Under the Shadow

Horror, Thriller

As a mother and daughter struggle to cope with the terrors of the post-revolution, war-torn Tehran of the 1980s, a mysterious evil begins to haunt their home.

The critical consensus

The debut feature from British-Iranian director Babak Anvari is a smart, slow-burn horror.

(*) Nikki Baughan, The List, 26/09/2016

A quality ghost story with an unusual backdrop and great performances.

Kim Newman, Empire Online, 26/09/2016

Anvari does a fine job in combining the familiar horror movie tropes (mangled dollies, cracks in the wall, strange noises, nightmarish visions) with Polanski-esque psychological thriller elements.

(*) Geoffrey Macnab, The Independent, 29/09/2016

Babak Anvari’s disturbing ghost story, set in Tehran during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, is a brilliant parable of supernatural invasion.

(*) Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 29/09/2016

Otherworldly forces terrorise a mother and daughter in this provocative horror set in 1980s Tehran.

Mark Kermode, The Observer, 02/10/2016