'Mona Lisa And The Blood Moon' (2022) Movie Review

At a glance, the story of Ana Lily Amirpour’s Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon is relatively straightforward. When Mona Lisa Lee (Jean Jong-seo, Burning) escapes a mental institution, she finds herself alone and struggling to survive on the streets of New Orleans. From those simple beginnings, however, things become much more complicated, dreamy, and strange. In part, at least, because Mona Lisa has unusual abilities, she can control other people and make them do things. 

Ana Lily Amirpour's 'The Bad Batch' Trailer Had Me At 'Keanu Reeves As A Post-Apocalyptic Cult Leader'

Twee indie Iranian vampire western A Girl WalksHome Alone at Night is a goddamned masterpiece, so, of course, anything writer/director Ana Lily Amirpour does next is high on my list. It doesn’t hurt my feelings at all that her next movie is a weird-as-hell post-apocalyptic cannibal joint. And the latest trailer for The Bad Batch does nothing but sell me.

'The Bad Batch' Trailer: Post-Apocalyptic Wastelands, Cannibals, And Cult Leader Keanu Reeves

After A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, I’m game for anything Ana Lily Amirpour does. And if that happens to be a visit to a tense, moody, post-apocalyptic dystopia where Keanu Reeves goes deep-dive mustachioed cult leader, even better. Check out the first trailer for The Bad Batch below.

'The Bad Batch' Clips: Check Out Ana Lily Amirpour's Indie Post Apocalyptic Dystopia

Did I jump the gun a bit putting Ana Lily Amirpour’s black-and-white, pseudo-western, Iranian vampire indie A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night on my Top 25 Movies of the Century So Far list? Probably. But I love the shit out of that movie. And I am, understandably, excited for her follow up, The Bad Batch. It just debuted at Venice (with an appearance at both Fantastic Fest and the Toronto International Film Festival on the horizon), and we’ve got two new clips to gawk at and salivate over.