Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
After Shideh's building is hit by a missile during the Iran-Iraq War, a superstitious neighbor suggests that the missile was cursed and might be carrying malevolent Middle-Eastern spirits. She becomes convinced a supernatural force within the building is attempting to possess her daughter Dorsa, and she has no choice but to confront these forces if she is to save her daughter and herself.
Under the Shadow earns its strongest marks for Novelty — it's a distinctively Iranian horror film set during the Iran-Iraq War, using the djinn mythology and oppressive political context (restricted women's rights, bomb shelters, mandatory hijab) as a sophisticated metaphor for female repression and trauma. This cultural specificity makes it genuinely singular in the horror landscape. The plot is a competent slow-burn haunted-house structure that effectively layers real-world dread with supernatural threat, though it follows familiar maternal horror beats. Acting from Narges Rashidi is committed and grounded, holding the film together, though supporting performances are thinner. Cinematography makes good atmospheric use of the claustrophobic apartment setting but doesn't push into visually exceptional territory. The ending resolves the supernatural threat adequately while reinforcing its thematic concerns, but doesn't land with the visceral or intellectual punch that would elevate it further.