Ana Lily Amirpour to tell a stylized fairy tale with Blood Moon

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Writer/director Ana Lily Amirpour is building quite an interesting career for herself, making her feature debut with the impressive Iranian vampire film A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT (pictured above) and then following that up with the star-studded, bugnuts post-apocalyptic film THE BAD BATCH. THE BAD BATCH wasn't nearly as well received as A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT, but it was certainly unique.

Currently being presented to international buyers at the Cannes Film Festival is Amirpour's third feature, a "stylized fairy tale" titled BLOOD MOON. This one is said to be 

a mind-bending adventure set in the swampy neon-lit streets of New Orleans, and inspired by fantasy-adventure movies of the 1980s and ’90s. At its center is a girl with strange and dangerous abilities who escapes from a mental asylum and rejoins the chaos of modern-day civilization, on the hedonistic streets of the French Quarter.

The buzz, according to Deadline, is that BLOOD MOON "has the potential to be (Amirpour's) breakout effort", which I thought A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT already was.

BLOOD MOON is being produced by Le Grisbi Productions' John Lesher, who said the film will be 

a visual odyssey through the underworld of New Orleans. (Amirpour's) singular vision as a director is powerful and will be sure to make this a film not to be missed."

Amirpour says she decided to set the story in New Orleans because 

you have a specific, unique place where there is so much history and this openly hedonistic debauchery that is led by pleasures of the flesh. I thought that was an interesting place to set a story about a girl who has some disturbing abilities but who isn’t acclimated in any way to society, and learns to be with people in such a chaotic place."

Representatives CAA Media Finance and Rocket Science are showing off Amirpour's script to potential buyers, along with suggestions of the musical approach she'll be bringing to the film. BLOOD MOON will pair

strange, violent and funny cinematic sequences with stellar musical artists, ranging from heavy metal to Italian techno to sexy French lounge music.

Rocket Science's Thorsten Schumacher promises the film will be "a mind-blowing ride", and it's a ride I'll gladly be taking. Amirpour made certain with her first feature that I'll be watching anything she makes in the future.