Every year, there’s at least one horror movie that capitalizes on this new trend of “personal horror” meaning films that are about a little more than slashing up teenagers and may explore more intimate fears like sex (It Follows), mothering (The Badabook), religion (The Witch), or dinner parties (The Invitation). “Under the Shadows” can now be added to this roster…
What Works: “Under the Shadows” takes place in Tehran during the Iran/Iraq War and even though it’s about a Djinn (genies are not the cuddly wish-fulfillers of Disney’s Aladdin but rather demons here) terrorizing a mother and her young daughter, the movie is excellent for the way it weaves a cultural allegory into the mix.
The central question in any haunted house movie is “why don’t they just leave?” but the real question here is “and go where?” The entire country is not just at war, but at war with itself as the lead character is subjected to increasing oppression—she can’t keep studying medicine or reveal to her neighbors that she has a Jane Fonda workout video or leave the house “unmodest” (uncovered), and her husband doesn’t seem to think this is such a bad thing—and the climate around her feels like its own haunted house gradually closing in.
What Doesn’t: Without credits, this movie is barely 80 minutes long, but still it’s better that a movie be too short than too long, especially horror which thrives on momentum.
What I Would Have Done Differently: Will every horror fan go for a film with subtitles that is nearly halfway through before the ghosts begin to show themselves? Maybe not, but they are really missing out.