Under the Shadow (2016)
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Duration: 84 minuten
Country:
United Kingdom / Jordan / Qatar / Iran
Directed by: Babak Anvari
Stars: Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi and Bobby Naderi
IMDb score:
6,8 (32.399)
Releasedate: 30 September 2016
Under the Shadow plot
Tehran, 1988. During the Iran-Iraq war, Shideh lives in the midst of chaos. She has been accused of subversion and has been blacklisted by the medical college. Moreover, she is alone in the care of daughter Dorsa because her husband works as a doctor in the war. When a rocket hits their apartment building but doesn't explode, Dorsa falls ill. Shideh learns from a superstitious neighbor that the unexploded rocket is cursed.
Actors and actresses
Shideh
Dorsa
Iraj
Mr. Ebrahimi
Mr. Fakur
Director
Pargol
Mrs. Ebrahimi
Mrs. Fakur
Dr. Reza
Reviews & comments
arno74
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- 8700 messages
- 3342 votes
Fine and welcome Iranian horror, nice that such a country also participates in this genre, this was certainly successful. At first it almost puts you on the wrong track because it seems as if you are watching a modest Iranian relationship drama, of which there are more, where this one is set during the Iran-Iraq war. But then the horror elements carefully come forward, first it goes towards superstition, with a legend about Iranian ghosts, and then it gets features that are remotely reminiscent of The Babadook (2014).
Great, let the Iranian horror come. 4*
Translated from Dutch · View original
sinterklaas
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- 11821 messages
- 3321 votes
Good horror movie....From Iran of course and almost in Blumhouse style, who would have thought?
The film is set in Tehran in 1988. The city's inhabitants live in fear every day. At any moment a bomb from the Iraqi rivals could fall on their roof. That the whole ghost story is a metaphor for that fear is already completely clear to me... but in the end it is well worked out.
We follow a family; father, mother, daughter... who are woken up one day by the alarm and their apartment is hit by a bomb. They are lucky, because the bomb does not explode and is quickly removed with a crane. However, the bomb seems to have unleashed a curse on the apartment.
Of course.... But Arabia wouldn't be Arabia if they didn't apply their own legends. The man leaves for the front and Shideh and her daughter Dorsa stay behind. It also doesn't seem like they, like the other residents, have any intention of leaving the building.
But then strange things start to happen. The necessary sounds, jump scares... Dorsa seeing a woman, and eventually the ghost itself. Who you can't see yourself but only forms in a cloth
The film reminded me a bit of The Babadook (as mentioned above), although I found it somewhat better. In the beginning it is a bit of a search, but as the playing time goes on it starts to get more exciting and the atmosphere becomes darker. Especially the last twenty minutes with the necessary open ending were very exciting.
No, few bad words about this picture. From Western horror (with a British input) to many references to Arabic cultures.
Very successful.
4.0*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
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- 11421 messages
- 6719 votes
OK.
First half hour without a doubt the strongest minutes of the film. Actually almost every part where the horror has not yet struck is better. Strikingly tightly filmed first 30 minutes. Sharp dialogues. Sharp editing. Was positively surprised actually.
Remained very captivating the first half hour. Didn't feel the urge to look at the clock in any way. Above average editing. Above average look. Good dialogues. Good build-up to scenes. It actually looked very good, I was getting ready for a 3.5* or even 4.0*.
But once the horror slowly starts to make its entrance, the film starts to collapse. Especially because the build-up of the scenes fails. Since every horror moment in the first hour is a dream, you don't gain credibility quickly. Nice camera play during those dreams, by the way.
But the scares are a bit cheap, and don't really hit their target. Rashidi is truly unbearable during the first half hour (due to strong acting) and the fact that she tries to gain sympathy from the viewer again in the following hour doesn't really work well in combination with each other.
Also, at the end, the sharp elements in the film are lost. It is actually just not interesting anymore. Few plus points left. Everything is actually lost. Sharp editing is lost, good dialogues are also gone. Too slow end phase also, since it was worked towards at a reasonable to sometimes quite fast pace.
The paranoia feeling is also still a bit lacking throughout the film. Didn't feel like Rashidi and Manshadi were in danger for a moment. Strong acting by Rashidi & Naderi. You have to accept that the film is a bit politically charged. That is part of the cinema that comes from this country. Strong first part, weak second part. Score somewhere in between.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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