Star rating: *** Dir: David Slade With: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston Watch the trailer here This atmospheric adaptation of the cult-horror comic book of the same name sees Alaska's northernmost small-town community, Barrow, cut off from the rest of the world during its annual winter month of darkness and descended upon by a mass of blood-crazed vampires. The initial feast of flesh cuts the population down to a handful of terrified survivors led into hiding by Josh Hartnett's fear-stricken sheriff. As the dark days tick by, Danny Huston's toothsome vampire lord and his hungry brethren attempt to sniff out the last of their victims before the sun rises once again.
That horribly simple and fiendishly ingenious scenario makes for a genuinely creepy horror movie that breathes new life into vampires in the same way 28 Days and Weeks Later resuscitated zombies. British director David Slade (Hard Candy) gives the film a stylish monochrome look (all shadows, snow and blood), and handles the gruesome action well. That said, it looks like some of the gore was cut (perhaps for a lower certificate), which undermines the overall effect and confuses the narrative somewhat. Hopefully, we'll see the full cut on DVD.
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