Ulli Bujel's Nacht Schatten (or Night Shade for all you English folk out there) is a vampire movie with a difference. Unlike certain blockbusters in recent years (like Dracula 2000 and Coppola's rank Dracula), this low budget gory romp from Germany takes a fresh modern (and often humorous) approach to the blood sucking scene.
The story revolves around two main characters, horror novelist 'Henry Gloom' and his live in girlfriend (and vampire in denial) Selin. Selin is a woman with a mission, after being attacked (and converted) by an unseen vampire she discovers that she would not in fact fully transform into one of the undead if she can destroy the very vamp that bit her. So, each night she goes out seeking to destroy any vampires she can track down in the hope that she will stray across the very one that had tainted her own blood.
Sassy, smart and great fun to view - Nacht Schatten is one of those surprise finds in the genre scene (like the similarly themed Angel of the Night) that any self respecting fan should check out if given the opportunity. Shot over several years, the film obviously was a labour of love for its makers, and their enthusiasm shows through. The film moves along at great pace and completely denies to be tied by its budgetary constraints by delivering a big movie feel.
Nicole Muller in the lead vamp heroine role is great (and gorgeous too) and Stefan Keseberg is ideally cast as her pulp novelist boyfriend 'Gloom'. Also noteworthy is Alex Kaese who puts in a cool performance in the role of Arnold, the tragic vampire wannabee. But it is Ulli Bujel's direction that pulls everything together, being both stylish and well paced - and I look forward to future productions from this team of well-crafted filmmakers.
At this time, Nacht Schatten has only been picked up for release in Germany by Astro Video who have issued the film on VHS and (German language only) DVD. Whilst the tape I was fortunate enough to enjoy was an English subtitled screener, there is no English friendly version yet generally available (which is a great shame). Hopefully this will change soon enough though and some one will pick this up fun bloodsucking romp for release in the English market?
For more details on 'Nacht Schatten', check out the movies impressive website by clicking here.
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