A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) Review

In the Iranian ghost-town Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, the townspeople are unaware they are being stalked by a lonesome vampire.

Director/Writer: Ana Lily Amirpour; Stars: Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Marshall Manesh, Mozhan Marnò, Dominic Rains

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a 2014 Persian-language American vampire western. Tagged as "The first Iranian vampire Western", the film was actually shot in the town of Taft in Kern County in southern California. The films star, known only as the "the girl" is fairly new to the industry (Sheila Vand), as is her would be lover played by Arash Marandi. In the meantime Dominic Rains is making his rounds and Mozhan Marnò is the CIA's Israeli intelligence office Samar Navabi on The Blacklist. The film is based on the short film of the same title also written and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night also has Elijah Wood listed as a producer and we all love his involvement in horror.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is another one of those films that with a title that tells it all. Shot in black and white with an eye for classic cinema, it really reminds one of Let the Right One In. Here we have the story of a lonely girl, that just happens to be a vampire, trying to find love and acceptance in a seedy Iranian town. Ultimately it may be the clash of custom and vampire lore that makes this film interesting. There is nothing about the middle east that would make when expect a a vampire to be walking among them but with the veil of secrecy and fresh look at the dregs of the society it seems so natural.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is definitely a slow burn which, sadly, really drags the film down. we've already compared it Let the Right One In due to the stories contents but sadly there isn't enough in between the discovery phase and love story to keep it interesting. We never really get to the depth of the characters in this world we never would have seen otherwise. The girls curiosity in the experiences she is having seem too suttle and not enough Darling - ish crazy chick. Even the drug dealer is too mellow for a violent criminal. Perhaps this is by design by I feel some shocks to the brain are important to the concept. That is not to say the film is a total loss. Amirpour spins a pretty deep yarn and has offered up a fairly unique addition to the vampire genre if nothing else but because of where it takes place.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is currently available on all platforms, if you have the time to be immersed into a middle eastern tale you never thought you'd see give it a try. It is a cool addition to the  lore and very interesting. But, it is no Let the Right One In, though it emulates it.