We Are The Night (Wir sind die Nacht), a German film from 2010, is a very modern take on a very traditional vampire tale. A brief summary:
Lena is pursued and bitten by Louise, a beautiful, wealthy and dangerous lesbian vampire, and is inducted into a lifestyle that is both thrilling and terrifying. Can she learn to accept her new nature and embrace the night? Meanwhile, the cops, including love interest Tom, are closing in on the vampires, and soon the only certainty is that blood will be shed…
Spoilers Ahead
Louise (blonde), Charlotte (dark) and Nora (red) are a trio of vampires living the unlife in Berlin. Louise is the leader, their creator, searching always for the woman who is her true love – and when she spies Lena her heart is set.
Lena is a petty thief with a record, and catches the eye of good cop Tom. Despite being on opposite sides of the law, there is mutual respect and a spark of attraction. A few hours later, Lena is in a nightclub, looking for easy pickings, when Louise presents herself, a roll of notes placed to catch Lena’s eye.
One thing leads to another, and we see Lena’s transformation and induction into Louise’s seductive lifestyle of shopping, fast cars and getting high from chilled blood shots. With plenty of killing – and that’s a problem for Lena.
Meanwhile the police are closing in, and Tom cannot forget Lena…
It’s a well made film and ranks as one of my favourites, but I am frustrated with the romantic plot. Now, perhaps Lena is attracted to Louise at first, it’s unclear. Perhaps it’s more a fascination coupled with Louise’s manipulation. If Lena is bisexual, then I think it would be good to make this clearer, because instead she seems entirely straight for the rest of the film.
This is important for two reasons. First, it would make the plot far more interesting if there was a clear possibility of Lena being Louise’s true love. Second, if Lena is straight, this film plays to the old trope of evil=lesbian vampire seducing the straight woman away from her good=straight man. (See Lesbian Vampire (TV Tropes) and The Bisexual Question.)
So. I would like there to more chemistry between Lena and Louise before and after transformation. I would like to see Lena with her fangs buried in a human neck. I would like an ending that isn’t off-screen – there are simply too many questions raised by the ending, and it creates an impression of, ‘Oh, too complicated to write.’ Although, having said that, the DVD has two alternative endings, either of which would have been far more satisfying.
See also: My Top Ten … Fantastic Female Vampires.
Francis James Franklin (Alina Meridon) 
I’ve noticed that a lot of your blog posts are about dangerous females. I get that it holds a certain draw, but I was wondering why you were drawn to it?
I grew up on a diet of sci-fi and fantasy, which until recently was dominated by male heroes. As a boy, that didn’t really matter to me, but… There’s a delight in seeing female characters in heroic roles, whether it’s Sigourney Weaver in Alien, Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs, Anne Parillaud in Nikita; or Paretsky’s Warshawski, Hoeg’s Smilla,… And not just action heroes but characters with depth, women who may or may not have men in their lives but who ultimately make their own victory.
Nikita was a huge influence on me. I’m very drawn to the dilemma: can a ruthless killer be a good person? Whether I’m watching an assassin movie or reading a vampire book, I want to see that question confronted. I have written two novels, and both feature a vampire as a main character who has had to come to terms with their nature as a killer. In Suzie’s case, she does things that the reader may not be able to forgive, and yet she is struggling forever to find balance between the light and dark.
That said, I can’t deny the erotic appeal of a dangerous and dominant female, or the romantic appeal of seeing two beautiful women in love. Lesbian vampires may have been born from the fear of ‘unnatural’ homosexuality (Coleridge’s love for Wordsworth; Carmilla) but even without such prejudices they are figures of power and sexuality.