'We Are the Night' Movie Review

Lena manages to escape the club, but when she begins to transform -- sensitivity to the sun, a craving for blood, the usual routine -- she returns to figure out what the heck is going on. Louise explains the obvious -- she's a vampire -- and invites Lena to join her band of female vamps, including bubbly raver Nora (Anna Fischer) and moody '20s flapper Charlotte (Jennifer Ulrich).

As pained as she is about the changes going on inside her, Lena readily accepts the offer to live a hedonistic lifestyle of parties, shopping and excessive luxury (presumably attained through some sort of vampiric shenanigans), but she soon begins to wonder if the dark side of the life is worth all the benefits. And if it's not, what can she do about it?

The picturesque cinematography, stylish set design and inventive special effects only enhance the film's slick look, but it shouldn't be dismissed as a pretty, hollow shell. While the script adds little original to vampire lore, it takes the time to define the characters and extract genuine emotion from their plight -- a rarity for genre flicks. Plus, there's a strain of female empowerment running through the story beyond simply having a woman being the last person standing...in a tight-fitting, sweaty, cleavage-bearing tank top.

Like The Lost Boys for the Cyber Generation, We Are the Night immerses us right off the bat with a seductive soundtrack and hip style. It's so enjoyable, in fact, that the only real complaint I can come up with is that I wanted more. I wanted to see more of these characters' lifestyle, hear more about their back stories, witness more of their adventures. Perhaps due to budgetary constraints, some of the action in the movie is downplayed or pushed off screen so that we feel a bit cheated -- not because We Are the Night threatens to become dull without it, but rather because the action that is on screen is so well done, we want more of the same. Like True Blood, it manages the tricky task of remaining loyal to its genre core while conveying an intoxicating accessibility to non-horror fans. Just ask my wife, who, in what I take to be a high compliment, asked if there's going to be an American remake

• Acting: B (Likeable, genuine and believable despite the larger-than-life subject matter.)
• Direction: A (Hypnotic, adrenaline-packed, dramatic.)
• Script: B- (Nothing groundbreaking, but captures strong character depth.)
• Gore/Effects: B (High production value allows for some impressive effects; not a ton of gore.)
• Overall: B (Sexy, exciting and cool, it will leave you wanting more of this underground world.)

We Are the Night is directed by Dennis Gansel and is not rated by the MPAA. Release date: May 20, 2011 (May 25 on demand).