{"id":6609,"date":"2017-01-23T00:52:09","date_gmt":"2017-01-22T23:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/?p=6609"},"modified":"2017-01-23T05:17:36","modified_gmt":"2017-01-23T04:17:36","slug":"under-the-shadow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2017\/01\/23\/under-the-shadow\/","title":{"rendered":"Under the Shadow"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"under-the-shadow\"<\/a>
Under the Shadow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

\nFormat:<\/B> Cinema

\nRelease date:<\/B> 30 September 2016

\nDVD release date:<\/B> 23 January 2017

\nDistributor:<\/B> Vertigo Releasing

\nDirector:<\/B> Babak Anvari

\nWriter:<\/B> Babak Anvari

\nCast:<\/B> Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, Bobby Naderi

\nIran, Jordan, Qatar, UK 2016

\n84 mins\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This Farsi-language maternal horror film was one of the great discoveries at this year\u2019s Horror Channel FrightFest<\/a>.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

Opening with an explanatory text that places the film within the context of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, Under the Shadow<\/i> firmly grounds its horror in the doubly terrifying realities of a conflict zone and a harsh authoritarian regime. Slowly building up the tension, the film initially centres on the frustrations of Shideh, a young mother banned from continuing her medical studies because of her past political activism. The grinding down of women takes many forms in post-revolution Iran, from the active repression of the authorities to the incomprehension of her generally kind husband, who seems unable to sympathize with her ambitions.<\/p>\n

When he is drafted and sent to the front, Shideh finds herself alone to care for their young daughter Dorsa, stubbornly refusing to leave the city to go and stay with her in-laws. As the bombardments intensify, a missile falls through the apartment above, and superstitious neighbours begin to whisper that it has brought something sinister with it. Rational and modern, Shideh initially dismisses the claims, but soon she is forced to take her daughter\u2019s mounting fears seriously. <\/p>\n

The realistic start and slow-burn narrative make the terrors that follow intensely affecting. Shideh is a character out of place in her country, in her apartment block and in her own marriage, and her feelings of inadequacy wildly erupt once the missile has broken through the familiar ordering of reality. The cracks in the ceiling it has caused cannot be closed up, the irrational forces it unleashed now out of control. Maternal anxiety, at odds with Shideh\u2019s longing for a medical career, poignantly seeps through the second part of the film, her conflicted love for her daughter making every scare horribly meaningful. <\/p>\n

After A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night<\/i><\/a>, this is the second Farsi-language horror film that uses the chador in a menacing way, but where in Ana Lily Amirpour\u2019s film it took on a positive meaning, here it has negative, frightful, oppressive connotations. The use of the chador in Under the Shadow<\/i> is one example of how the film successfully manages to be both a serious reflection on the position of women in Iran and an intensely creepy horror film. Intelligent and effectively chilling, it wisely avoids providing any facile resolution in its climactic ending. <\/p>\n

Virginie Sélavy<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Farsi-language maternal horror film was one of the great discoveries at this year\u2019s Horror Channel FrightFest.
\nReview by Virginie Sélavy<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,1,3],"tags":[1378,554,111,1063,1377,1376],"class_list":["post-6609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-check-it-out","category-cinema-releases","category-dvds-and-blu-rays","tag-djinn","tag-frightfest","tag-horror-film","tag-iranian-cinema","tag-iranian-horror","tag-middle-eastern-cinema"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/purUP-1IB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4840,"url":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2014\/09\/09\/the-canal\/","url_meta":{"origin":6609,"position":0},"title":"The Canal","author":"Pam Jahn","date":"September 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Ivan Kavanagh\u2019s shadowy horror tale is haunted by the ghosts of cinema. Review by Virginie Sélavy","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Canal","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/The-Canal-594x334.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/The-Canal-594x334.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/The-Canal-594x334.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4977,"url":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2014\/09\/27\/starry-eyes\/","url_meta":{"origin":6609,"position":1},"title":"Starry Eyes","author":"Pam Jahn","date":"September 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The singularity of vision in this horrific story of Hollywood ambition makes it one of the year\u2019s best genre offerings. Review by Evrim Ersoy","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Starry Eyes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Starry-Eyes-594x326.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Starry-Eyes-594x326.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Starry-Eyes-594x326.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3448,"url":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2013\/08\/15\/youre-next\/","url_meta":{"origin":6609,"position":2},"title":"You’re Next","author":"Pam Jahn","date":"August 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The most nerve-racking horror film to come out in a long time, Adam Wingard's latest offering is a blast from beginning to end. Review by Virginie Sélavy","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Youre Next","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Youre-Next-594x395.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Youre-Next-594x395.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Youre-Next-594x395.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2566,"url":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2013\/01\/17\/vhs\/","url_meta":{"origin":6609,"position":3},"title":"V\/H\/S","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"January 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"An interesting exercise in combining the portmanteau picture and the found-footage genre, V\/H\/S is the new offering from some of the hottest indie directors on the block. Review by Evrim Ersoy","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/review_VHS-594x395.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/review_VHS-594x395.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/review_VHS-594x395.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4802,"url":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2014\/08\/24\/the-babadook\/","url_meta":{"origin":6609,"position":4},"title":"The Babadook","author":"Pam Jahn","date":"August 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"A creepy, emotionally rich tale about the monsters that lurk in the dark corners of the mind. Review by Virginie S\u00e9lavy","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Babadook","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/The-Babadook-594x530.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/The-Babadook-594x530.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/The-Babadook-594x530.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3671,"url":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2013\/10\/06\/vhs2\/","url_meta":{"origin":6609,"position":5},"title":"V\/H\/S\/2","author":"Pam Jahn","date":"October 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The second instalment of the V\/H\/S horror series represents a coming-of-age of the most over-the-top kind: it is loud, brash and brilliant. Review by Evrim Ersoy","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"VHS2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/VHS21-594x417.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/VHS21-594x417.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/VHS21-594x417.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6609"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6712,"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6609\/revisions\/6712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}