She Lives By Night 2001 Horror Movie Review

She Lives By Night is like a vampire movie meets a Hitchcock movie.


I liken She Lives By Night to neo-Hitchcock. It has dark romantic tension ala Hitchcock’s better films (e.g. Vertigo) but it has something you won’t ever find in a Hitchcock film - a vampire, which gives this movie its unique hook. From that standpoint, this movie is lighter and has some great B-movie charm. It also contains subtle black comedy, which you often find in Hitchcock movies.


The movie contains a bizzare hook that’s actually quite clever: a vampire who gets amnesia. This vampire, who dosen’t know she’s a vampire, begins a new relationship with a young man. This secretly addresses a concept to which anyone in a relationship can relate: do we REALLY know who we’re involved with - and would we truly accept everything about that person if they didn’t keep a few things hidden? In this case, it’s the fact that she is a vampire who must eventually feed.


Like the people who wrote the other reviews, I too felt the ending was particularly strong. So often vampire movies similar to this have really stupid endings, but this movie doesn’t take the easy way out - and the ending stays with you. There aren’t a lot of good movies coming out of Salt Lake City, Utah, which also makes this movie stand out. This movie is an independant gem, and I would seek it out. Highly recommended!