So There's This Iranian Vampire Skateboarding Around Bakersfield ...

Wut?

Once upon a time I said I'd write about films in these here parts. But then I didn't see anything worthy for a very long time and even stopped watching movies entirely because everything was disappointing and dumb. I WAS watching a shit-ton of television however, which probably had something to do with my lapse.

Oh yeah, then there was last summer during which I lost interest in everything but my air conditioner.

Well pals, no more excuses. I'm finally back on the film circuit and recommend A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night from VICE Films, written and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour. If you like black & white, and you like foreign films, and vampires, by all means give it a go. It's even on Netflix, which is funny because their selection is grossly lacking.

Anyway, I'd describe this film as a very sweet, very original little feminist vampire western (is that a genre yet?) and sort of a Lynch-Jarmusch mashup. It's slow and strange and artsy and slightly disturbing but mostly it's just plain fun. My favorite!

(Some random, spoilerless notes: Why it's filmed in Bakersfield, California I do not know. And, yikes, what is UP with that ditch?! I don't like cats but in the last scene, that cat absolutely nails it, which could be why the scene remained in the film. If you like the quirky 1980s soundtrack, look for playlists on Spotify.)

★