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Blu-ray Review: ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night’

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What do you get when you combine elements of a spaghetti western, an Iranian vampire film and a love story? You get a new kind of film that is a different chemical composition all together, in the form of “A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night.”

Visionary writer/director (and all around cool person) Ana Lily Amirpour digs deep for the black and white Iranian vampire movie that is one of those films that you know instantly while watching is going to be timeless.

The story follows both Arash, (Arash Marandi) a good hearted guy who is helping his father pay off his debts that were born from drug use and “The Girl,” (Sheila Vand) a vampire who watches the streets of Bad City and feeds on those unlucky enough to get on her bad side. Through a series of events their paths are crossed and fates become entwined.

Vand, plays the vampire with ferocity with a splash of vulnerability. The black and white film adds to her pale skin and predatory big eyes. She makes vampires entrancing and scary again in the same way that Bela Lugosi made the iconic role of “Dracula” in 1931.

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“A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night” gets everything right and transports you into a black and white dreamscape that is filled with characters cut from a caring creators mind.

This is one of those films you could literally pause at any time and have a still of art for your art collection or at the very least your computer desktop.

Small items and moments make this movie what it is. “The Girl” skateboarding around Bad City looking for prey is one of those cool things in films that are instantly burned into your memory forever.

Amirpour is a film fanatic first. In one of the special features on the Blu-ray, she talks about her inspiration for the look and feel of this film and high on that list is none other than David Lynch and his film “Wild At Heart.” Her passion for film not only comes out in conversation but also in vision. She manages to create the same droning dreadful feelings that accompany many of Lynch’s films.

Much like the vampire in the film, “A Girl Walks Home At Night” is simultaneously beautiful and menacing and haunting. Amirpour and the cast create a world that is supposed to be based in Iran but also feels alien. It feels like a world that is not of this earth, which adds to the spell that the film casts from opening frame to closing frame.

My favorite thing about purchasing a Blu-ray is the physical product first and a special features second. I like my Blu-ray purchases to have weight to them that way when you are pulling away the shrink wrap when opening it for the first time, you are not only greeted by the intoxicating new Blu-ray smell but also a handful of content to discover.

“A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night” on Blu-ray does not disappoint in that direction. Distributor Kino Lorber did a fantastic job with this release, which includes beautiful artwork from top to bottom and then some.

The Blu-ray comes inside of slipcover with a foldable inner sleeve and a graphic novel of more dark adventures of the vampire from the film.

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The graphic novel features beautiful artwork done by Michael DeWeese and is written by Ana Lily Amirpour. The stories give some background on the character and explain how she arrived in Bad City.

The special features on the disk are plentiful and lengthy as well. The range from behind the scenes footage of Shelia Vand as she is fitted for her fangs and Dominic Rains getting molded for prosthetics. Vice also does a featurette on Ana Lily and features some behind the scenes stuff as well as conversations with executive producer Elijah Wood.

The crowning special feature has Ana Lily doing a Q&A session with none other than the legendary Roger Corman about “A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night.” During the Q&A Ana Lily discusses her influences, while Corman confirms that “Little Shop of Horrors” was indeed shot in two days and one night.

The special features are good and give a great look at what went into “Girl “while giving an up close look at the director. For me the packaging (and of course the brilliant vampire story) really makes this release worth adding to your collection.

Ana Lily Amirpour is a director that we will all be seeing a ton of in the future. Her next project “The Bad Batch” stars Jim Carrey and Keanu Reeves and takes places in a Texan wasteland where cannibalism has taken over certain group’s appetites. Get in on the ground floor with the seductive and dangerous “A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night” now on Blu-ray and DVD.

 

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Russell Crowe To Star in Another Exorcism Movie & It’s Not a Sequel

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Maybe it’s because The Exorcist just celebrated its 50th-anniversary last year, or maybe it’s because aging Academy Award-winning actors aren’t too proud to take on obscure roles, but Russell Crowe is visiting the Devil once again in yet another possession film. And it’s not related to his last one, The Pope’s Exorcist.

According to Collider, the film titled The Exorcism was originally going to be released under the name The Georgetown Project. Rights for its North American release were once in the hands of Miramax but then went to Vertical Entertainment. It will release on June 7 in theaters then head over to Shudder for subscribers.

Crowe will also star in this year’s upcoming Kraven the Hunter which is set to drop in theaters on August 30.

As for The Exorcism, Collider provides us with what it’s about:

“The film centers around actor Anthony Miller (Crowe), whose troubles come to the forefront as he shoots a supernatural horror movie. His estranged daughter (Ryan Simpkins) has to figure out whether he’s lapsing into his past addictions, or if something even more horrific is occurring. “

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New F-Bomb Laden ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Trailer: Bloody Buddy Movie

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Deadpool & Wolverine might be the buddy movie of the decade. The two heterodox superheroes are back in the latest trailer for the summer blockbuster, this time with more f-bombs than a gangster film.

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Movie Trailer

This time the focus is on Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman. The adamantium-infused X-Man is having a bit of a pity party when Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) arrives on the scene who then tries to convince him to team up for selfish reasons. The result is a profanity-filled trailer with a Strange surprise at the end.

Deadpool & Wolverine is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. It comes out on July 26. Here is the latest trailer, and we suggest if you are at work and your space isn’t private, you might want to put in headphones.

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Original Blair Witch Cast Ask Lionsgate for Retroactive Residuals in Light of New Film

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The Blair Witch Project Cast

Jason Blum is planning to reboot The Blair Witch Project for the second time. That’s a fairly large task considering none of the reboots or sequels have managed to capture the magic of the 1999 film that brought found footage into the mainstream.

This idea has not been lost on the original Blair Witch cast, who has recently reached out to Lionsgate to ask for what they feel is fair compensation for their role in the pivotal film. Lionsgate gained access to The Blair Witch Project in 2003 when they purchased Artisan Entertainment.

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The Blair Witch Project Cast

However, Artisan Entertainment was an independent studio before its purchase, meaning the actors were not part of SAG-AFTRA. As a result, the cast are not entitled to the same residuals from the project as actors in other major films. The cast doesn’t feel that the studio should be able to continue to profit off of their hard work and likenesses without fair compensation.

Their most recent request asks for “meaningful consultation on any future ‘Blair Witch’ reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc., in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.”

The blair witch project

At this time, Lionsgate has not offered any comment about this issue.

The full statement made by the cast can be found below.

OUR ASKS OF LIONSGATE (From Heather, Michael & Josh, stars of “The Blair Witch Project”):

1. Retroactive + future residual payments to Heather, Michael and Josh for acting services rendered in the original BWP, equivalent to the sum that would’ve been allotted through SAG-AFTRA, had we had proper union or legal representation when the film was made.

2. Meaningful consultation on any future Blair Witch reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc…, in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.

Note: Our film has now been rebooted twice, both times were a disappointment from a fan/box office/critical perspective. Neither of these films were made with significant creative input from the original team. As the insiders who created the Blair Witch and have been listening to what fans love & want for 25 years, we’re your single greatest, yet thus-far un-utilized secret-weapon!

3. “The Blair Witch Grant”: A 60k grant (the budget of our original movie), paid out yearly by Lionsgate, to an unknown/aspiring genre filmmaker to assist in making theirfirst feature film. This is a GRANT, not a development fund, hence Lionsgate will not own any of the underlying rights to the project.

A PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM THE DIRECTORS & PRODUCERS OF “THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT”:

As we near the 25th anniversary of The Blair Witch Project, our pride in the storyworld we created and the film we produced is reaffirmed by the recent announcement of a reboot by horror icons Jason Blum and James Wan.

While we, the original filmmakers, respect Lionsgate’s right to monetize the intellectual property as it sees fit, we must highlight the significant contributions of the original cast — Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Mike Williams. As the literal faces of what has become a franchise, their likenesses, voices, and real names are inseparably tied to The Blair Witch Project. Their unique contributions not only defined the film’s authenticity but continue to resonate with audiences around the world.

We celebrate our film’s legacy, and equally, we believe the actors deserve to be celebrated for their enduring association with the franchise.

Sincerely, Eduardo Sanchez, Dan Myrick, Gregg Hale, Robin Cowie, and Michael Monello

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