Under the Shadow

Babak Anvari, 2016, Iran

This film is so brilliantly multilayered. It’s a creepy, creepy ghost story with a backdrop of the terror of living in a warzone. It’s also the story of a woman frustrated with the traditional role of wife and mother in a restrictive society.

So it has the usual horror film jumps: shadows at the window, items getting mysteriously moved or taken, strange dreams, ghostly figures seen out of the corner of your eye, legends of evil spirits…

But then it has this really interesting historical context, and a lead character who wants to do so much more with her life, yet can’t due to forces beyond her control.

A good horror film can always be read in both a literal and metaphorical sense. Are the monsters real, or is it all in the psyche of our protagonist? Here, I think the evil forces are the metaphor: there is no escape for her; she is not the master of her own destiny (both because of the war, and the society she lives in).

But literally, the evil spirits are really scary. The creepiness builds up throughout the film – even the children are perfect horror film kids, whose faces just look a touch too old. Due to the threat of bombings, everyone slowly leaves the city leaving our heroines alone. And when the monster is revealed in the final crescendo, it’s pretty chilling. Never has a load of fabric been so terrifying.