The vampire genre has found its vintage again in the last year with Jim Jarmusch’s ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE and the Kiwi cult hit WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS.
Now an Iranian film makes a thrilling trifecta in the hallowed hall of the unhallowed, A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT.
Set in a seedy outer suburban outskirt surrounded by oil wells plundered in perpetual motion by machines evoking some kind of dunking birds designed by H R Giger, a woman walks home alone night after night, a shadowy figure in her chador, her garb not unlike a cape and cowl, evocative of Transylvanian tailoring according to Hollywood filmmakers of yore.
In a double send up of this evocation of the genre, the girl comes upon a drug addled fancy dress party attendee attired as Count Dracula, and love blooms like a punctured jugular.
The girl is not some damned to the dark dame, but rather an avenging angel, preying on pimps, drug dealers and other detritus of society.
She cautions a young skateboarder to be honest and a good person all his life, admonishing him like some demonic nun should he stray from the righteous path.
The Girl is played with silent film style by Sheila Vand, who had a supporting role in ARGO, and here shows she has the acting chops to sink her teeth in a leading role.
There is stand out support by Mozhan Marno and Dominic Rains as a prostitute and pimp respectively who come into the avenging vampires orbit.
And there’s the fine feline performance from the picture perfect pussy, Masuka. More than just some movie moggie accessory, this cat has an integral part to play in the narrative, essentially the cat that lets the bat out of the bag!
Shot in luminous black and white by cinematographer Lyle Vincent, A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT is full of atmospheric pleasure, a visual vein to ravish, and an eclectic score that mingles techno dance with spaghetti western strains is as cool as the kohl eyed star crossed lovers.
Written and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour, A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT is not just an instant classic but a calling card from a film maker of major potential.
A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT is available now on disc and digital