Frustrating. That is the perfect word to use when describing the experience of watching 30 Days of Night. There is nothing quite like watching a film that you really want to like and discovering that it does not quite live up to your hopes and expectations. 30 Days of Night was a movie I as looking forward to, a combination of vampires and the cold north. It promised grueling survival horror as a small band of survivors battle the elements in order to overcome the deadly forces of the night. Leaving the theater I could only shake my head at what might have been.

Somewhere in the vicinity of the 40-minute mark, something happened. Something big. The only problem is that I did not know where it came from. This was the big bang that brought this house of cards tumbling to the ground. When it happened my face got screwed up in an expression that screamed: "Wha...?" I turned to my sister, who was as anxious for the film as I was, and asked: "What just happened?" and "Did I miss something?" The best way I can think of describing it is this: it felt like I was watching a grindhouse film, or rather that I was watching something from this past spring's Grindhouse feature. The only thing missing was the missing reel marker. Seriously, I was momentarily convinced that the reels were being shown out of order or that one was skipped. You will surely recognize the moment of which I speak — it's impossible to miss.

The rest of the film follows similar logic but on a smaller scale; characters get from place to place with little sense of time or place. All of these issues destroy the narrative and wreak havoc with pacing. It went a long way toward destroying any good will built by individual scenes. 30 Days of Night is definitely a film whose parts are distinctly better than their sum.

The setup is great. The setting is Barrow, Alaska, said to be the northernmost town in America. Each winter the town is cut off by - you guessed it - 30 days of night. Before this extended midnight descends upon the town, the majority of the citizens take to the airport and head off for Anchorage or other southern points to escape the dark. Those who have chosen to stay are ill prepared for what is to come.

We get a shot of a ship frozen in the ice with a lone figure walking away from it towards the town. The stranger brings with him a message: "That cold ain't the weather. That's Death approaching." He could not be more right, although I am pretty sure that the weather has a little something to do with it.

The plot is a horror standard. A ragtag group who survive the initial culling band together in an effort to survive the onslaught of the dark forces that have descended upon their locale. In this case it is a seemingly never-ending supply of vampires. Nasty buggers, too. They speak their own language, emit this crazy screeching sound, are not concerned with making a bit of a mess, and are ruthless in their pursuit of their next meal.