Under the Shadow (2016)

Directed by: Babak Anvari | 84 minutes | drama, fantasy, horror | Actors: Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, Bobby Naderi, Arash Marandi, Aram Ghasemy, Soussan Farrokhnia, Ray Haratian, Hamid Djavadan, Behi Djanati Atai, Bijan Daneshmand, Nabil Koni, Karam Rashayda, Zainab Zamamiri, Khaled Zamamiri

Globalization unattractive? Maybe for those who never travel, never ate in a Mozambican restaurant, never drink a Brazilian cocktail and never read a foreign book. Non-globophobic film buffs have enjoyed South Korean comedies, Egyptian thrillers, Brazilian melodramas and Australian action films over the past few decades. And since ‘Under the Shadow’ from 2016, they now also have a horror film from… Iran.

‘Under the Shadow’ is set in the early 1980s, a time when Iranian civilians face multiple threats. The country is at war with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, with Tehran under fire from Iraqi missiles. Moreover, Iran has changed from a western-oriented country to a strict Islamic state. For young aspiring doctor Shideh, the situation is already disastrous. Because of her activist past, she is not allowed to complete her medical studies. In addition, her husband leaves for the war front and her daughter Dorsa starts behaving more and more strangely. Dorsa says there’s a Djinn haunting the house, a supernatural apparition of the evil kind.

The nice thing about ‘Under the Shadow’ is that you only find out very late whether or not there is a Djinn in that house. The many threats facing the family (bombing raids, fundamentalist guards, professional opposition) are enough in themselves to give someone delusions. Add to that a troubled child and some wakeful nights and you have reached your conclusion. Or not?

What makes ‘Under the Shadow’ special is that the film infuses western horror elements into a decor and style that we know from Iranian arthouse. Without much music, at a low tempo, with an excess of symbolism. And that in a small housing complex, where all families interact with each other and everyone interferes with everyone else. That limited space, both physically and socially, gives the film something claustrophobic, which comes in handy in a horror film.

Not that ‘Under the Shadow’ is a masterpiece. There is a little too little movement in the story, the few scare elements are very cliché and the acting is not equally strong across the board. But for adventurous film buffs, such a genre film from Iran may be slightly more attractive than the standard Western horror. Not everyday, but quite successful.