Feature Film
30 Days of Night
2007
Filmed In
Auckland · Otago
Towns & Areas
Henderson Valley Studios, West Auckland · Waitākere Ranges Regional Park · Waiorau Snow Farm, Cadrona Valley, Wanaka
The Story
A terrifying, bloody horror film based on the graphic novel miniseries. An isolated Alaskan town plunged into its annual 30-day winter darkness finds itself under siege by a pack of savage, bloodthirsty vampires.
The Stars
Josh Hartnett and Melissa George. Together they carry the film's claustrophobic small-town dread across every frame shot in the South Island's coldest, darkest reaches.
Behind the Lens
David Slade. Slade came to the project from a background in music videos and commercials, and has since worked across both film and television horror projects.
Why NZ?
The production built a complete, purpose-made snow-covered town set at Auckland Film Studios to control the endless “night” atmosphere — since filming happened in the off-season, salt was used on the ground rather than real snow. The result is a town that feels both entirely artificial and completely convincing on screen, built specifically to withstand weeks of continuous "night" shooting. For a film built entirely on darkness, the choice of location mattered as much as the cast.
On Set
Director David Slade has described wanting the film's vampires to move and hunt "like a pack of dogs" rather than as individual, theatrical monsters — a choice that shaped much of the film's choreography. It's a distinctly Southern Hemisphere solution to a distinctly Northern Hemisphere problem.
Legacy
Adapted from the graphic novel miniseries of the same name, the film leaned into practical creature effects over CGI for much of its vampire attack sequences.
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