The town of Barrow, Alaska (now Utqiaġvik) is preparing for its annual period of the winter with a month-long polar night.

Barrow's sheriff, Eben Oleson, investigates and learns that his estranged wife, Stella, missed the last plane out of town and must stay for 30 days.

That night, a band of vampires, led by Marlow, attacks and slaughters most of the townspeople, forcing Eben's family and several other survivors to take shelter in a boarded-up house with a hidden attic.

He lures the vampires to his grandmother's house and uses one of her ultraviolet lights to severely burn Marlow's lover, Iris, forcing him to mercy-kill her.

On Day 27, Stella and Eben see the deputy, Billy, signaling them with a flashlight and bring him back to the station after finding out he killed his family to save them from a more painful death.

As the month ends, with the sun due to rise, the vampires prepare to burn the fuel line running through the town, which will cause it to explode and destroy evidence of their presence.

[3] When Niles and his agent, Jon Levin, shopped the comic around again as a potential film adaptation, Niles found that the idea "went shockingly well", with Sam Raimi and Senator International picking up the property rights based on the original concept and Templesmith's unique mood and concepts for the vampires.

[5] Following the publication of the 30 Days of Night comic book miniseries in 2002, studios, including DreamWorks, MGM, and Senator International, bid in the $1 million range for rights to a potential vampire film based on the story.

[6] In July 2002, Senator International acquired the rights for 30 Days of Night in a seven-figure deal with Raimi and Tapert attached as producers.

[8] The following March, Richardson revealed that Steve Niles had turned in the initial draft for the 30 Days of Night screenplay.

[10] The following May, Stuart Beattie, one of the writers for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, was rewriting Niles' 30 Days of Night draft for production.

[14] In June 2006, Josh Hartnett was announced as having been cast as the husband of the married couple who serves as the town's sheriff team.

Some criticized the choice because the main character (Eben Olemaun, with the last name changed to Oleson for the motion picture adaptation) was originally Inuk in the comics.

[18] In an interview prior to filming, Slade explained that the illustrations by Ben Templesmith would be reflected in production design.

To counter this, a fictional vampire language, with click consonants, was constructed with the help of a professor of linguistics and the nearby University of Auckland.

The site's critics consensus states: "While 30 Days of Night offers a few thrills, it ultimately succumbs to erratic execution.

"[28] 30 Days of Night was released February 26, 2008 on DVD, Blu-ray, and UMD for PlayStation Portable in the United States.

[32] Three days after filming began, Niles revealed that Kiele Sanchez replaced Melissa George in the role of Stella Oleson.