Under the Shadow

Name: Under the Shadow
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Released: October 7, 2016
Duration: 84 min
Rating: 83

2016

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 25 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 96 Ratings

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7.5

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7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 96 Ratings

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Under The Shadow: Don't Be Afraid (US)

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Movie Details & Credits

Vertical Entertainment | Release Date: October 7, 2016 | Not Rated

Summary: Shideh (Narges Rashidi) and her family live amid the chaos of the Iran-Iraq war, a period known as The War of the Cities. Accused of subversion by the post-Revolution government and blacklisted from medical college, she falls into a state of malaise. With Tehran under the constant threat of aerial bombardment, her husband (Bobby Naderi) isShideh (Narges Rashidi) and her family live amid the chaos of the Iran-Iraq war, a period known as The War of the Cities. Accused of subversion by the post-Revolution government and blacklisted from medical college, she falls into a state of malaise. With Tehran under the constant threat of aerial bombardment, her husband (Bobby Naderi) is drafted and sent to the frontlines by the army, leaving Shideh all alone to protect their young daughter, Dorsa (Avin Manshadi). Soon after he leaves, a missile hits their apartment building and while failing to explode, a neighbor dies under mysterious circumstances and Dorsa’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic. Shideh finds herself slowly drawn into the ensuing turmoil, struggling to cling onto what is real and what is not. Searching for answers, she learns from a superstitious neighbor that the cursed missile might have brought with it Djinn – malevolent Middle-Eastern spirits that travel on the wind. Convinced that a supernatural force within the building is attempting to possess Dorsa, Shideh has no choice but to confront these forces if she is to save her daughter and herself. [Vertical Entertainment]… Expand

Director: Babak Anvari

Genre(s): Thriller, Horror

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 84 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

The Observer (UK) Mark Kermode

Oct 14, 2020

With this terrific feature debut, Anvari lifts the veil on his heroines’ hidden lives and leaves us all dreaming with our eyes wide open. Read full review

100

Noel Murray

Oct 6, 2016

The movie is first fascinating, then terrifying. Read full review

IndieWire Eric Kohn

Jan 31, 2016

Under the Shadow smartly observes the emotions stirred up by a world defined by restrictions, and the terrifying possibility that they might be inescapable. Read full review

Justin Chang

Jan 31, 2016

Slyly merging a familiar but effective genre exercise with a grim allegory of female oppression, Babak Anvari’s resourceful writing-directing debut grounds its premise in something at once vaguely political and ineluctably sinister. Read full review

Slashfilm Angie Han

Oct 14, 2020

Under the Shadow is a tragedy as much as it is a horror film, and the heartbreak lingers long after the fears have been shaken off. Read full review

The Playlist Kenji Fujishima

Oct 10, 2016

Though the film doesn’t quite overwhelm as horror, the thematic implications are dense enough in this case that it ends up leaving a lingering aftertaste anyway. Read full review

Marc Savlov

Oct 5, 2016

Make no mistake: This is a horror film right to its core, although the nightmare comes both from without (the war, the state decrees regarding how Shideh must dress in public, even when fleeing incoming missiles) and within (the unknown but entirely evil Middle Eastern djinn). Read full review

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User Reviews

bendgkn

Jan 17, 2017

This is the peek of prestige horror for me, and I don't think I will ever be scared by something else. This is it. This is the end-point in horror.