A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

Set in Bad City, Iran, a young man named Arash (Arash Marandi) struggles with working menial jobs and setbacks coming from his drug addicted father Hossein (Marshall Manesh) whose addictions have put the both of them in debt to drug dealer Saeed (Dominic Rains). Eventually Arash has a chance encounter with a girl (Shella Vand) and strikes up a romance with her, unaware she is a vampire who predates on the bad men within the city.

A Gril Walks Home Alone at Night is the feature debut of writer/director Ana Lily Amirpour. The film is an expansion on Amirpour's 2011 short film of the same name partially funded through Kickstarter with the film's goal of $55,000 exceeded with $56,903 raised from 290 backers. The movie became a hit with critics with many praising the style, direction, and performances of the film with many appreciating the thematic nods to vampire lore, spaghetti westerns, and horror. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a movie that requires patience of its audience, but those who are willing to give it will find a unique and stylish character-based genre blender whose vision overcomes its budget.

Amirpour's approach to the material is unique in that she takes a vampire, known only as The Girl, and frames her as a lone stranger who comes into town and while she does feed on those unfortunate enough to cross her path, she is not without morality as she only unleashes her appetites upon those she sees as deserving of them. The movie's usage of the fictional Iranian city of Bad City helps to give this film a unique identity especially since it's a very different portrayal of Iran than we're typically used to and it's made all the more impressive that it was filmed in Taft, California (primarily due to some of the content not meeting Iran's "standards"). Arash Marandi is really good playing Arash as he has this laid back charm with a slight rebellious streak you may remember from a younger Marlon Brandon or James Dean, Shella Vand is also quite good as The Girl and makes a solid anti-hero/romantic lead with Vand and Marandi having some great chemistry together. While I personally like this movie, I understand it won't be to everyone's tastes as this is a movie that does go in for long unbroken shots and a number of more deliberately paced scenes, but assuming you're willing to give the movie some leeway on that front it makes for a rewarding experience.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is visually and thematically impressive and made even more so by its frugal budget. With some solid leads, a unique take on vampires, and some strong visual language from Ana Lily Amirpour, I found a lot to like about this film.

A calm, alluring & subversive art-house endeavour from Ana Lily Amirpour in what's her feature film debut, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is as impressive as it is unconventional, as beautiful as it is brooding, and as hypnotic as it is haunting. Touted as "the first Iranian vampire western", it is a fascinating blend of horror, romance & western that's original, meditative & masterly composed.

Set in an Iranian ghost-town that reeks of death & loneliness, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night tells the story of a lonesome vampire that wanders the desolate streets at night; stalking, killing or protecting whoever she deems fit. But things change when she comes across a guy who's just as lost as her and, in an effort to connect with each other, something beautiful is born between the two.

Written & directed by Ana Lily Amirpour, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is crafted with stunning restraint & presents the up-n-coming filmmaker in absolute control of her craft. Lily Amirpour's direction exudes both patience & confidence as she spins her own take on the vampire folklore with this twisted fable of two lost souls without giving in to genre conventions, and isn't afraid to employ silence as a powerful & effective tool.

For a debut feature, it is an incredibly sophisticated effort, and Lily Amirpour not only exhibits her firm grip on storytelling elements but all filmmaking aspects. The story takes place in Bad City, an Iranian town in the middle of nowhere, and the deserted locations, vacant streets & fraction of denizens add to its graveyard like aura while the resurfacing shots of drilling pumps perpetually sucking oil out of Earth serves as an interesting companion to its vampiric themes.

The script is only concerned with the doings of two characters, Arash & The Girl, and the rest of the town's inhabitants are discerned by simple tags assigned to them. What's also admirable is that it is never in a hurry to switch to the next moment and actually embraces the silence & emptiness that permeates every frame, which in turn contributes to its somber tone & funereal gloominess. But there are also times when its extended takes bring the narrative to a standstill.

Shot in crisp black-n-white, Cinematography brings an elusive quality to the whole picture with its static camera-work, skillful use of slow-mo technique & beautifully composed shots, and further intensifies its otherworldly setting. Another one of my favourite aspects is its mesmerising soundtrack, comprising of sensibly chosen tracks that are evocative and always in check with the emotional requirements of any given moment.

Coming to the performances, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night features a committed cast in Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Mozhan Marnò, Marshall Manesh, Dominic Rains & Rome Shadanloo, and each one of them get sufficient time on screen. Vand's subtle expressions & unwavering gaze turns her silent showcase into the most impressive performance in the movie and she is brilliantly supported by the rest of the cast, each playing their part with utmost conviction.

On an overall scale, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a somber effort that's elegiac in its approach, dreamlike in its presentation, and subdued in its addressing of topical themes. Crafted with care & intimacy, it promises an etherial, absorbing & aesthetically fulfilling experience to those willing to embrace its slow-burn narrative and marks a promising start to Ana Lily Amirpour's filmmaking career. Although its fangs aren't as deeply embedded as I would have liked, this thoughtful meditation on loneliness is still a delightful discovery that's worthy of a broader audience.

Set in an oil industry ghost town-like city in Iran, this movie, directed by newcomer Ana Lily Amirpour - an American of Iranian descent - is highly reminiscent of Jim Jarmusch's early style. Interestingly, in an interview between her and legendary producer/director Roger Corman on the DVD extras, she claims she's not much of a fan of Jarmusch. But as virtually everyone who studies film has pointed at the stylistic similarity, she's taking it as a compliment.

Like Jarmusch's work, the movie is shot in atmospheric black and white - and it works beautifully. The dialogue is all Persian (Farsi) - even though the movie was shot in America, standing in for Iran - and is subsequently sub-titled. However, this does not work against the film (whose strength is its visuals) at all, as the dialogue is at all times minimal and slow, thus making the reading easy and unobstructive to the fascinating camera work.

So, it's a horror movie. It's principal character is a Persian woman vampire - who stalks the town, robed in a black chador, which is quite an unsettling shadow to behold standing 10 feet away from a potential victim late at night. The events exist within a kind of imagined Iranian underworld of pimps, hookers, drug dealers and street urchins. Our vampire watches this dark town, at times slowly riding a skateboard down the street! When she interacts with people, she is unblinking, mostly un-verbal, and seems to be at all times appraising their circumstances and their worth.

Aside from the beautiful blocking shots and photography, a high point of the film is its use of sound effects, music (which sometimes references Morricone-like spaghetti westerns) and an impressive soundtrack of mostly modern pop music.

Any criticism of this movie (though it's more praised than not) seems to center around it being "style over substance" and "too slowly paced". Well, it is moody, that's for sure - and maybe too slow for many of today's horror fans, that's true - but there's no arguing that its greatest strength is its style.

This was one of the most anticipated art-house horror films. The fact it's done in Persian with Iranian director and crew absolutely peeks every filmophile's interest. Unfortunately, the hype surrounding it sometimes works against anticipated releases like this, but the wait was worth it.

A Girl Walks Home...was heavily influenced by Jim Jarmusch's aesthetic, like a love letter to this director. A vampire western with a touch of romance - something I haven't seen before. Let's see if this unusual combination worked... The last few years were great for vampire subgenre, reviving it with a few films that have became instant favorites and, in my opinion, deserve their place in film history.

Let The Right One In and Only Lovers Left Alive are notable examples, and now A Girl has joined them, forming fantastic trinity of style, ideas, cinematography and unparalleled atmosphere. Modern vampire subgenre works best in authentic urban surroundings, with as little action sequences as possible, focusing on loneliness, inner turmoil of the characters, existentialism and sometimes unlikely companionship between humans and vamps. A Girl has it all, adding extra cultural layer to these key ingredients.

Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive have set vampire tale in Western and Eastern world both, and A Girl... paints excerpts of Iranian life. (Although filmed in California) the rest is authentic. This black&white picture offers style and atmosphere, quiet, meditative and rarely violent, it's filled with music and shadows. There is a running thread of social commentary although the town and premise are fictional.

Mysterious titular 'Girl' in fictional town named 'Bad Town' stalks the residents quietly, watching them go about their routines, helping the weak and good, punishing the crooked and corrupt. We know absolutely nothing about The Girl, but there is a pattern...unlike women in Iran, she has a certain, albeit supernatural power, and she uses it to punish men who have bullied others and wallowed in vices. Even if I'm only reading into this, I thought this was liberating in the context of the culture that's old and rich but traditionally repressive against women.

However, The Girl is not some feminist vigilante fixing to destroy the mankind, just like Eli in Let the Right One In, she protects those in need. Unlike Eli, The Girl does not look for symbiotic relationship with disposable humans, the companionship she forms with Arash is of different nature. Big shout out to Masuka the cat, the talent and screen presence is fantastic and adorable. One lovely and immersing cinematic experience, bravo, Miss Amirpour!

This was a very stylish movie that also managed to be pretty visceral, which is a special combination that doesn't come along often. It's a horror movie shot in black and white with great visuals and restrained performances, but it doesn't feel artsy or tedious. It finds time to let loose and have some wild sequences as well as the contemplative ones. I liked the characters, especially the central female. She actually does walk around alone at night, but she's not in any danger, which makes it pretty cool. It would say it's worth a watch, and probably even deserves a rewatch at some point. Recommended.