Babak Anvari directs Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi and Bobby Naderi in this period horror about an oppressed rationalist woman in 1980’s Tehran who slowly suspects djinn are trying to take her daughter. 

This made many critics’ end of year best movie lists last year. And I can see why. As a portrait of a woman slowly losing her rights, freedoms and dreams in a war torn Iran it is didactic but effective. Barges Rashidi’s central performance is eye catching and the emotional, political and psychological ramifications of her plight are laid out with an efficient clarity. Maybe a little too efficient to ring true though. For example, the objects the big bad chooses to steal each time have a rich feminist metaphorical value;  an abandoned university textbook, a doll, a Jane Fonda workout video. You are so aware of the points that are being made and statements underlined, it obstructs you from absorbing them as an organic by-product of the entertainment. And that’s where Under the Shadow fails for me. The sparsely explored horror elements are very, very similar to the far superior Repulsion, Dark Water and The Babadook. Whereas those arty genre flicks managed to lace their scares and shocks with a grander intelligence and intention, this lesser rehash just never gets around to fulfilling its basic spookhouse requirements. And therefore pales in comparison. There are a couple of well designed oogie boogie images near the wrap up (what lurks under the bed is a toothy treat) but it proves too little too late. Especially considering the Djinn mythology utilised seems frustratingly fertile. Fine for some, not for me.

5