A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

Streaming: Shudder/Prime Video
Warnings:
Violence
Graphic Imagery
Sexual Intercorse
Drug Use
Rating: Not Rated

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a love story about two tortured souls who live in a ghost town called Bad City located in Iran. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a feminist film by default that changes a common narrative from previous films. The film blends different elements of genres like western, neo-noir and even horror. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night debuted at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and it received positive reviews from critics. The film is written and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour for her feature directorial debut. She is an English born Iranian-American director, screenwriter, actress and producer. Besides international recognition for A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Amirpour is known for an episode in the rebooted Twilight Zone, The Bad Batch, and A Little Suicide. She described A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night as, “The first Iranian Vampire, spaghetti western.” For those of you who do not know the term, “spaghetti western,” this is referring to a broad sub-genre of western films that were produced in Europe that emerged in the mid-1960s. Beyond the wonderful direction from Amirpour, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night also has breathtaking cinematography, interesting themes and a kickass musical soundtrack. 

Amirpour never intended for this film to be considered feminist, and when asked if the film is feminist she stated, “it can be feminist if that’s what people think.” She also went on to say, “I wonder when Tarantino made Kill Bill, did people say he was being a feminist? It’s weird, I wonder if like, ‘Oh a female and so she’s battling misogyny.” Amirpour made a point that she would rather be considered an artist separate from her womanhood. She also states that she is oftentimes drawn towards outcasts and she notes that she finds the characters from a personal place within herself. Although she approaches the feminist element in A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night with reserve, she does hope that the audience appreciates the film’s representation of a silent character in drag named Rockabilly who is genderqueer. She states that Rockabilly’s presence is the one political thing in the film because it’s not okay to be gay in Iran. This representation is a bold statement supporting self expression and individuality in a place that doesn’t always allow it. 

The cinematography is something that carries the film. Amirpour has 30% hearing loss, so she oftentimes depends on a lack of dialogue in her films, thus allowing the cinematography to portray the story. She states that her decision to limit the dialogue makes the audience uncomfortable and they often think there is a lack of narrative as a result of less dialogue. She says that those critical responses are interesting and states that she finds inspiration for this approach from various directors like David Lynch, Francis Ford Coppola, and Sergio Leone. The cinematography was executed by Lyle Vincent who is known for The Bad Batch, Thoroughbreds and The Woman in Black. Vincent had quite a task filming A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night because even though the story is based in Iran, the film was shot in California. The cinematography does a great job convincing the viewers that the characters are in Iran. The film is in black and white which adds to the neo-noir element with exaggerated shadows. The horror element is highlighted with extreme wide shots of the vampire girl following men in the evening. There are a few times in the film when the audience fears for the man’s life when he is walking home alone, this completely flips a common narrative that is seen in many Hollywood films. This aspect of the film is partially why this film should be considered feminist, the film shows a perspective that women understand that men might not.

The music is an additional element that adds to the film in an interesting way. The musical soundtrack was created and compiled by Bei Ru who is an American record producer, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Bei Ru is known for blending airy, syrupy electronic, soul, psych, house & funk influences. Amirpour says that, “every piece of the story, every character, every costume, every bit of music is something that she ‘love[s] to the point of obsession.” Amirpour’s love for film came from pop culture and she experienced a connection through music and movies. When she was 12 years old, her father got her a camcorder and she began imitating commercials and making films. She absolutely loved putting on shows and stated that she was going to become a filmmaker. With her inspiration from pop culture, music and films, she has always been destined to become an artist. 

Even though A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night wasn’t necessarily supposed to be a feminist film, it certainly has elements of it that makes it one. From female representation, intersectional depictions, and the fact that a small woman holds all of the power in the film, it creates a story that hasn’t been told before. The different aesthetic elements also add to the individuality of the film, it makes the film visually stimulating, and even sometimes shocking. The cinematography, the thought-provoking styles and themes as well as the music make this film truly a masterful work of art. If you wish to view a film that is out of the ordinary with some political elements, I highly recommend A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.

Black Box

Streaming: Prime Video (Free with Subscription)
Warnings:
Domestic Abuse
Graphic Imagery
Rating: Unrated

  Black Box is a modern horror film directed by Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. and written by Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour and Stephen Herman. Black Box stars Mamoudou Athie, Phylicia Rashad, Amanda Christine, Tosin Morohunfola, and Troy James. The film was released in October 2020 as the second film that is a part of a collaborative anthology series produced by Amazon Studios and Blumhouse Television. Black Box is certainly a thought-provoking film, even though the story is similar to a few other popular films, it is still engaging and sparks interest. Of the entire anthology series, Black Box is currently rated the highest on Rotten Tomatoes. Black Box is about a father (Nolan) who is struggling to regain his memory after surviving a tragic car accident that killed his wife. Desperate to put his life back together to raise his daughter as a newly single father, he begins to receive experimental neurological treatment that helps him remember his forgotten memories. Something feels off about the memories which sparks him to investigate further. Through the storyline, cinematography and the acting, this film is certainly intriguing.

            Some critics argue that this film is more like a science fiction than a horror which is not a completely incorrect statement. Although there are parts of the film that are truly chilling, Black Box does weigh heavily on science fiction more so than horror. Black Box is similar to popular films like Get Out and even some episodes of Black Mirror, but it never quite shocks the audience in the same way. Black Box isn’t a film that can be predicated but it is a film that follows similar journeys that other science fiction films have in the past, in other words, Black Box isn’t as original as it seems. However, with that being said, it is still worth the watch.

            The imagery and cinematography used to portray traveling through Nolan’s memories is similar to The Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind but takes the audience on a different journey. The transitions in the film are clever and adds to the discomfort the audience feels when anticipating the next memory. The cinematography was executed by Hilda Mercado who has a long history of working in the Hollywood camera department, however most of her films are not horror films. Along with the depictions of the memories, the cinematography allows the audience to absorb clues in the story as they go along without being too obvious. This is a strong aspect of the film that adds to the intrigue.

            The acting carries the film most of all, Mamoudou Athie known for The Get Down, Underwater and The Circle, does a wonderful job playing the father who is just trying to put his life back together. Athie pulls the audience in when he is suffering through the predicaments his memory loss has put him in. He also is incredibly convincing when he is terrified while viewing his own disturbing memories. This role in particular gives me hope to see him in more roles in the near future.

            Black Box isn’t a typical horror, nor is it a film that will be going on my “favorite horror list,” but it is certainly enjoyable and thought-provoking. It takes the audience on an unexpected journey that stirs uneasiness and discomfort like most horror films but the shock that is needed isn’t as astonishing as one would hope. However, through the acting, the interesting imagery, and the engaging story, Black Box is a good film to watch on a rainy day.

Bad Hair

Streaming: Hulu (With Subscription)
Warnings:
Graphic Violence
Sex
Sexual Abuse
Explicit Language
Rating: Unrated

Bad Hair is a comedy horror film written, directed, and produced by Justin Simien. Justin is known for his writing for the movie and the show Dear White People. The film stars Elle Lorraine, Jay Pharoah, Lena Waithe, Kelly Rowland, Laverne Cox, Usher, and many other reputable stars. Bad Hair had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, and it had a limited release followed by digital streaming on Hulu. The film received moderately positive reviews from critics which is understandable; Bad Hair has some interesting concepts, but the execution was uneven and there were some plot points that were impossible to ignore. The concept of the story is interesting, but the direction and the writing fell short, this kept the film from reaching its full potential. With the lack of direction, and cluttered writing the wonderful star cast were unable to make this film a good movie. The film is set in the 80s during the rise of new jack swing and follows an ambitious young woman named Anna from Compton. She aspires to be a producer, but she continuously gets overlooked because she doesn’t have the right hair, the right skin color, or the right image to succeed. A new boss takes over at the network Anna works for and the boss suggests that she gets a weave to receive a promotion. Surprise, as you might have surmised, the weave turns out to be evil. The concept of the film had a lot of potential, but the execution just fell flat.

            The idea is interesting, along with highlighting the pressures that Black women are put through in the professional world to change their hair, the film does get some things right. Bad Hair exposed how much pain Black women are put through just to be able to have what is considered “professional” hairstyles in the workplace. The film also incorporated slave lore to tie the hair concept together with history, however one would argue that the writing did not support the combination of these two concepts, nor did it dive too deeply into the slave lore to fully explain the connection. Not only did the “Bad hair” origin make no sense, it also didn’t follow the same rules for every character, as the film progressed the hair’s abilities changed without explanation. There were too many unanswered questions to call this film cohesive or even worthy of the audience’s time.
            The long list of star actors was entertaining to see in 80s glam, but it seems like Simien was depending on their presence to make the film enjoyable. The actors were entertaining enough but the writing fell short, not only was the story jumbled but as I mentioned before, the “bad hair rules” seemed to change throughout the film. In order to make a good horror film, the “evil” in the film needs to have rules and limitations, the hair in this film has some limitations but the “power” of the hair changed and was not consistent with each character. It almost seems as if Simien would give the hair new capabilities simply for shock value and a lack of imagination. Along with the inconsistent hair rules, the writing was an obvious attempt to cater to Black women.  The writing was recognizably written by a man for women, and it didn’t capture the women in a flattering way. The main character is timid but once she “turned bad” she immediately started speaking up for herself, this seemed like an unfortunate way for this character to grow. She had to “whitewash” herself in order to become assertive for herself, and this became a theme for Black women in the film. Even though this theme is trying to make the point that Black women don’t have to do this to reach their goals, this message fell short in the writing and direction.
            The gore and violence in the film fit the 80s theme but also seemed like it was only for shock value. Some of the gorier scenes seemed unnecessary and sometimes just disgusting, and I am writing this as someone who loves most horror films. There are a lot of comical deaths throughout the film but one big thing that was missing was the police following the trail of bodies that were circling around this TV network, throughout the entire film there was only one part where the authorities were involved with no follow up at all. Realistically this made no sense especially because the deaths were often in public spaces. Ultimately the gore could have been the savior of this film, but it just added to the confusion. The hair’s capability changed throughout the film which was only heightened by the over-the-top gore making the story less entertaining and more cluttered.

            Overall, this film did not live up to its potential and was disappointing to say the least. Upon researching more about this concept, even the story isn’t unique. This unfortunate horror could have been a new cult classic but instead in result of the chaotic writing, directionless acting, and the pointless gore, it will be dubbed a waste of time. If you wish to waste your time through a 2-hour distraction, I recommend diving into this chaotic mess of a horror comedy.