Well this was disappointing.

"Under the Shadow" is an extremely unoriginal horror film that copies "The Babadook" way too much. It's unbearable to watch. I really wanted to like this, I really do. Unfortunately this did nothing for me, as it didn't scare me or got under my skin.

I'd heard great things about this, with some movie critics even calling it the best film of 2016. It wasn't. Don't get me wrong it's not a bad film. It is very well made and the two female leads are extremely convincing. Where I had trouble was:

"slight" spoilers below
-The sheer amount of metaphors for terror/oppression that we are getting. The missile, the crack in the roof, the book, the garage door, her dead mother, the husband, the doll, the djinn ghost, the mute kid, the door slamming, the tape on the windows, the locked drawer etc etc etc

They all jumble up in to one big metaphor of oppression and terror that she experiences. Which is fine but it was just too overbearing.


Maybe I over-analysed this movie in looking for one single thing that was driving her to have a breakdown, when it was all of the things she was experiencing in her life. I'm not sure, but it just felt muddled and I felt that Babadook was a better movie of this kind of subject. Disappointed 6/10

The only thing worth mentioning about the film is the continuous representation of the repression of freedoms in Iran. It does not contribute anything else.

This one was a pleasant surprise! First horror from Iran I've seen...
Excellent cast, scary at times and interesting to see other mythical influences in the genre.

Well made film but not particularly scary. The last half hour is intense though.

The ‘horror’ in this film didn’t surmount to much; the characters never felt like they were in any immediate danger. For the most part, they suffered from nightmares and a couple of poltergeist-y events, but…that was it. We didn’t see enough of this poltergeist or demon, in my opinion.

Could’ve passed as a war film almost as much as a horror.

Like telling ghost stories during the daytime, this is a routine tale dragged out into an unflattering light.

Clearly similar to _The Babadook_ and unfortunately not quite as coherent in its allegory. That said it is effective at managing tension. Several of the visual flourishes of the film worked very well. The camera movement was fluid and consistently beautiful, enough to make up for the shortcomings of the narrative.

Pathetic garbage, really unwatchable and boring