Source: basementrejects.com
3. 30 Days of Night: Dark Days
A direct-to-DVD sequel, Dark Days is also an adaptation of the identically titled follow-up to the original comic book. In it, Stella Oleson (now played by a new actress) has been trying to spread the word that vampires exist following a government cover-up of the events of the first movie. When she's welcomed into a clique of Los Angeles-based vampire hunters, she has to resume her vampire-killing ways.
And that's kind of what makes this movie more enjoyable than the first. The dumb, trashy tone gives it a texture that the original failed to capture. While the first film is boring, overlong, and completely devoid of excitement or scares, this one is"¦only mostly boring, way shorter, and has maybe three good scenes? And all of those are still dumb; they're just fun dumb. Also, this is actually a film about killing vampires? Instead of just hiding from them until they kill you? Doesn't that sound like a better time?
The effects budget is a massive downgrade, but they still do some gory s**t with what they have. The vampires now mostly look like rejects from episodes of Buffy, but at least they've knocked off the awful subtitled hissing. They still do the dumb screeches, though.
How It Compares to the Comic: While I've only read the first 30 Days of Night miniseries, and from what I’ve read about it, this seems like a faithful adaptation. I kind of respect that. Getting trashy really does pay off, as this film's grindhouse-ier elements earn it a still completely unrespectable"¦
