This seemed to be the kind of pretentious, heavily referencing, derivative, black and white rubbish that critics crave here in the U.K., within the first 30 mins. Particularly the drug dealer, who seemed largely played for laughs in this otherwise sombre film. His demise was ridiculous, yet predictable and put it at the Tarantino end of the spectrum. Aware of the title, I thought it would simply be the 'girl' murdering various - entirely male - miscreants, with little story as context, just the offscreen politics, which would largely dictate whether you would enjoy this type of thing.Things started to change, however, when Sheila Vand came on screen. She has an undeniable magnetic presence. Some people just have it. She reminded me of Mia Wasikowksa in Stoker, though was less well served by the writer. The trajectory then takes a refreshing turn towards the intimate connection between her and Arash, an unexpected love interest. It then reminded me of Let The Right One In and even had much of the same powerful sense of innocence - as a thing that is never entirely 'lost'.Amirpour then deftly adds in a crucial complication for this new relationship, though she leaves it open whether this complication will be...fatal. She knows dramatic irony, especially by making Arash a peddler of the very thing that indirectly ends his Father's life.Much of it is overlong, languid and too clearly resembles Jarmusch or French or Italian art-house. I wish she had gone the Lynchian route, really invested in the subconscious angle.It's a memorable film though, if not a completely satisfying one, with a very strong central performance.

Arash is a young Iranian man and his classic car is his pride and joy; he doesn't own it because he is from a wealthy background but because he worked years to earn the money. Then one day a drug dealer takes it to pay the debts of Arash's junkie father. Meanwhile an unnamed young woman, known only as 'The Girl' is walking through the city streets alone at night… she is in no danger though; she is the danger! She is a vampire and she is sealing with those who harmed women. One of her victims just happens to be the man who took Arash's car; she kills him and leaves just before Arash turns up hoping to buy it back with a pair of stolen earings. He finds the man dead so takes the car keys along with a case full of drugs. Shortly afterwards he meets The Girl while walking home from a party. They spend some time together but whether she proves to be a danger to him remains to be seen.This was billed as 'the first Iranian vampire western' but while it is set in a fictional Iranian city and the characters speak Farsi it was made in California… not that that is a problem. One would think that a film featuring a vampire would be a horror film but too my mind it was far too surreal for that… there were a few moments of horror but it wasn't particularly fear inducing. The use of black and white along with Arash's classic car and retro dress and hair-style gave the film a fifties look and the way the camera lingers while nothing really happens provided a beguiling weirdness that I rather enjoyed. Sheila Vand was captivating as 'The Girl' and Arash Marandi was solid enough as Arash. Derector Ana Lily Amirpour did a fine job keeping things interesting even when nothing was happening. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anybody looking for something different; it won't be for everybody but I enjoyed it.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night(2014) Starring: Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Marshall Manesh, Dominic Rains, Rome Shadanloo, Milad Eghbali, Reza Sixo Safai, and Mozhan Marnò Directed By: Ana Lily Amirpour Review THE FIRST IRANIAN VAMPIRE WESTERN Hello Kiddies your Pal The Crypt-Critic is stalking the night wit his favorite suckers for the night in a Foreign land. 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. This plot/synopsis it sounds like something I would invest whether it be foreign or western. I usually only watch Foreign films if there Horror, Monsters, or even sometimes romance. This was both but I wasn't a fan. I mean I liked Let The Right one In. But this film it just came off as like a film with a good idea and acting behind it but a weak narrative for telling what would otherwise be a magnificent story. I'm giving it a 2 and a half out of five.

I realize there will be those that gripe that this begs for legitimacy by being filmed in B&W and using catchy music with faces aching "sigh" as they move through their Iranian urban existence alone and without. If this is a reason to be dismissive so be it, but I'll take something so beautifully photographed, small in the scope of a certain sect of characters within a specific environment but visually written in painterly strokes to get the most out of the setting. A heroin junkie father who has left his son struggling to make ends meet, losing a nice ride he saved so long for to a sleazy drug dealing creep looking for payment for the debt of the smack provided to pops. A lovely vampire in a chador with penetrating eyes and enigmatic presence eyes human meals considered worth feeding from, leaving them for dead because they seemingly represent the scum of society, finds her possible soulmate in the heroin junkie's son. The street lights gleaming piercing white, haloing the characters as they haunt the empty sidewalks and roads at night. The vampire becoming smitten with this misbegotten young man absent a parent with his mother gone and the father surrendered to his addiction. Catching the guy as he was seduced by a popular girl of privilege during a costume party to take an X pill, which sends him into an exhilarating trip, under the influence with his inhibitions lowered, dressed in cape as Dracula, the vampire finds him alluring. Great scene has her pondering whether or not to bite him as his throat was available, this realization that he could be her *one* stilling the urge for another drink. The foreground/background composition between the vampire, in chador, and the heroin junkie father, who she is following across the street; this has the aesthetic of a true talent. The kid with the skateboard running across the vampire with her asking if he's been a good boy, threatening him is an instance where we see the predator surveying her potential prey. The seductive face of the rich beauty who is forbidden to the junkie's son, looking like a siren calling to him as he lingers in his drug-influenced daze, only for an attempted kiss to be denied. He is not in her social standing, no matter if he's dreamy and attractive to her. The film is a romance wrapped in the art house disguise of a vampire film.