In Barrow Alaska, a desolate small town, there falls a time of year where the black of night lasts for 30 days. While many flee the darkness for Anchorage, others stay behind to weather the long night. As the sun sets on our film, the sheriff is called out to investigate the brutal slaying of every available sled dog in town; a puzzling and disturbing occurrence in a small quiet town.
Night falls, and the vampires come out to play. They’re ugly, deadly, and very thirsty. These are real vampires, evil and blood-driven, not the obscene domesticated vampire who wants to help humanity or the romanticized vampires of Rice and Hamilton’s silly erotica novels. Their gory invasion is swift and thorough, leaving behind very few survivors. Those left must huddle together, hidden in various houses around the town as they wait for the far off dawn. The gore level escalates as the survivors discover that those bitten must be beheaded in order to keep them dead. Survival seems doubtful as the long night wears on, and the vampires just keep coming.
The best part of this movie is the vampires. I must say that they’re pretty sloppy eaters, leaving lots of blood strewn about in the wake of their feasting, their mouths and clothing dripping with blood, and still gushing meals abandoned. You got to love those inky black eyes, though, and the way they keep the gore level up to entertaining levels. The survivors, however, seemed a bit wooden. Their dialogue was weak, and the characters not fully developed. This made it harder to identify with their plight. The scenes of the desolate town were adequate, but the soundtrack was also weak, not helping to build any suspense around the predicament of the survivors.
Over all, I was gratified enough by the vampires to make this an enjoyable horror flick. Recommended for fans of the old-fashioned horror-vampires, the human-cattle herders of old. Rent first before buying. Enjoy!