30 DAYS OF NIGHT 2: DARK DAYS

30 Days Of Night 2: Dark Days Movie Review

Picking up where the original left off, Stella (Kiele Sanchez) and a small group of vampire hunters are in search of Lilith (Mia Kirshner The Crow 2, 24), the “Queen Bee” of the vampires, in an attempt to stop more attacks. This direct to video sequel to 30 Days Of Night fails to really capture the horror of the first. For me, the first, and probably biggest, disappointment is that Melissa George did not return to play Stella. She was really good in that role, and brought a lot more to the character than Sanchez does. Not that Sanchez did a horrible job--she simply is not nearly as talented as George. Another hang-up, and maybe one that is not a major deal, is the fact that the vampires are now suddenly speaking English. I thought one of the things that made the vampires in the original so effective was that they had their own language, when they spoke at all. Plus, the vampires here don’t look as scary. But this movie isn’t all bad.

Tread lightly

Kirshner does an incredible job as Lilith (but is sadly not in it nearly enough), Diora Baird (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Night Of The Demons) is very good as vampire hunter Amber, and veteran television actor Troy Ruptash is creepy as Agent Norris. There are a few clever scenes here and there as well. The story is somewhat weak at times, strong at others, and the dialogue is, for the most part, uninteresting. Another major problem is that Stella, who I really wanted to live through the first one, becomes so unlikable and utterly stupid by the end of this film that I was actually hoping she would die. This movie does not live up to the original (one of my favorite horror films of the current Century) but it does an acceptable job.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 6

 30 Days Of Night 2: Dark Days Movie Trailer