The Film
The follow-up to the 2007 vampire film set in the long and eternally dark Alaskan summer based on a comic book miniseries, 30 Days of Night: Dark Days actually shows sunlight in a Los Angeles setting. You know not to expect much from a movie that goes straight to Blu-ray, particularly when the actress (Melissa George) playing the one surviving character from the original doesn't return for the sequel. However Dark Days was premiered at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con before the home video market, so maybe there is some hope for it?
Dark Days picks up close to a year after the original 30 Days of Night. The one surviving character, Stella Oleson (now played by Kiele Sanchez), is on a lecture tour trying to warn the world about the threat of vampires and as the speaking stint looks like it can't continue, she teams up with a group of vampire hunters going after the queen bee, Lilith (Mia Kirshner). A few gunfight ventures into dank buildings and underground locations drops a few members from the raiding party for the final showdown on a freighter transporting vampires to their annual summer feast in the 30 days of darkness.
These are not your romanticized vampires. This is not Anne Rice's version, not True Blood,and definitely no Twilight. Lilith and her nest of vamps have a mouth full of pointy teeth and claws for nails. They speak mostly in their own tongue, and are quite primal. They have a bit of trouble blending in with society as the story goes with other vampire series. But even with this version of vampires, the story is quite predictable.
The Picture
Surprisingly, despite the night-promising title much of the film takes place in daylight. To keep dark theme of this world and to accentuate the sun-drenched Los Angeles (not the actual filming location), Dark Days has a washed out look. The sun over saturates the picture, and even at night black levels are muddy and almost grainy at times.
As a storyline based on a comic book, the cinematography in this 1.85:1 transfer plays to the illustrated origins. Darkness, in internal scenes under threat of vampires, the murky blacks and shaky camera sequences build suspense that might not otherwise have been achieved.
The Sound
Surprisingly, the sound presentation of the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is impressive given how tired the story is, and the washed out visuals. The film actually makes very good use of the audio, notably when characters are scrambling in the dark. Here you hear the action from all angles, almost as if the sounds are coming out of dark corners, thanks to the use of discrete audio. The dialog from the center channel is clear as well, while interestingly this one doesn't overdo it with musical cues. Instead of being overpowering the music is subdued, making the story actually a bit more intense visually. Here less is certainly more, and in a good way.
The Extras
The Blu-ray is being released as a Blu-ray + DVD combo pack, and at a decent price. This way you can take the DVD to watch on your laptop on your next Alaskan cruise. 30 Days of Night: Dark Days includes filmmaker commentary; a featurette: The Gritty Realism of Dark Days, which talks about the sun-washed filming and other effects; the Blu-ray includes an interactive feature: Graphic Inspirations: From Comic to Film. The latter takes art from the original comic mini-series and presents it as a storyboard for the film. As an interactive feature, navigation is a little rough.
Final Thoughts
Dark Days is at its best for followers of the comic book series. Visually it's a good looking film, and the audio is top notch, but it is sorely lacking in story depth or originality. It's almost as if the rich back story provided by the comic book series was assumed, with no hints or elaboration for an unfamiliar audience. Any time a film is "straight to home video," ask yourself if you can really expect much from it.
Product Details
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