30 Days of Night is a 2007 Vampire film directed by David Slade and starring Josh Hartnett and Danny Huston.The film is set in Barrow, Alaska, which the film quickly tells us is the northernmost town in the USA and as such has one month with no sunlight. During this period, most of the townsfolk leave for sunnier pastures.But this year, things are different. First, a bunch of mobile phones turn up burned. Then all the sled dogs in town get brutally slaughtered. Then someone smashes up the only helicopter. When a tall, dark stranger walks into the diner and starts drawing attention to himself, Sheriff Eben Oleson (Hartnett) arrests him. But when the stranger starts talking about how "they" are coming, Oleson starts getting jumpy. Finding a man's head on a stake doesn't help calm him down.When the circus comes to town, the sheriff and his estranged wife gather up a group of survivors and plan to survive the 30 days. Hilarity Ensues.The film's portrayal of Vampires is interesting yet gripping. A film worth watching.Also it's an adaptation of the first book from a graphic novel series of the same name, written by Steve Niles and illustrated by Ben Templesmith.A direct-to-video sequel was released in 2010.
Could also apply as Big Sister Instinct to Stella, who protects Jake just as fiercely as her estranged husband does.
Bittersweet Ending: Although some survive, the rest of the town (around 150 people) are dead, and the protagonist is a hunk of charcoal. Luckily, most of the citizens survive by going southward for the month.
Black Eyes of Evil: The vampires' eyes have wide, solid black irises covering almost the entire visible eye, which, along with their mouthful of sharp teeth, makes them look really sharklike and sociopathic.
Black Speech: The vampires speak in an odd combination of words and animal-like sounds like hisses and screeches. When they want to signal others, they let out terrifying screams.
Chekhov's Gun: The large, grinding machine is constantly active throughout the movie for no real justifiable reason and, unsurprisingly, a vampire is thrown into it not long after the survivors reach the plant.
Composite Character: Marlow in the film is a combination of the character of the same name from the comics and another Vampire called Vicente.
Curb-Stomp Battle: A fight between a couple dozen vampires and around 150 humans (many with guns) ends up with little to no casualties among the vampires and only maybe a dozen humans left. For what it's worth, the vampires gained a few bullet-wounds for their effort.
Decapitated Army: Literally. After Eben blows Marlowe's brain out, the rest of the vampires just stumble around, not sure what to do.
Determinator: Eben. Clearly outpowered, outnumbered and succumbing to vampirism. And yet he still fights back.
Dwindling Party: Five people survive from the whole group. And the town of 152.
Heroic Sacrifice: Eben becomes a Vampire knowing full well it was the only way to successfully save Stella and fight off the Vampires, as well as the fact that he wouldn't be able to change back or control himself from not harming anyone for long. So, after the Vampires are leaderless and scared shitless he lets himself be turned to ash by the sun. Some view this as a Stupid Sacrifice, but really, there weren't many other options.
Make It Look Like An Accident: Vampires' MO. Kill everyone and burn everything to the ground, so there are no witnesses and everything can be blamed on a freak accident with the pipeline.
Mercy Kill: From Eben to Carter Davies. Carter, finding that he has slowly been turning into a vampire, asks it of Eben so he wouldn't live forever without his family, who died years ago. Eben obliges and does so offscreen. The scene is a Tear Jerker.
Billy get one too. It's messy, but still much more gentle than any other option.
The Night That Never Ends: A twisted version, vampires don't cause the absence of sun but they take advantage of the fact that it's naturally absent for the titular month.
Product Placement: Hey, we find here some chocolate, vitamins and a bottle of Smirnoff!
Actually, its a bottle of Star Frost, which appears to be entirely fictional and looks nothing like Smirnoff!
Promotion to Parent: Eben and Jake's parents are never mentioned, so it can be assumed that Eben shares custody and responsibility for Jake with their grandmother. However, once she is killed, Eben becomes this trope in full-force to his teenage brother.
Race Lift: Not only are the paunchy, late-thirties, happily married main couple made buff, mid-twenties, and sexily divorced; the Native American Eben Olemaun becomes the white Eben Oleson.
The Quisling: Unintentionally, the girl used as bait. She helps vampires, because it's better than being killed on spot. It's more than obvious that she is heavily traumatised by this. And when there is no-one else to eat...
Sadistic Choice: Vampires set up a trap early on - a lone girl is wandering around, shouting for help. Heroes can choose - die, going for impossible rescue or let her die. A scene later Eben is Forced To Watch as the vampires proceed with killing the girl.
Scylla and Charybdis: When the whole town burns, Stella and Gail are hiding beneath car wreck. Their options are either to run away, being killed almost on the spot... or burn alive.
Shout Out: The little girl vampire has a tattoo of Einsturzende Neubauten's logo. Since it's a fair assumption that she didn't get this before becoming a vampire, one can only assume vampires dig industrial krautrock.
Shur Fine Guns: Billy can't shoot himself because the gun jams. Clearing weapons is never an option.
Taking Over The Town: Several minutes are dedicated to showing this trope in action. The sequence is either really cool (the humans put up a legitimate but doomed fight), or utterly terrifying.
Taking You with Me: Beau was trying to pull this with a box of dynamite. Amusingly, he survived the explosion.
Undead Child: One scene has the group fighting against an vampire girl. It takes all of them to restrain and kill her.
Vampire Infectee: Carter. He choose to be killed rather than fully turn into a vampire.
Vampire Wannabe: The Stranger, who paves the way for the vampires by stealing and destroying the town's means of communication in exchange for being turned. They don't.
Villain Exit Stage Left: The remaining vampires just... walk around, because it's not even clear if they are trying to run away or hide from the incoming sun.
Who Wants to Live Forever?: Carter lost his wife and kids in an accident and hardly can live on without them. The idea of spending the whole of eternity without them is unbearable for him.
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