30 Days of Night - Amara Bullen

30 Days of Night Film Analysis - Amara Bullen

The trailer for '30 Days of Night' has a dark lighting throughout to retain and link into the horror genre. The dullness also creates a gloomy atmosphere making the viewers take on the suspense of what is being shown.

 The IMDb overview of the film is:

"After an Alaskan town is plunged into darkness for a month, it is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires."

The trailer is introduced with a quiet grumbling sound from a storm, then followed by a gradual fade in from a black screen is displayed. The ambient sound tells viewers that there is bad weather and is also confirmed with snow falling outside the window. With the weather being this way, it can make people feel cold and uneven as it is also shown at night. The rumbling of the storm quietens only so it is barely heard, leaving all sound in the clip to be silent otherwise. The posture of the woman shown in the left third of the screen can be quite unnerving as she looks troubled with her arms on the work surface. The dim lighting makes her pale face glow which contrasts with the colour of her dark hair. This may tell viewers that she isn't in good health because of what she is troubled by.

A straight edit to a man sitting in thought on a sofa is also brought to attention that he is feeling stressed or uncomfortable; presumably about the same thing as the woman shown previously. The dim lighting also reflects of the man's cheek bones, emphasising the fact that he is looking down at the coffee table in front of him, making viewers feel sorry for him. These shots are prolonged so the characters have more screen time which also slows the trailer down. The speed of these shots are wanted to be slow so it builds tension.

The silence is dragged out through these shots to add suspense. As the two characters shown have minimal/ no movements, this also creates tension and a mystical atmosphere.We then see a straight edit of the same woman shown previously is standing, facing towards the middle of the screen, still not moving. Her positioning draws viewers attention to the next action displayed on screen. As the silence was dragged out for so long, including the minimal visual action, this maximises the reaction of the viewers when the 'creature' smashes through the window. The smashing noise is added to make viewers jump.

A quick camera movement from the window to the man sitting down is shown jumping up, alarmed. The transition used between the two shots create a fast pace which is then followed by movements on the screen.

Straight edits are used to quicken the pace of the trailer. This next shot shows the woman being pulled out the broken window as she tries to resist.




An over the shoulder shot of the woman is shown from the outside of the house, reaching for the window whilst the man is seen running towards the window. The contrast of the dark outside represents an unsafe area to the inside of the house which is lit up. The woman screams as this happens making viewers feel scared for her.

A shot from the ground is shown looking at the woman being rapidly dragged away into the darkness. The reasoning for it being ground level represents that she is vulnerable. As viewers are still unaware of what it is that is dragging her away, this can make them feel scared for the her as she is exposed to threat and possible death. When something bad happens, people tend to think of the worst case scenario. With this trailer, the producers have wanted to bring this out of people for them to feel on edge and insecure the whole time the trailer is shown.  The woman being dragged away is positioned in the middle of the screen with no objects surrounding the shot to draw attention to her. The camera is shaky, helping viewers feel more like they're there to help connect them to the clip and to maximise tension. This also gives off a fast pace. In the same shot, another character is shown jumping to save the woman, throwing a shotgun to the ground. The weapon says to viewers that they are prepared for the situation. He is dressed in black to carry on the dark theme and to also give the impression that characters in the area are prepared as they had reacted very quickly. Her screams are heard in this to make people feel sorry for her as she may be in pain.

A close up of the woman's face is shown to the right of the screen, facing the way out. The dim lighting reflecting on her pale face shows that she is mostly in the dark which makes her come across as vulnerable.

An over the shoulder shot with a slight tilt down on her is shown as she struggles to get away from the 'thing'. The camera is shaky still, carrying on from previously to make viewers feel more involved.

There is then shown a side shot of the man trying to save her is shown in a close up but his facial expressions are taken by the darkness. This can make viewers feel scared as the darkness is taking over.

Another over the shoulder with a slight tilt down is shown as the woman is taken into the darkness as she lets go.

We then see a blurred close up of the man is shown reaching out for her. This is a first person shot from the woman's point of view, so when she is dragged away, viewers see the man becoming smaller and further away. This can make viewers feel like hope is gone for the woman and hope that the man can get to a safe place in time. Both the woman and man screaming in fear to make viewers feel scared.

A straight edit is then shown to a black screen to prolong the tension. The screaming of the man is carried on and faded out from the previous shot so it does not end abruptly to make viewers feel haunted by the screams.

A straight edit to a zooming in of text saying 'THEY HAVE LIVED IN THE SHADOWS'. The use of language here is sinister as 'they' doesn't specify if it's human or not. It also doesn't say how many of 'them' there a
re. The font used is clear and bold. Not too much text is shown and is easy to read for viewers, keeping up an eerie fast pace. Non-diagetic, disquieting sounds are used when this text is shown to make viewers feel anxious. The background is a black, dull colour, contrasting with the text colour which is white to make it stand out. The background has a blue haze that slowly rotates in a mysterious manner. This shot quickly fades out to a black screen.

A fade in of a two shot is shown. The two 'people' shown are standing to the left, using the rule of thirds, of the screen. They are also wearing black so that they blend in with the unlit area. Only a cold light is shown, reflecting from the snow shown to make viewers feel brumal. A wide angle shot is used to show them on the roof of a building, watching over the dark town which is abnormal. This can make viewers feel frightened. The camera is also tilted down on them which is contradictory as they are seen as powerful yet looked down on. The shot rotates to the right slowly carrying on the rotation from the previous shot. This fades out to black to break up the tension even more so. A low rumbling sound, like a strom is occuring can make viewers feel threatened.

More text is shown with the same font, colour and size. Also the backgroud is similar with a different haze pattern, still rotating as previously shown to keep the trailer consistant. The text says 'THEY ARE THE LAST OF THEIR KIND'. This also links in with the text before with saying 'THEY', not specifying who 'they' are. The eerie noises are carried on to create a mystery. The text fades out into the blackness with the low rumbling and eerie sounds carrying on.

A rotating shot is faded in to show someone or something kneeling over another being, laying still. The are shown to the right of the screen, using the rule of thirds. In the centre and left of the screen is a structure of some sort. The darkness of the shot makes it unclear as to exactly what is happening and as the shot is very short, it doesn't allow viewers to examine this too closely. This may be to keep people guessing as to what is happening. This shot fades out into the darkness the same as previous shots to keep the trailer consistent.

More text is shown, zoomed in on slowly, the same as before. The font, size and colour all the same, contrasting with the background like previous shots demonstrate.The text says, 'BUT ABOVE THE ARCTIC CIRCLE', this text is different from the previous statements shown, this is telling a story. More text is expected by the viewer to finish the sentence to wonder 'What is above the Arctic Circle?'. Unlike before, the transaction between this shot and the next shows a cross disolve, telling the story quicker.A shot of the cold, snow mountains is shown in the darkness, with little reflections from them. This shot is included to forfill the cold feeling of the viewers.

Another cross disolve of a town in the night, with street lights on, including more life than previously shown, is presented using an establishing shot. The clouds are shown moving quickly which demonstrates the weather conditions. People are seen struggling walking down the snow layered streets wearing black, linking in with the dull feeling.

A cross disolve is used to link in the previous shot and the next shot with text shown.'WHERE THE NIGHT LASTS FOR 30 DAYS'. This is quite threatening for viewers as 'night' resembles dark which can overwhelm them in bad thoughts.


A cross disolve is used to a darker scene where a person is shining a torch outside a building. As this happens a non-diagetic sound is used of a 'boom' to start building tension once again. This is followed by diagetic sound of wind blowing is used to make viewers feel cold. Snow is also falling which also makes viewers feel bitter.


A straight edit is used to show that it's the same man as before. A close up of his face is shown as he squints past the camera. This makes it obvious to viewers that he is struggling to see, due to weather conditions. This makes him vulnerable to the darkness. In horror films, darkness is seen as threatening and cold. People are unaware of what is surrounding them so often think of the worst. In this trailer, the man is presumed to be surrounded by the 'beings' that was spoken about in the text. The first sight of their whereabouts is in the close up, focused on the old man. A dark, human-like (which turns out to be a creature) figure is subtly blurred in the background to show viewers that they are quiet and skilful; unseen. He lowers his torch as if he knows what he has seen. This shot is prolonged, giving the man more screen time to allow viewers to take in his expression.

Non-diagetic sound is began here in the build up of a high pitch noise. This noise becomes quicker the higher the pitch becomes which adds tension and makes viewers feel scared for the man.
The next straight edit shows a close up of him turning to run.
The build up in non-diagetic sound is carried on throughout these clips for higher intensity.

He stops in his tracks when he realises another creature is behind him, shown by a blurred over-the-shoulder shot from behind the creature. The man's face is hidden by the darkness of the shadow of his hood. This makes it so we can not see his expression when he sees the creature.




Shots from different angles are shown of him which enables viewers to see that the black silhouettes shown are surrounding him at every corner.
This can be quite intimidating and make viewers feel sorry for him as he does not have much chance of survival.
This shot shows a mid-shot of him as he is trying to see with his torch held up front.Diagetic sounds of screams, thumping and other noises are coming from the creatures as they appear to get closer.

A black figure passes the screen which is used as the transition to a close up of the man in the hood from the same angle as before.

A close up of his face is shown as he takes a deep breath. This might represent his last breath. The torch shining at the screen becomes focused and gradually the screen becomes white.
The lighting on his face in this shot is very minimal creating a ghostly affect.

Here is a mid shot of him as he is trying to see with his torch held up front.

A straight edit to his hood flying upwards is shown without knowing how it happened or who took it off him. The lighting in this shot is focused on him to make him stand out. The black figures surround him, blending into the darkness, Making it clear who is good and who is bad. The diagetic sound of the hood being taken off is emphasized to add more tension.

This shot shows a very quick change from the same shot as before but shown with a negative effect. This lasts for less than a second to breach the climax.
The negative effect can shock viewers as it may resemble a flash back for the man for his last breath of life.



A millisecond shot of a close up to the creature's face is shown with his mouth open like he's going to eat the man. His razor sharp teeth are abnormal and threatening which can resemble that they have evolved to be sharp so that they can eat through flesh. With this thought, it can make viewers terrified of them.




A straight edit to a black screen is shown with the echoing of a 'boom' sound is played. This breaks up the tension to let viewers think about what has just happened. It also leaves them in shock to wonder what the creature is.

Text is shown the same as before, with the same font and amount of words shown. The text here says 'THEIR TIME HAS COME AGAIN', still referring to the creatures as second person, eg. their, them, they.
The text also states that the creatures have their time 'again', meaning that they have done this before and is not the first time.
Non-diagetic screeching sounds are played to add suspense.

A close up of a creature, is shown with a malevolent look in his eyes. He tilts his head up and looks directly at the camera to involve the audience. His eyes are dark with a deleterious look.
He is dressed in black like the previous shots have shown to allow viewers to link in the previous characters threatening the being. The background is dark also. This makes his face stand out as it appears to be pale (contrasting with his clothes and background) shown from the small amount of light reflecting off his skin.
Half way through this shot, it contains a straight edit to a black screen for a millisecond, this then changes back to the shot where he carries on moving his head. This makes the shot flash in an unnerving way as it may resemble that something is faulty as he is shown.

The screeching of a non-diagetic sound is played when he makes this action, adding to the horrid feeling.
This shot is a lot slower than previous shots which makes it more seem more unnerving.

The shot fades out to a black screen which is shown for a few seconds which is left in silence too.

The next shot fades in to show a new setting. This is still shown at night time as the scene is dark and shows a car with it's headlights on.
Clouds are shown moving in the sky which gives off a dull atmosphere.
The shot tracks the car from the front.
Diagetic sound is used of the car's engine.
A sound bridge is used at the end of this shot of a radio call.


The sound bridge is carried on in the next shot.
A close up of the man shown is driving the car.
 is clear that he is a police man as he is wearing uniform with a badge, with this and the radio call shows viewers his occupation. This gives him a sense of authority and an area of safety for viewers to understand that he means no harm.
The crackling sound of the radio comes across as a woman. This is obvious from her higher pitch, soft voice. She says "We need you at the station." This may conclude that women cannot do things by themselves and need a man to help them. This maybe because men are stereotyped to be strong and decisive. His calm expression shows the viewers that he is not worried which can make them feel safer.

A short panning shot of the vehicle is shown, labelled 'SHERIFF' to confirm that he is in charge showing his authority. The car's low rumbling sound is emphasised when it is shown, representing that he is loud and can warn off any danger.
The vehicle is black, also contrasting with the pure white snow, making it stand out.

A short first person shot is shown of the radio as the man grabs the walkie-talkie.






The man replies to the radio "Copy that." This langue used is specifically used in radio talk and can be seen as professional to viewers.
The snow is seen falling outside and the man is wearing thick black gloves, jacket and a hat to show that is is at a freezing temperature.
This shot fades to black showing that this setting has finished and is now to move onto the next.

A sound bridge of a high pitch noise is used to fade in to a shot of a scruffy looking man, laying slob-like on a metal bench behind bars. The prison bars are blurry, focusing on the man, looking into the camera can intimidate the viewers. The non-diagetic sound used can unsettle viewers and help them to understand that this is the man that is causing trouble.
His appearance is scruffy which may suggest that he has been in prison for a while and has not had a wash. His clothing is thin looking with finger-less gloves which is stereotypical for people that do not have much money.

The police officer shown previously is shown walking towards the bars.
A sound bridge is used from the scruffy man warning the police officer.





A reverse shot is used to show the man laying down again, still warning the police officer to lock the doors.