30 Days of Night (2007)

So I actually really love 30 Days of Night and I can't believe I've never written a review on it before.  This afternoon, my husband took our son out, giving me a much-needed break, and as I flipped through the channels, this movie was just about to start on SyFy.  I've been furiously writing recaps lately (this time, The Mist) with hopes of getting that part of my blog back up and running again, but it will be nice to review a movie I've already seen a few times.

30 Days of Night is about the town of Barrow, Alaska, where every year in the winter, that have 30 days of night.  This movie actually wasn't shot in Alaska, but rather in New Zealand.  Eben Oleson (Josh Harrnett) is the town's sheriff, and his estranged wife, Stella (Melissa George), unwillingly becomes stranded in town when she misses the last plane out.  Meanwhile, a stranger (Ben Foster) approaches the town.  Eben gets called to various locations in town due to people finding phones, helicopters and dogs ripped to bits.  Of course, that's followed by people getting shredded up as well.

And this all comes back to...vampires!  These are not shiny True Blood or Twilight vampires.  They're gnarly and have scary teeth and nails and their own language.  Will the residents of Barrow survive a month of vampires besieging their town?

Honestly, I think this movie rocks.  Good vampire movies are few and far between, and this one had both a cool setting and a good cast.  Not to mention awesome makeup and special effects.  And you know what, Josh Hartnett is BAE, and I don't care what anyone thinks.  This gets the thumbs up from Scream Queen.

Turistas (2006)

So I saw this movie when it first came out, but apparently never wrote a review.  I've been traveling a lot lately, and movies like this have just been worming their way back into my head.  I wouldn't call me a "safe" traveler.   My husband and I love going off the beaten path, which comes with its share of dangers.  We've taken cab rides where we've been like, "fuck. hope we're not going to die at the end of this."  The fears of Turistas are all too true -- a bus breaking down, being drugged and robbed, left without a place to stay.

Can we stop for a second and realize how many people were in this freakin' movie?!  Josh Duhamel, Melissa George, and Olivia Wilde?! Holy crap.  So a bunch of young hot people go to Brazil.  They try to save some cash by taking the bus which Scream Queen has done on several occasions.  The bus never ends well.  This bus gets into an accident and leaves them on a beach with beautiful scenery, hot girls and tons of booze.  Oh, and organ theifs.  NBD.

After waking up all hungover and amnesia-ridden, the group takes off for town, hoping to find safe haven.  But lets remember for a second that many tropical paradises are emerging nations with political and crime problems.  They get led by their "friend" to an organ theft ring, of course swimming through beautiful underwater caves in the process.

This movie is like a tropical Hostel so if you got a kick out of that flick, you'll like this one too. Definitely not as graphic and gory as Hostel but I think it's realistic and would resonate with the pleasure traveler.  Everything was filmed in Brazil so the scenery is legit.  The cave swimming scenes were awesome and reminiscent of Fortress.  Sure the end gets a little melodramatic but not enough to ruin this movie.  As a traveler and a horror fan, I liked this flick!  Also, now I want to go to Brazil.