30 Days of Night Review

Messages: Vampires are self-serious and dedicated killers, humans argue among themselves, survivors depend on courageous martyrs.

Violence: Gory displays of vampirism throughout: They chomp on their victims, chew their necks, and suck their blood. They also beat, kick, and throw themselves on prey and vehicles. Humans use multiple weapons, including a sunlamp, fires, guns, axes, and vehicles. An early car crash is abrupt and loud. Dead dogs are ravaged and bloody -- a precursor to the discovery of human bodies that are mauled, gnawed, and very bloody. Attacks are chaotic (fast cuts and close-ups), with groaning and growling sounds. Shooting leaves vampires with limbs and heads blown away.

Sex: Gruesome "sexual" play between male and female vampire (they hiss at each other and bare their teeth, the woman pawing at her torso in a demonstration of passion). Earnest declarations of love between protagonists.

Language: Profanity includes several uses of "f--k" and lots of "s--t"s (once with "head"), as well as "damn," "hell," and "bitch."

Consumerism: Repeated shots of Chevrolet truck logos, references to Oreos and Snapple.

Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters drink and refer to whiskey and vodka. A grandmother grows marijuana to soothe her cancer (a baggie appears in a desk drawer, and plants are shown in her house). Someone thinks a vampire is a human "coked up on PCP."