She Lives by Night (2001)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Simply Perfect

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The acting in this movie is really good.

This story concerns a modern-day vampire who suffers from amnesia after being hit by a car. Otherwise unscratched, she can only remember that her name is Angela. The man who ran her over invites her into his home to let her recover. Though he wants to take her to a doctor, she adamantly refuses to go...Though nobody uses the "V word" in this movie, there is no question that Angela is a vampire. But she differs from the traditional kind that turns to dust when exposed to sunlight. All she needs are dark glasses! She also wears a necklace with a small cross. There are some people who might have doubts, and question if she's a 'real vampire'. In folklore, of course, there were many varieties of vampires. Some of them could certainly wander out by day, though their powers were diminished. So, Angela must be one of those other kinds... And if there are still questions, then ask yourself if a 'real vampire' can suffer from amnesia?? In any case, Lilliana Cabal gives a very convincing performance as the troubled young Angela discovering who (and what) she really is.Some other convincing performances are given by the supporting actors who get bitten by Angela to keep them in line. They now know Angela's intentions but are powerless to stop her.All in all, the story holds together well. Some good suspenseful moments! Though no place names are mentioned, it is clear from the vehicle license plates that this was filmed in Utah.

She Lives by Night starts with sexy Vampire Angela (Liliana Cabal) feeding on an unlucky male victim on the side of a road. Once finished she hitchhikes to try & get a lift back to town but is hit by Roger Spellman (John Woodhouse) as she steps into the road. Roger stops & runs to Angela but finds that she is totally unharmed except that she has amnesia & can't remember anything about herself. Feeling responsible Roger offers Angela a place to stay until she can sort herself out but they quickly become romantically involved. As the days pass Roger becomes increasingly concerned about Angela & her behaviour, she hates sunlight, never eats proper food & a dark sinister side begins to emerge that Roger really doesn't like. Roger's best friend Carl (Pat Collins) disappears & their friend Helen (Shauna Scott) suspects Angela & eventually discovers the truth, but will anyone believe her...Co-produced & directed by Brett Hull I liked the storyline in She Lives by Night but the final delivery leaves a lot to be desired. The script by co-producer James Stewart has a neat premise & I found the first half of the film a good watch as Angela slowly realises that she is a Vampire & the affect that has on her & Roger, however the second half of the film degenerates into a low-budget boring standard Vampire tale as Angela kills a few people while trying to keep Roger happy. There are only four people in the entire film & they're quite well fleshed out & I thought the dialogue was also pretty good & seemed relaxed & natural. The film is surprisingly long at almost one hour & fifty minutes & I think it would have played a lot better if it had been shortened by ten minutes or so. There is a distinct lack of exploitation elements too & was extremely tame.Director Hull does an OK job, it won't win any awards but it looks alright. There isn't much atmosphere, there aren't really any scares & forget about any sort of blood or gore because there isn't any. She Lives by Night was more of a story driven film which was fine during the first half when it was mildly interesting but towards the end it became rather dull.Technically the film is alright, it's competent throughout at least & considering that it went straight-to-video I couldn't really complain. The acting was pretty decent & Cabal makes for a quite hot looking Vampire.She Lives by Night had a certain potential which it never really fulfilled, I thought it was something a little different to start with but it soon descended into clichéd horror fare that became a chore to sit through. Just about worth a watch if your a fan of the genre but anyone else should probably give it a wide berth.

This film is on the border. The first half is so bad it's good, and then it gets to be so bad it is just plain bad. Liliana Cabal dose a good job of playing someone with no memory. But that is the high point. The rest of the acting is bad. Now a few points on Vampire Lore. Most modern film makers do not seem to take 'Buffy...' and Stoker as gospel and mess with it. I don't think this film is any worse. This film seems to be set in the same general biological area Able Ferrara's 1995 film 'The Addiction'. With the vampires okay in daylight with shades and able to suffer injury. In Anne Rice novels vampires have been known to suffer memory loss from blows to the head. So that is okay. Crosses, that one is dropped in a lot of more modern films. In 'The Hunger' the vampires also wear crosses (albeit Egyptian style ones). This film is trying to be modern and scientific about vampires, which means dropping the superstition.

Angela, a vampire, is hit by a car while hitchhiking on the side of the road. This in turn causes her to become amnesiac. Roger, the guy who hit her, offers to let her stay at his place until she regains her memory since she refuses to be checked into a hospital. Throughout the course of her stay they fall in love, but little does Roger know that Angela harbours a dark and deadly secret. There isn't a whole lot to say about this one other than it's pretty average quality and goes against just about every vampire myth there is imaginable. Some of the major contradictions this film contains are: 1. Angela wears a cross necklace, which in the folklore is supposed to burn the vampire's skin if touched. In this case, it does absolutely nothing. 2. When a vampire is exposed to sunlight they immediately catch fire. In this case, Angela merely puts on a pair of sunglasses and 3. She suffers from amnesia...I know that that is what makes the whole film (her being amnesiac and therefore needing someone to care for her) but she's a vampire, and I had always assumed vampires couldn't suffer the same "damages" a normal human can. Ah well, overall it was an OK film, but I wouldn't rush out to the store to get it. 5/10