This debut feature from Shaky Gonzalez is a sort of fill-in-the-blanks John Woo/Robert Rodriguez/Lucio Fulci wannabe that while entertaining enough is still so obviously derivative that there´s a heavy feeling of deja-vu over the entire film. Its impressive cast (which seems to be missing only Kim Bodnia) is mostly wasted, but Erik Holmey easily steals the film with his intimidating vampire leader, Rico Mortiz (great name!). It´s hard to completely dislike an attempt at a full-blooded Danish supernatural horror movie, but the result is a bit too loose and even amateurish at times, but Gonzalez earns an A for effort and is a talent to watch out for. Definite cult possibilities, though.
12 Reviews
Disappointing Danish Vampire Flick
Witchfinder-General-66614 February 2007
Shaky González' "Nattens Engel" aka "Angel Of The Night" of 1998 is a bearable, but disappointing vampire flick, that was obviously intended to be kind of a Danish "From Dusk Till Dawn", but it seems more like a Danish "Texas Blood Money" to me.
When Rebecca (Maria Stokholm), her boyfriend Mads (Tomas Villum Jensen) and her best friend Charlotte (Mette Louise Holland) come to a Gothic mansion, which Rebecca has inherited, they find an old book which tells the tale of a powerful vampire. As they read it, they find out that the vampire described in the book is actually Rebecca's great-grandfather, a priest who was turned into a vampire 100 years ago when fighting a maiden-ripping monster.
Most of the performances in "Nattens Engel" are not even that bad, and the supporting cast contains three well-known Danish actors, Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Michelsen and Thomas Bo Larsen in small roles. But the director Shaky González just seems to try too hard to resemble movies like "From Dusk Till Dawn" and doesn't manage to mix vampire horror, with lots of gun-play and action and some martial-arts-style fighting sequences in an appropriate way. Over all, the script is simply pretty bad and the plot has huge holes. In some parts the movie is shot in fairly cool camera angles, which look OK but in no way original or imaginative.
"Nattens Engel" is a rather disappointing film with a weak plot, but it's not one of those films that have to be avoided at all costs. Some of the women are lovely to look at and there is a fair amount of gore. As a big fan of B-Horror and exploitation, I personally found it bearable, though disappointing. I wouldn't recommend "Angel Of The Night", but if you want to watch it, make sure you have enough beer at home. 3/10
When Rebecca (Maria Stokholm), her boyfriend Mads (Tomas Villum Jensen) and her best friend Charlotte (Mette Louise Holland) come to a Gothic mansion, which Rebecca has inherited, they find an old book which tells the tale of a powerful vampire. As they read it, they find out that the vampire described in the book is actually Rebecca's great-grandfather, a priest who was turned into a vampire 100 years ago when fighting a maiden-ripping monster.
Most of the performances in "Nattens Engel" are not even that bad, and the supporting cast contains three well-known Danish actors, Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Michelsen and Thomas Bo Larsen in small roles. But the director Shaky González just seems to try too hard to resemble movies like "From Dusk Till Dawn" and doesn't manage to mix vampire horror, with lots of gun-play and action and some martial-arts-style fighting sequences in an appropriate way. Over all, the script is simply pretty bad and the plot has huge holes. In some parts the movie is shot in fairly cool camera angles, which look OK but in no way original or imaginative.
"Nattens Engel" is a rather disappointing film with a weak plot, but it's not one of those films that have to be avoided at all costs. Some of the women are lovely to look at and there is a fair amount of gore. As a big fan of B-Horror and exploitation, I personally found it bearable, though disappointing. I wouldn't recommend "Angel Of The Night", but if you want to watch it, make sure you have enough beer at home. 3/10
"A shadow fell over the city and people began to fear the setting sun."
Backlash00723 September 2002
~Spoiler~
If Robert Rodriguez made a vampire flick it would be...From Dusk Till Dawn. If someone who obviously admired Robert Rodriguez made a vampire flick, it would be Angel of the Night. From the get-go of this Fangoria release the bad dubbing stirs a lot of laughter but by the second act everyone is usually into it. There are a hundred flaws like this, but I'm going to forgive most of them because the movie wasn't unwatchable. It borrows heavily from many other films, such as From Dusk Till Dawn, Desperado, Kindred: The Embraced, and even Demon Knight. The action is very stylized and the gunfights are straight out of the John Woo/Robert Rodriguez handbook. At one point a Spanish character with long hair is even called Banderas. That same scene is the one to watch for: the hallway shootout. It's nicely done. I absolutely love the part when the vampire morphs into the mouse and then gets blown away by the sawed off, double barrel (which is used in practically every scene). Angel of the Night is an excellent, although very corny, low-budgeter. I wasn't expecting too much when I watched it, but I got a little more than I bargained for. That's what usually makes for the best movies.
If Robert Rodriguez made a vampire flick it would be...From Dusk Till Dawn. If someone who obviously admired Robert Rodriguez made a vampire flick, it would be Angel of the Night. From the get-go of this Fangoria release the bad dubbing stirs a lot of laughter but by the second act everyone is usually into it. There are a hundred flaws like this, but I'm going to forgive most of them because the movie wasn't unwatchable. It borrows heavily from many other films, such as From Dusk Till Dawn, Desperado, Kindred: The Embraced, and even Demon Knight. The action is very stylized and the gunfights are straight out of the John Woo/Robert Rodriguez handbook. At one point a Spanish character with long hair is even called Banderas. That same scene is the one to watch for: the hallway shootout. It's nicely done. I absolutely love the part when the vampire morphs into the mouse and then gets blown away by the sawed off, double barrel (which is used in practically every scene). Angel of the Night is an excellent, although very corny, low-budgeter. I wasn't expecting too much when I watched it, but I got a little more than I bargained for. That's what usually makes for the best movies.
Is this flick supposed to be funny?
le canard4 May 2002
I assumed a Danish vampire movie could be an original and exotic thing. I now believe I'll have to keep my eyes open and wait for the next one to come. Director Shaky Gonzales apparently just wanted to copy a bunch of successful American films such as From Dusk Till Dawn, Desperado and even The Lost Boys! Needless to say that the result is quite scrappy and insignificant. Besides, every bloodsucker in this film looks totally ridiculous! Come on, this was shot just a few years ago! How is it still possible to make vampires look (and act!) like this!? Well, I don't know, maybe the Gonzales family is in the fancy dressing business. Or maybe Gonzales just wanted to be funny... Oh! This is a scary thought, isn't it?
Ruined by Bad Direction
Uriah4322 January 2022
After inheriting a mansion in a remote part of Denmark, an attractive young woman by the name of "Rebecca" (Maria Stokholm) invites her boyfriend "Mads" (Tomas Villum Jensen) and her best-friend "Charlotte" (Mette Louis Holland) to come with her to check it out. Once they get there, she explains that her grandmother was a historian who spent a great deal of her time researching vampires. Not long afterward, Charlotte takes them down into the basement where there find some extremely old books on the shelf. As it so happens, one book in particular catches her eye and, since it involves the history of her ancestors, she begins to read it out loud to her friends. The scene then shifts to 100 years earlier with a priest named "Rikard" (Christian Gronvall) being bitten by a vampire. He subsequently assumes the name "Rico Mortiz" (now played by Erik Holmey) and goes on a murderous rampage which is outlined in the book and takes us up to the present. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I was extremely disappointed with this film for a number of reasons. For starters, this film is billed as both a comedy and a horror. But the problem is that there really isn't much humor here so I'm not sure why anyone would think it was a comedy. The second problem concerns the fact that the director (Shaky Gonzalez) apparently chose to focus on action scenes instead of tried-and-true elements like suspense to liven up the horror. And that was a big mistake, in my opinion, as these action scenes were quite unimaginative. To further compound the problem is the fact that he kept repeating the same action formula again and again. To that effect, what the viewer is left with is a good-looking cast and a lot of inane action scenes which go absolutely nowhere. In short, I was not at all impressed with this film and I have rated it accordingly.
Not bad
capkronos21 May 2003
Warning: Spoilers
Rebecca (Maria Karlsen), her boyfriend Mads (Tomas Villum Jensen) and party-girl friend Charlotte (Mette Louise Holland) decide to spend the night in a creepy mansion, former home of Rebecca's occult-obsessed grandmother. They sit around sipping wine and read from a book called "Nattens Engel," meaning we're in for lots and lots of flashbacks.
"Experienced" vampire Rico Moritz appears young (Christian Grenvall) or old (Erik Holmey), can morph into a (small or giant) bat or rat, can be killed with a special dagger and has been terrorizing the area for over a century. Three main story lines zoom back and forth from 1850 to "a few years ago" back to present day and involve the fates of various people who've crossed Rico's path over the years, including 19th Century witch hunters, a gun-totting group of young vampire hunters and a woman he rapes to sire his offspring. The finale returns to Rebecca and Co. where blood revives Rico (again) and, in a really amazing (and weird!) finale, an angel arrives to take the troubled ghoul to heaven!
Although it SHOULD have been subtitled (the dubbing never matches the lips), you can tell it was a major release in Germany. ANGEL has a high budget look, the actors and FX are good, the music score (by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra!) is elegant and the action/horror scenes are well directed. It's entertaining despite the flaws, fluctuations in tone and confusion (this thing even goes to Peru at one point!). Fangoria handled the U.S. video release.
"Experienced" vampire Rico Moritz appears young (Christian Grenvall) or old (Erik Holmey), can morph into a (small or giant) bat or rat, can be killed with a special dagger and has been terrorizing the area for over a century. Three main story lines zoom back and forth from 1850 to "a few years ago" back to present day and involve the fates of various people who've crossed Rico's path over the years, including 19th Century witch hunters, a gun-totting group of young vampire hunters and a woman he rapes to sire his offspring. The finale returns to Rebecca and Co. where blood revives Rico (again) and, in a really amazing (and weird!) finale, an angel arrives to take the troubled ghoul to heaven!
Although it SHOULD have been subtitled (the dubbing never matches the lips), you can tell it was a major release in Germany. ANGEL has a high budget look, the actors and FX are good, the music score (by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra!) is elegant and the action/horror scenes are well directed. It's entertaining despite the flaws, fluctuations in tone and confusion (this thing even goes to Peru at one point!). Fangoria handled the U.S. video release.
What are you waiting for? SEE THIS MOVIE!
Steevh4 April 2000
I also saw this at 'Dead By Dawn', and was blown away.
Briefly: Woman inherits house, reputedly the last resting place of the dreaded Rico Mortiz- a priest who got bitten and was cursed with vampirism. On her first night there, she and some friends find the skeleton of a huge bat, and a book of her family history. As the tale unfolds, we see in flashback how the curse grew, and how it affects her now.
It really couldn't be more entertaining if it tried, and seems to have something for everyone. Okay, it's another vampire movie, and as such, says and shows absolutely nothing new or innovative- but everything is done with such style and charisma that I found myself completely ignoring all that and just hanging on and enjoying the ride. The pacing is breakneck, the script is hilarious- but played mostly, wonderfully, straight- the actors know their jobs and do them well, and the effects are over-the-top and fabulous. All this is overseen by the assured, surprising direction of Shaky Gonzales- a man of whom you will be hearing a lot more from.
It looks like it cost four times what it did. It's shiny and gorgeous and you will fall in love with it. Go and find it before all your friends- and gloat later at your leisure.
Briefly: Woman inherits house, reputedly the last resting place of the dreaded Rico Mortiz- a priest who got bitten and was cursed with vampirism. On her first night there, she and some friends find the skeleton of a huge bat, and a book of her family history. As the tale unfolds, we see in flashback how the curse grew, and how it affects her now.
It really couldn't be more entertaining if it tried, and seems to have something for everyone. Okay, it's another vampire movie, and as such, says and shows absolutely nothing new or innovative- but everything is done with such style and charisma that I found myself completely ignoring all that and just hanging on and enjoying the ride. The pacing is breakneck, the script is hilarious- but played mostly, wonderfully, straight- the actors know their jobs and do them well, and the effects are over-the-top and fabulous. All this is overseen by the assured, surprising direction of Shaky Gonzales- a man of whom you will be hearing a lot more from.
It looks like it cost four times what it did. It's shiny and gorgeous and you will fall in love with it. Go and find it before all your friends- and gloat later at your leisure.
I Did Stunts and special Fx on that movie it was fun to do
hp-282-33385119 May 2014
The film is made over 2 years. original it was meant to be a short film school movie, first they shoot 20 min. and got some money and shoot the rest over some years. It was so funny and to do, i won i price for best special Fx in Denmark when it came out many years ago. A lot of the things is done almost whit out any money in a simple way but i think that a lot of the scenes in the film is working so fine. I have been working on Shaky Gonzales other movies and we are having so much fun on the set doing these films. Shaky Gonzales Direktor on the movies is so good to worked with, he loves to blow things up, shoot outs, breakaway windows to jump through, bullet hits, stunts and so on, i love it to. So i can wait for the next movie to work on whit him
Danish vampire runs rampant
Gonkiz23 September 2001
This is something as unusual as a Danish vampire movie. What can I say? It is not the best vampire movie I've ever seen, but absolutely the funniest. The film makers has used some elements from the role-playing game "Vampire: The Masquerade" and the effects of this is quite amusing, if you happen to play it, like I do. Nonetheless, the movie is definitely worth seeing if you're a fan of vampire movies.
Resurrection of a Danish vampire
Justin-Fog2 June 2005
Denmark has many attractions. Not only smörgåsbord or blond beauties or the Lego park. It also has a dark side - vampires! A hundred years ago, or so the story goes, a vampire named Rico Mortis roamed the Copenhagen streets in search for young women's blood. Every hundred years he has to sleep with a woman, make her pregnant and drink his own child's blood in order to survive. Well, Rico Mortis fails, and a young woman resurrects him a hundred years later. That's when the real trouble starts... "Angel of the Night" is a well done Danish vampire movie with lots of blood and gore and action. The action scenes are as drastic as in a Tarantino movie, and the vampire effects are excellent. The only bad thing about the movie was the German dubbing - that was really awful and I could easily have done without it. But if you love vampire movies, you definitely should watch this one. It's worth every minute of your time. Jasper P. Morgan
Parts of this film really worked
tenn-noodlehead19 June 2000
I picked this up as a rental one weekend. I didn't have any expectations, as all I knew about it was what the back of the box had to say. Overall, I was somewhat disappointed. Some of the scenes in the movie really worked well. Unfortunately other scenes played more like a music video. The story wasn't new or strong, but other movies have overcome weak plots. The acting was surprisingly good, but most of the story unfolds in flashbacks fed to the viewer in small, disjointed chunks. The English dubbing started off badly but quickly improved. The director drew heavily on John Woo style action, not always a bad thing, but I think the diving across a room firing two handguns at once thing was a little overdone. I also can't help wonder where everyone kept coming up with the sawed-off shotguns. In a nutshell, this probably won't become a classic, but I don't think it's a waste of time either. I think once the director discovers his own style, we will be in for some excellent movies.
Superb
Goose-193 April 2000
I saw this film at the "Dead By Dawn" festival, half way through an all-nighter. I was expecting to watch 10 mins and then sleep through the rest. How wrong I was! If you can look past the influence from "From Dusk Till Dawn", there lies a absolutely great film - funny, gory and highly intelligent. It's a crime that a film of such high quality will unlikely see a proper UK theatrical release, and will probably not see a DVD or video release either.
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