30 Days of Night: Dark Days – Blu-ray Review

The Film:

I’m surprised that more of Steve Niles’ work hasn’t been adapted into films. He’s a lover of the genre, with dark, rich takes of classic monsters, and yet we really only have 30 Days of Night. But that’s okay, since that film was a tense, violent, suspense play on the Night of the Living Dead scenario (or if you prefer, I am Legend). Niles’ screenplay for this sequel, which seemingly could be in name only, really looses its luster a quarter of the way in, eliminating the 2006 film’s intensity, for just meandering in plot, dialogue, and action. I’ll leave the fans of the IDW Publishing series to hold me to this, but 30 Days of Night: Dark Days seems like it’s close to the source material, but something got lost in translation.

Sure, Dark Days has a lower budget than the 2007 film that starred Josh Hartnett and Melissa George, but that’s really not the issue. I really think no matter how hard director Ben Ketai tries, even Steve Niles’ script just can’t muster much excitement in its 93 minute running time. For a direct-to-video sequel, the film looks good, has some gore, and has the babe quotient in Doira Baird, Katharine Isabelle, and Mia Kirshner, and is a sequel to a really good vampire film before the vampire boom in Twilight and True Blood so what the heck is Dark Days’ deal?

I don’t think there’s anything else you can point too, other than it’s a bit lifeless. Sadly, that creates boredom. Even if this is a direct translation from the comic title of the same name, the film is rather pedestrian in how it plays out. Stella (Melissa George in the first film has been replaced by Kiele Sanchez) is speaking out at the cover-up of the events in Barrow, Alaska, but typically no one believes her. Her little book tour is making her a target for the vampire community and an underground vampire hunting team is in need of her help, where they go to a nest to take out a leader. Yawn. I guess, having high hopes since the pedigree behind the camera and the fact that the first film was intense, was for naught. Maybe the worse thing other than its Blade-like plot, is that there’s no snow. The first film had a claustiphobic feeling, this doesn’t.

Still, I want to see more Steve Niles film adaptations, because I think there’s real value in his work, regardless of this misfire.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: Sony gives the film a solid HD disc given the source. The colors are muted, but its more of a stylistic choice. Details are strong, blacks levels are decent, sometimes soft. The DTS track is pretty strong, as one would expect from an action/horror film. Even when the film quites down, there’s some great ambiance in the sound design to add to the film. Overall, it’s a pretty good DTV Blu-ray release.

Commentary: Director Ben Ketai and the film’s producer offer up a standard, yet decent track, rattling off the film’s production.

Graphic Inspirations: Comic to Film: This interactive piece has the original comic here to view and in certain areas when scrolling, you can access little featurettes about the adaptation.

The Gritty Realism of Dark Days: In 1080p, this isn’t a bad EPK making-of, although it still is an EPK.

Trailers and a second disc that is the DVD Copy of the film round out the extras.

Conclusion: It’s passable entertainment, but I think many would be expecting more. I was.

The Film: Rating:

The Blu-ray: Rating: