'A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night' - Movie Review

Just your average, run-of-the-mill Iranian feminist vampire flick.

Arash (played by Arash Marandi) lives with his heroin-addicted father. But the car he worked so hard to buy is taken by his father's drug dealer for the money his father owes. The drug dealer soon has a terminal encounter with a young and pretty vampire (who wears a chador - played by Sheila Vand). But when Arash meets her (she's never named, and only billed as "The Girl"), they become close.

The movie is shot in black and white. To me, this implies that the cinematography will be very artistic (they are, at the very least, making a statement). Director Ana Lily Amirpour was trying for artistry, but she didn't make the industrial neighbourhoods and oil pumps look pretty or even interesting. The movie is weird and creepy, and lingers on the oddest scenes (the one that's particularly memorable was the prostitute Atti having a dance with a balloon). The pace is slow, and some of the decisions that people make don't make sense for their characters.

It was interesting if a bit too drawn out, but I'm not understanding the rave reviews it's got from critics.