First Take: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night- officially the first horror film I successfully sat through

SYPNOSIS-

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.

The first ‘Iranian zombie western’ was always meant to be a unique premise, and it is safe to say that Ana Lily Amirpour’s 2014 feature film debut delivers on that complex combination of genres.

The script from Amirpour is absolutely first class, with some great dialogue that isn’t affected by the language barrier, and this is complemented by her direction that blends the handheld focus of the horror with the big wide shots of the Western.

Performance-wise, Sheila Vand and Arash Mariandi put in some incredible work here, and without their well developed characters, I don’t think I would have enjoyed the film as much as I did. It is shot brilliantly by Lyle Vincent, and it has a very good soundtrack that really suits the gritty nature of the film’s narrative. This is probably the most unique film I’ve seen ever.

THE VERDICT

With a very unique plot and some great performances, Amirpour has made a film that really stands out from the crowd and certainly deserves a place on the DVD shelf of an independent film fan.

RATING: 5/5