Sunday, October 4, 2015

31 Days of Halloween 2015: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

2014, Ana Lily Amirpour -- download

Yeah, I am not sure what to make of that one. This is one of those times where I need to see what other people said, in order to gel the collection of thoughts racing around up there into something cohesive. But first, the basics.

This is a black & white movie set in an imaginary Iranian world, a run down oil town called Bad City. I say imaginary, because the strict rules we know to be in existence in Iran seem to be... lacking in this movie. A pimp who looks like Ninja from Die Antwoord hassles the handsome young rocker and his father, who happens to be junkie. A young girl in chador and stylish breton stripe top (mod to his rocker) walks the dark streets alone at night, and turns out to be the town's vampire. Hookers, artfully placed (but not plotted) transexuals and kids in beat up tweed jackets also wander the broken down streets. And a balloon and a cat. The cat has the best role.

Its as if someone thought a chador sort of looked like Dracula's cape and ran with it. "Fresh take on the vampire mythos," is the usual thing reviewers say when they have nothing to say about the vampire mythos. There is no mythos here, just a morose "young" girl (remember, vampire main characters are rarely actually young) who eats people and feels a little sad about it. Let the Right One In did it much much better and this just ends up being a stylish bit of pop art.

As slow paced as Under the Skin was, but without the pay off or shock value, I am not sure the incredibly well shot, well acted bits can make up for this being an utter yawn.

The poster is damn nice.

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