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With Halloween approaching and graphic novel adaptations being all the rage this year, ‘30 Days of Night’ seems an obvious release in the current Hollyweird climate.  Interestingly enough, this one also promises to be a good film.

To a thinking person, the plot is a welcome homogeny of ‘duh’ moment and pure genius - vampires who hunt in the northern hemisphere where a fortunate geographical orientation keeps the sun from rising for a full month of each year.  It’s an easily referenced, readily assimilated world, perfectly suited to what we already know about vampires . . . and an ideal scenario in which to teach us what we don’t . . . all while playing on existing fears of isolation and desolate, naturally bizarre environments.

Paramount for a potentially familiar film is a unique vision, and to build a non-traditional horror flick from traditional elements, you’d be hard pressed to name a better producer than Sam Raimi (whom we’ll forgive for the Spider-Man faux pas).  Also vital for a film of this variety is a solid cast without a clear headlining star begging for screen time and stealing the scene.  The listed cast is populated with faces you know but names you likely don’t recognize - including Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster, and Mark Boone.  It’s a smart move, casting accomplished actors while insuring there’s not a Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt in the bunch.

Assuming Mr Raimi will bring the same gritty, simplistic, bleak realism to this piece that we’ve seen in his Asian adaptations, ‘30 Days of Night’ will send traditional poseur scream-and-ream films marching into the sunlight and slashing their own wrists in shame.  To be fair, it’s not likely to break the box office, but it’s certainly positioned to become a cult favorite among lovers of vampire lore who like a bit of brains in their gore.