Film Review: We Are the Night (Wir sind die Nacht)
We Are the Night (2011) – Wir sind die Nacht
Distributed by / Release Date: IFC Films, June 8, 2011
Directed by: Dennis Gansel
Written by: Jan Berger, Dennis Gansel
Starring: Karoline Herfurth, Nina Hoss, Max Reimelt
Reviewed by Marc Patterson
Demons are the new zombies and zombies were the new vampires. That said, the vampire movie isn’t dead, especially not for an audience like ours. Good horror never dies and an entertaining vampire film is always welcome whether or not this particular creature of the night is in vogue. Yes, that is to plainly say I was looking forward to this German import, which from early trailers read like an updated take on The Lost Boys, except with a copious amount of girl power.
Lena (Karoline Herfurth), is a lo-tech version of Lisbeth Salander, equally the troubled, take-no-shit tough gal, but instead of having a penchant for online hacking she prefers street thievery to get her kicks. She impresses a young, good-looking blond cop named Tom (Max Reimelt) after she outruns him while he chases in pursuit. His infatuation puts Lena in his love-interest cross-hairs, but Lena has also managed to attract a different breed of interest, from an ancient vampiress Louise (Nina Hoss). Louise is the sophisticated, sultry and seductive leader of a group of all female vampires, (Think of her as the Keifer Sutherland of this film), and she wants the fiery Lena all to her own. Being an ancient Louise gets what she wants. In a nightclub restroom, a place where all respectable babies are made, Louise gives Lena the kiss that keeps on giving. In short order Lena is turned, but like Tom Petty said, “The waiting is the hardest part”. Now Louise has to convince Lena to love her back. Yeah…
You guessed it, We Are the Night is the classic love triangle story that utilizes vampirism as the primary plot device, one that allows us to exit our pathetic short-lived existence and live for eternity, cruising city streets at night in stolen Lamborghini’s and running through upscale shopping malls like it was a going out of business sale at Barneys New York. We Are the Night parades flashy glitz and glamour like Sex in the City, but much like eating fried pork and rice, you’re never really satisfied. In a sentence – We Are the Night has no soul.
My number one gripe with this film actually has little to do with the film itself. Nonetheless it’s a big gripe and severely inhibited my enjoyment of this film, and therefore needs to be addressed – and that is the English language dubbing. The dubbing is canned, devoid of emotion, and poorly recorded. The “actors” who did the dubbing came off sounding like they were reciting lines for My Little Pony. And believe me, I’d know. I have a four year old. I won’t mince words; It was painful – really, really painful. Assuming you catch We Are the Night on VOD, which will be the majority of you, this is how you’re going to be watching this film until it is given a DVD release, so take note.
While the dubbing might have immediately been a significant off-putting factor, and one that put me at an arms length from this film, it ultimately wasn’t what killed my experience. A sad sorry story told pitifully isn’t good in any language, and even for a brainless action filled romp through vampirism I didn’t find We Are the Night to be very effective in creating characters worth investing myself in. Even Lena, who I should have been sympathizing with the most, was a two-dimensional knock-off of Lisbeth Salander. Simply said, both the characters and story arc came in the shape of a flat line. I won’t point fingers at the actresses. The source material gave them nothing to work with.
Not that all was for naught. The first act of the film was actually promising and stood out at its best. (Seriously, who wouldn’t like a rockin’ female perspective on The Lost Boys?) But by the second act the pace had settled down to a simmer and I found myself cast into the the same cliched vampire story I’d seen a hundred times before. It’s glossy, but uninspired and unoriginal. By the time the third act rolled around viewer boredom reached its pinnacle, and the equally lackluster final showdown left me dismayed and disappointed.
While it’s not the worst vampire film I’ve seen, We Are the Night is far from the best. It sits far too close to the “pop” side of vampirism than I care to cover here on Brutal As Hell. It’s most definitely a case of horror-lite with 60 calories or less. In fact, I’d hardly call We Are the Night horror. There were no truly suspenseful moments nor anything of any overt frightening content. The brutality was nominal and the story was contrived, and highly derivative of too many other films.
If I could give this one thumbs up in any area then it would have to be it’s technical achievement. We Are the Night is as gorgeous looking as the ladies it showcases. The cinematography is spotless, well-lit, and quite entrancing. I can’t believe I’m about to say it, but the CGI in the film also comes across as quite convincing. Where the story falters the technical and visual prowess remains strong providing a story that is better in style than substance. My advise? Watch the trailer and move on.
German trailer with dialogue in original language:
US Trailer with English dubbing:
