Another spooky movie for Halloween! Directed by Babak Anvari and based upon his childhood memories of the Tehran bombings, Under The Shadow (2016) works as a solid drama that escalates into spookiness. It’s set during the Iraq-Iran conflict of the 1980s, focusing on a family living in Tehran during regular bombings, with details such as the taped up windows and communal basement shelters. When her doctor husband is drafted to a post near the fighting, Shideh (Narges Rashidi) is left alone in their apartment with young daughter Dorsa (Avin Manshadi). As more and more of the building’s occupants leave, Dorsa starts to see people who aren’t there and Shideh hears whispers of a “djinn” haunting their block, adding fear and uncertainty to an already tense living situation. There are similarities to previous parent-and-child ghost stories like Dark Water and The Babadook, but given new life in the historical period the film is set and how the ghost figure works as a metaphor for trauma and the looming threat of warfare. Maybe not as horrifying as some might prefer, this is definitely a slow burn ghost story that eschews blood letting for effective camerawork and anxiety provoking suggestion. I liked Under The Shadow a good deal, which has eerie chills in its third act, compelling historical-cultural detail, and great performances from Rashidi and Manshadi. Available to stream on Netflix; best to watch it in the original Persian with subtitles.
VHS Tracking 