful movies the past couple of years. Assuming that we cannot forget that Robocop was among the first, the real explosion of interest hit mainstream with Frank Miller’s Sin City. The courageous mix of film noir’s dark shots, gritty dialogue, and purpose driven story allowed for viewers to experience a new aspect of cinema. Following that success was 300 and the lesser-known Brick.
However, with unexplored avenues of terror available, 30 Days of Night tackled the task of mixing film noir, graphic novels, and horror. There is always one film at the forefront of the genre revolution, and the inclusion of setting as an antagonist is just the tip of the iceberg. Not to say that the isolation in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining or the epic, lonely corn fields of Children of the Corn don’t make the same message, but 30 Days reopens the wound for horror.
The style of the movie lends itself for so much possibility. The dark, dank shots have horror written all over them. The strife of the main character, ere apparent in a film noir, visualized in 30 Days of Night as Josh Hartnett, breaths possibility into future horror movies. Any filmmaker can take a number of things from the movie, including; journey of character, using the less is more theory, paying homage to older movies through reinvention, using isolation and desperation (seriously, can they make it for a whole 30 days?)
However, because the movie takes the stand of borrowing from current trends, i.e.: the excessive gore (ala Hostel) or the taking its premise from an existing graphic novel, the movie tends to get written off.
But, every innovation must come with some sacrifice. As Hollywood rides on the current trend, horror films shall mimic. 30 Days of Night was brave to attack a new side of terror, and that is all a genre bending film needs to do.
