Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
Starring: Shelia Vand, Arash Marandi, Mozhan Marno, Dominic Rains, Rome Shadanloo, Marshall Manesh
Certificate: 18
Running time: 101 minutes
With an exciting and unique take on the vampire genre, A Girls Walks Home Alone At Night is a stylish and riveting debut feature from Iranian-American film director Ana Lily Amirpour.
Set in a town that thrives on depravity, a lonely vampire stalks its less than savoury inhabitants. Beyond the creature that hunts at night tale, here there is a story of romance in an unusual love story. Boasting stunning performances by Shelia Vand as ‘The Girl’, Arash Marandi as hipster Arash and Mozhan Marno as the prostitute Atti.
The genre of late has been overdone with Twilight fandom igniting a new found love for the bloodthirsty creatures. Ana Lily Amirpour manages to stylise her take towards a more adult audience whilst reigniting an interest for me by offering a powerfully eclectic mix of cultures that produces something quite special. The style is certainly appreciated and overshadows its pitfalls, mainly its dwindling narrative.
The film is accompanied by a cool mix of Iranian rock and techno with this artful blend of visual aesthetic and distinctive soundtrack demanding attention. The vamipress certainly makes for intense viewing, reimagining the bloodthirsty creature in a cool and fiercely exotic and captivating new way.
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night provides an exciting take on a tired and overdone genre. Amirpour certainly achieves bringing together a mesmerising cinematic experience with endless influences. The film-noir aesthetic adds to the uniqueness and demands repeat viewings. If you’d love a fresh bite on the vampire genre then pick it up now.
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is out now on Digital HD, DVD and Blu-ray.
