I fancy myself a devout Horror enthusiast, so I was very happy to expand my horizons by trying a Persian one. That, and the trailer and available description on Netflix intrigued me. While the scenario of "single parents attempting to protect child/children from malevolent supernatural entity" has been done often enough to become a cliché of sorts - it rarely gets boring (when executed right).
Unfortunately for me, Under The Shadow if far from meeting my personal standards of a Horror film, set by years of Hollywood conditioning as they may be. Aside from a few well-placed and finely utilized jump scares (which are still and forever will be a cheap trick and nothing more) and the presence of said malevolent supernatural entity - there is nothing scary about the film and hardly anything to justify its Horror tag. Now, keep in mind that besides jump scares I'm also not a fan of excessive blood, pointless gore of torture porn. I have quite typical demands from Horror films, mainly that they should invoke certain sensations of fear and discomfort. Under The Shadow does do that, but at the bare minimum level. Having a supernatural spirit as an ambiguous antagonist doesn't qualify as Horror more than "Casper the Friendly Ghost" does (a deliberate exaggeration of course).
Having said all that - Under the Shadow is an excellent film as a profound anthropological documentation of Persian culture and social patterns following the religious revolution and during the Iran-Iraq war. The presentation of the Djins, the conflicted woman of science and medicine forced to comply with primitive religious laws of female degradation and the neighborly cooperative coping with living under missile fire are all described and presented beautifully. The acting is superb by all characters, especially young Avin Manshadi (Dorsa) showing very impressive talent. As a cultural piece, Under The Shadow is a rare and remarkable gem.
All in all, I personally believe anyone watching this film in expectations or hopes of Horror would be quite disappointed. It would take active effort to feel any form of fear while watching, aside from the physiological forced reactions to startling jump scares. However, anyone looking for a compelling story of family, cultural society and life during war in the context of Iranian life would be greatly entertained. 9 for film, 3 for Horror, an overall average of 6 and an honest recommendation to forget about scares and simply have fun watching.
Unfortunately for me, Under The Shadow if far from meeting my personal standards of a Horror film, set by years of Hollywood conditioning as they may be. Aside from a few well-placed and finely utilized jump scares (which are still and forever will be a cheap trick and nothing more) and the presence of said malevolent supernatural entity - there is nothing scary about the film and hardly anything to justify its Horror tag. Now, keep in mind that besides jump scares I'm also not a fan of excessive blood, pointless gore of torture porn. I have quite typical demands from Horror films, mainly that they should invoke certain sensations of fear and discomfort. Under The Shadow does do that, but at the bare minimum level. Having a supernatural spirit as an ambiguous antagonist doesn't qualify as Horror more than "Casper the Friendly Ghost" does (a deliberate exaggeration of course).
Having said all that - Under the Shadow is an excellent film as a profound anthropological documentation of Persian culture and social patterns following the religious revolution and during the Iran-Iraq war. The presentation of the Djins, the conflicted woman of science and medicine forced to comply with primitive religious laws of female degradation and the neighborly cooperative coping with living under missile fire are all described and presented beautifully. The acting is superb by all characters, especially young Avin Manshadi (Dorsa) showing very impressive talent. As a cultural piece, Under The Shadow is a rare and remarkable gem.
All in all, I personally believe anyone watching this film in expectations or hopes of Horror would be quite disappointed. It would take active effort to feel any form of fear while watching, aside from the physiological forced reactions to startling jump scares. However, anyone looking for a compelling story of family, cultural society and life during war in the context of Iranian life would be greatly entertained. 9 for film, 3 for Horror, an overall average of 6 and an honest recommendation to forget about scares and simply have fun watching.