30 Days of Night (franchise)

The 30 Days of Night franchise consists of American horror installments including a theatrical film, a prequel miniseries, a sequel limited series, and a direct-to-home video sequel movie. Based on the comic series of the same name created by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith, the plot centers around an unsuspecting Alaskan town in the US that is overtaken by a swarm of vampires during a thirty-day polar night period of time. Throughout the franchise, townspeople fight through the events to defeat the mystical creatures with all their resources to survive.

30 Days of Night
Official franchise logo
Based onAn original story
by Steve Niles & Ben Templesmith
Release date
2007–2010
CountryUnited States
LanguageAmerican English

The franchise has been met with an overall mixed critical reception.[1][2] The first movie though initially poorly received,[3][4] has since received praise in modern analysis and earned its status as a horror classic.[5][6][7] In contrast, its sequel and the limited series expansions which included the involvement of franchise creator Steve Niles, had greater negative critical reviews.[6][7] Financially, the franchise turned a profit for the studio at the box office.[8][9]

Origin

The 2002 successful American miniseries, written by Steve Niles and illustrated by Ben Templesmith, and published by IDW Publishing, resulted in the 2007 feature film and its subsequent continuations. Originally developed as film pitch, the comic book series was a critical and financial success, followed by various spin-offs and expansions. The plot centers around a small community in Alaska, that is violently hunted by vampires, during a full month of darkness.[10]

Films

Film U.S.
release date
Director Screenwriters Producer(s)
30 Days of Night October 19, 2007 (2007-10-19) David Slade Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie & Brian Nelson Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert
30 Days of Night: Dark Days October 5, 2010 (2010-10-05) Ben Ketai Steve Niles & Ben Ketai Robert Tapert

30 Days of Night (2007)

Once a year the remote small town of Barrow, Alaska experiences a month of darkness. Though many of its citizen travel southward during this month, Sherriff Eben Oleson and his estranged wife the deputy sheriff named Estella are among those charged with monitoring the town. A seemingly routine season turns into a living nightmare as its citizens begin getting killed one by one in with violently gory evidence. As the pair begin their investigation, they find that supernatural means may be the source of the town's terror. A group of hungry vampires who with their leader Marlow have begun a feeding spree. Forced to overcome their differences and work together, Eben and Estella band together with the remaining townspeople to fight back against the monstrous creatures with hours until dawn, and create a plan to escape with their lives.[3][4][11][12][5][6]

30 Days of Night: Dark Days (2010)

Estella mourns the passing of her husband one year ago, when he sacrificed himself to save his neighbors from the vampiric massacre at Barrow, Alaska that nearly decimated the population during its annual month-long darkness. Through her grief, she travels the world attempting to convince others of the supernatural events that occurred in her town, resulting in her arrest and questioning of her sanity given the demonic nature of her story. After learning that the vampires who attacked Barrow were under the direction of their queen named Lilith, she assembles a small team to hunt down her location and end their monstrous reign of terror. Determined to exact revenge, Estella travels to the underworldly organizations of Los Angeles with a resolve to find a means of bringing back her husband.[13][7][14][6]

Television

Series Season(s) Episodes Originally released Showrunners Executive producers Status
First released Last released Network
30 Days of Night: Blood Trails 1 7 September 13, 2007 (2007-09-13) October 18, 2007 (2007-10-18) Fearnet Steve Niles & Ben Ketai Jim Burns, Rob Sebastian, Steve Niles and Steve Hein Ended
30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust 1 6 July 17, 2008 (2008-07-17) August 28, 2008 (2008-08-28) Ben Ketai & Ed Fowler Jim Burns, Rob Sebastian, Steve Niles, Steve Hein, Jonathan Dana and Shawnee Smith

30 Days of Night: Blood Trails (2007)

A young drug addict named George is hired by a weary vampire hunter from New Orleans, to acquire covert information. Determined to remain sober and to leave town to change his life forever, George takes one final assignment. The job quickly escalates, when vampiric monster begin pursuing him and his contacts are murdered. George fights to stay alive while maintaining his sobriety, and attempts to warn humanity of an impending "feeding" frenzy in Barrow, Alaska.[15][16][17][6]

30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust (2008)

One month after the horrific massacre in Alaska, George Fowler is ruled a convicted murderer and sentenced to prison. Though he tries to warn others about the reality of vampires, they question his sanity. In the process, a nurse at the facility named Sara and a number of security guards are ambushed by a vampire. During the attack Sara's throat is slashed, while George escapes the prison. Her brother Nick, who was previously a police officer, investigates the event believing that the escaped prisoner is responsible. When Nick confronts the escaped prisoner, the same vampire once again attacks. After begins to turn into one of the monsters herself, she calls her brother for help. Together Nick and George race to find her, trying to save her from the nightmarish reality she faces.[18][19][20][6]

Main cast and characters

List indicator(s)

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.

  • An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
  •  V indicates a voice-only role.
Character Film Television
30 Days of Night 30 Days of Night:
Dark Days
30 Days of Night:
Blood Trails
30 Days of Night:
Dust to Dust
Principal cast
Sher. Eben Oleson Josh Hartnett Stephen Huszar  
Stella Oleson Melissa George Kiele Sanchez  
Jake Oleson Mark Rendall  
Dep. William "Billy" Kitka Manu Bennett  
Beau Brower Mark Boone Junior  
Doug Hertz Joel Tobeck  
Gail Rachel Maitland-Smith  
Marlow Danny Huston  
the Stranger Ben Foster  
Dane   Ben Cotton  
Paul   Rhys Coiro  
Lilith
the Vampire Queen
  Mia Kirshner  
Agent Norris   Troy Ruptash  
George Fowler   Andrew Laurich
Jenny   Danielle Joy Foley  
Det. Nick Maguire   Christopher Stapleton
Sara Maguire   Mimi Michaels
Supporting cast
Denise Amber Sainsbury  
Lucy Ikos Elizabeth Hawthorne  
Carter Davies Nathaniel Lees  
Wilson Bulosan Craig Hall  
Isaac Bulosan Chic Littlewood  
John Riis Peter Feeney  
Iris Megan Franich  
Arven Andrew Stehlin Andrew StehlinA  
Zurial John Rawls  
Seth Jacob Tomuri  
Amber   Diora Baird  
Todd   Harold Perrineau  
Jennifer   Katie Keating  
Stacey   Katharine Isabelle  
Jane   Stacey Roy  
Sandbag   Tapas Choudhury  
Eben   Stephen Huszar  
Axel   Marco Soriano  
Gunther   John De Santis  
Eddie   Trip Hope  
Chad   Geoff Stirling Jr.  
Cal   Shawn G. Smith  
Luis   Jeremy Lee Shranko  
Pat   T.J. Zale  
Judith Ali   Marilyn Johnson  
Vampire 1   Patrick Logan Pace  
Vampire 3   Tiffany Barrett  
Jim Maguire   Al Burke
Susan Maguire   Angelique Yalda
Det. Gina Harcourt   Shawnee Smith
Tracy   Rainie Davis

Additional crew and production details

Title Crew/Detail
Composer Cinematographer Editor Production
companies
Distributing
companies
Running time
30 Days of Night Brian Reitzell Jo Willems Art Jones Columbia Pictures,
Dark Horse Entertainment,
Ghost House Pictures
Sony Pictures Releasing 1 hr 54 mins
30 Days of Night: Blood Trails Jermaine Stegall Nelson Cragg FEARnet Productions,
Ghost House Pictures
Fearnet 3 hrs 30 mins
(30 mins/episode)
30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust Andres Boulton Mike Williamson FEARnet Originals,
Ghost House Pictures
3 hrs
(30 mins/episode)
30 Days of Night: Dark Days Eric Maddison Ben Ketai Sony Pictures,
Ghost House Pictures,
Stage 6 Films,
RCR Media Group
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 1 hrs 32 mins

Reception

Box office and financial performance

Film Box office gross Box office ranking Video
sales gross
Worldwide total
gross income
Budget Worldwide total
net income
Ref.
North America Other territories Worldwide All time
North America
All time
worldwide
North America
30 Days of Night $39,569,000 $40,707,160 $80,276,160 #2,275 #2,194 $27,907,720 $108,183,880 $30,000,000 $78,183,880 [8][21]
Totals $39,569,000 $40,707,160 $80,276,160 x̄ #1,138 x̄ #1,097 >$27,907,720 >$108,183,880 >30,000,000 ≥78,183,880

Critical and public response

Title Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
30 Days of Night 51% (158 reviews)[1] 53/100 (29 reviews)[22] C[23]
30 Days of Night: Dark Days 17% (6 reviews)[2] (4 reviews)[24]

In other media

Literary

A novelization, written by Tim Lebbon was released on September 25, 2007, and published by Pocket Star. To coincide with the film's release, a novelization by Tim Lebbon was published by Pocket Star on September 25, 2007.[25] Alongside the novelization, a book series published in collaboration by IDW and Pocket Star publishing was released.

The series of novels include:

  • 30 Days of Night (2007) by Tim Lebon
  • 30 Days of Night: Rumors of the Undead (2006) by Steve Niles and Jeff Mariotte
  • 30 Days of Night: Immortal Remains (2007) by Steve Niles and Jeff Mariotte
  • 30 Days of Night: Eternal Damnation (2008) by Steve Niles and Jeff Mariotte
  • 30 Days of Night: Light of Day (2009) by Jeff Mariotte
  • 30 Days of Night: Fear the Dark (2010) by Tim Lebon

References

  1. "30 Dyas of Night". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media LLC. 19 October 2007. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  2. "30 Days of Night: Dark Days". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media LLC. 17 August 2010. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  3. Harvey, Dennis (October 17, 2007). "30 Days of Night". Variety. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  4. Ebert, Roger (October 18, 2007). "Vampires where the sun don't shine". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  5. H.C., Luiz (January 19, 2021). "'30 Days of Night': Revisiting the Dark Thrills of the Bloody Vampire Horror Movie". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  6. Yebra, Marieval (October 31, 2017). "30 Days of Night – Wreaking Terror 10 Years Later". Cryptic Rock. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  7. Hunter, Rob (September 13, 2019). "Does '30 Days Of Night: Dark Days' Live Up To Its Predecessor's Awesomeness?". Slash Film. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  8. "30 Days of Night (2007)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services LLC. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  9. "30 Days of Night: Dark Days (2010)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services LLC. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  10. Collura, Scott & Eric Moro (October 18, 2007). "30 Days of Steve Niles". IGN. Archived from the original on 2007-12-08. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  11. Kermode, Mark (April 12, 2008). "30 Days of Night". The Guardian. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  12. Dyer, James (October 24, 2007). "30 Days Of Night Review". Empire. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  13. Shaffer, R.L. (May 4, 2012). "30 Days of Night: Dark Days Blu-ray Review". IGN. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  14. Mullen, Luke (October 15, 2010). "Fantastic Review: 30 Days Of Night — Dark Days". Film School Rejects. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  15. "30 Days of Night: Blood Trails". The A.V. Club. The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  16. "30 Days of Night: Blood Trails (2007–2007)". Hell Horror. Hell Horror. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  17. "30 Days of Night: Blood Trails". Radio Times. Radio Times. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  18. The Los Angeles Times staff (July 23, 2008). "Shawnee Smith's '30 Days of Night' Web scare". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  19. Barton, Steve (November 30, 1999). "Smith, Shawnee (30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust)". Dread Central. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  20. "30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust". The A.V. Club. The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  21. "30 Days of Night". Box Office Mojo. IMDb / Amazon. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  22. "30 Days of Night". Metacritic. Fandom Inc. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  23. "Cinemascores". Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  24. "30 Days of Night: Dark Days". Metacritic. Fandom Inc. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  25. Lebbon, Tim (September 25, 2007). 30 Days of Night novelization. ISBN 978-1416544975.
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