Horror films today are primarily aimed at grossing their audience out, rather than scaring them. With examples like “Saw” and “Hostel,” “30 Days of Night” follows up with some disturbing images and graphic death scenes.

But David Slade’s latest film does something few horror films have done lately, and even less have done well – it’s creepy.

Slade, best known for “Hard Candy,” takes Steve Niles’ graphic novel and adapts it to the big screen for what offers a creepy atmosphere, grotesque villains and a passable plot.

Actors Josh Hartnett (“The Black Dahlia”), Melissa George (“Derailed”), Danny Huston (“The Number 23”) and Ben Foster (“X-Men: The Last Stand”) make up an odd cast.

The plot was basic for the movie.

The residents of Barrow, Ala. have 30 days of darkness every year, and while the population of the town is getting ready, strange occurrences begin to happen. It turns out vampires from a mysterious (and never explained) background arrive for a feast. All hope rests on the shoulders of the few who can survive the first few days, including Eben Oleson (Hartnett) and his estranged wife Stella (George), along with some others to save the town.

Hartnett and George’s performances work for only one reason: their relationship is on the rocks and the cold chemistry between the two fits well. Foster has the most notable performances in the movie as the weird, out of place “stranger.” His back-story is never developed, but he knows the vampires are coming and he is both struck with fear and in love with the idea.

There are some violent killing scenes, but one death in specific rates above the rest and is imprinted on my memory. I don’t want to ruin it, but think about the “America History X” curb scene. It’s a disturbing scene, but for the genre, it’s a plus.

Some of the best aspects of this film are the camera angles used. The overhead shots of the carnage vampires inflict on locals appears as news coverage, like something to be see on T.V.

The camera angles are also what give the film its creepy factor. The vampires are shown throughout the film on rooftops, or running by quickly. There seems to be some homage to horror legend, John Carpenter, with some of the ways there can be a villain shown in the frame, but not be the focus.

The makeup crew for this movie should also be mentioned, as the vampires in the film have their own fresh, new look. There is no Dracula-esqe sex appeal with these vampires, who wear the blood of their victims all over themselves. A big portion of that can be attributed to the fact that the designs of the vampires were taken directly from the graphic novel. There were few changes made to have them reflect their comic book counterparts.

Alas, the movie has some goofy mistakes.

Though there are 30 days of night from noon to 4 p.m., there is some sunlight. Night is not pitch-black, like the movie portrays.

There is no real explanation of where the vampires come from, though the graphic novel offered an idea to their background.

This is one of those few, rare cases where you have to ask yourself why you bothered asking in the first place.

There is a bunch of evil blood-sucking vampires that want to kill an entire community because they, like all other vampires, live off blood.

Shallow?

Yes.

Does it ruin the movie?

No.

Vampires are popular enough and we can accept this if we’ve already bought the movie ticket. And as much as I love a coherent, well-developed story, I’m never going to believe whatever crazy reason there is as to why a gang of vampires is chilling (no pun intended) in Alaska anyway.

Their mysterious background improves the film anyway. It’s better than some giant reveal that might ultimately let the audience down and draw away from film’s scary factor.

The movie simply accomplishes its main objectives. It’s a good scary flick, that may be shallow at the end of the viewing, but it’s entertaining, and for Halloween, it fits the bill.