30 Days of Night: Dark Days picks up right where the 2007 original left off. Stella Oleson (this time portrayed by actress Kiele Sanchez) is out for revenge after the vampire menace killed her man in Barrow, Alaska. She's in Los Angeles tracking down the bloodsuckers by drawing them out, in the process she encounters a small group of vampire hunters who have the same purpose. They plan to put an end to the menace by killing it's leader, a bitch called Lilith (note the religious connection there). What they discover though is far graver...

I actually quite liked the original 30 Days of Night, it's perhaps one of the better vampire flicks I've seen in recent years, sporting solid production values and an original premise. I understand it's not everybodies cup of tea though. Going into watching this sequel i was genuinely quite apprehensive about whether they would be able to do justice to the original. Well, to put it simply, i can say Dark Days is a better flick than i thought it would be, although it's nowhere as good as the original. It doesn't have the originality or the suspense that the first one had. Nor is the production quality quite as polished but it's still pretty good.

Actress Kiele Sanchez is solid as Stella Oleson, it's a shame Melissa George couldn't reprise the role for continuity if nothing else, but still Kiele's performance is good and she maintains the character well. All the other performers are decent also. Diora Baird makes a show as one of the vampire hunters, alongside Harold Perrineau of Lost fame.

I guess the main problem with Dark Days (if there is one) is it's story. It's just too light and nonsensical at times. I especially don't like the ending, it seems pretty inconsistent with the Stella character in my humble opinion. This doesn't degrade the quality of the suspense however and there are a few times during this movie where things can get suspenseful and tense, just don't expect the same gut wrenching as the original.

Gore is there, sadly though nothing memorable of note. It's a shame really cause there are a few bits that could have been really quite grizzly had they been fleshed out more. What's there is done decently though considering this movie was made on a lower budget.

So, I'm gonna give Dark Days a thumbs up, but like i said before don't expect the original again because it's not the same. If you didn't like the original then you'll hate this most likely, you've been warned.