Nightlife

Maryam d'Abo plays a female vampire name "Angelique" who is buried in a casket on the outskirts of Mexico City 100 years ago. When her coffin is opened she finds herself in a new age in which she is unaccustomed. "Vlad" (played by Ben Cross) is another vampire who has been looking for her during this entire time and (much to her dismay) finds her within a day or two of her awakening. Meanwhile, desperately needing blood, Angelique goes to a blood bank to make a withdrawal. While waiting, she faints from anemic shock and is taken to a local hospital. There she is given 4 pints of blood by "Dr. David Zuckerman" (Keith Szarbajka) who is fascinated by what he believes is a newly-discovered "virus" that is responsible for her condition. Somewhat recovered, she begins to fall in love with Dr. Zuckerman which angers "Vlad" when he finds out. As the film progresses Dr. Zuckerman grudgingly becomes aware of her vampire nature and has to deal with "Vlad" as well. At any rate, this movie had the potential to be a very good horror film. Unfortunately, rather than having a horror film with some isolated humor it was decided to make this a comedy with sporadic horror. And in my opinion it doesn't work out too well. For example, Ben Cross fit the role of an evil vampire almost perfectly--for a horror film. But rather than play to that strength he was painfully miscast in a comedy. Same thing with Maryam d'Abo. Now, that is not to say that there was no humor at all in this movie. Camille Saviola was exceptionally funny as the housemaid, "Rosa Mercedes". Likewise, Keith Szarbajka had his moments too. But it just wasn't enough. In short, this could have been an excellent vampire film. Or at least an average one. Instead the producers decided to make a low-level spoof. What a pity.