We Are the Night (Germany)

Young, gorgeous, bisexual German female vampires who enjoy shopping, the nightlife and killing the occasional pimp. They throw around catchy words of wisdom such as "the more evil the man, the more delicious the blood". Even if I'd only heard part of the last two sentences I would have predicted loving the film with a surety I haven't felt since someone explained the premise of D.E.B.S. to me.  As opposed to usually what happens in such a situation my hopes were not dashed. We Own the Night is admittedly more style than depth, but if that's what you're looking for the film delivers the goods in a fun, bloody way that I dare say will satisfy most fans of the fang. Even the lovers of sparkly types will likely get a grrrrl power kick out of the festivities.  

Lena (Karoline Herfurth) is a young, tough pickpocket loner who has no one to rely on except herself. When she crosses paths with a gang of female vampires she's recruited against her will. But a bit of convincing (no pun intended) about how cool it is to be able to walk up walls overrides her fear of not being able to see herself in the mirror. Led by an elder vamp (Nina Hoss) who has been searching for her soulmate for 100's of years it's clear from the start that things won't end well. But at least we know stuff won't be spoiled by a bunch of vampire dudes, when it's explained that the women have killed off all the males of the species for being "too loud, too stupid" and steadfastly refuse to make any more. Shopping, bloodletting and general mayhem ensues. Of course there's a cop on Lena's trail and a variety of the typical undead lifestyle issues that need to be dealt with. You'll see much of it coming but if you're drawn to this genre I doubt you'll care.

There are enough original contributions to the visual lexicon of vampire films to hold one's attention even if the women don't (though I doubt that'll be an issue). Most notably there's an incredible bathtub transformation and a bite/turning scene shot through a mirror (and these vamps don't do mirrors). In short I had a blast. Unfortunately it's not playing again as currently schedule at SIFF. But worth keeping an eye out for as I'm sure it will eventually hit local theaters.

Oh - there's apparently a dubbed version of this film floating around. And it's near impossible to find a subtitled trailer - so I'm posting the German one. Don't compromise. Demand subtitles and get the benefit of being literate...