Under the Shadow was spared from Iranian films that I rarely watch. A woman whose husband was drafted into the military as a doctor during the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war; It is about her struggle to survive at home with her little child and fight against the dark forces inside the house.
The frequent use of otherworldly forces in horror films is something most moviegoers are used to. Frankly speaking, such beings don't interest me unless there are some extra innovations. When they are used differently in the story, they stand out from the rest with their handling of suspense and horror.
Under the Shadow, with its opening story, reflects a family life in which the female figure is disempowered and drama dominates. Although the family, consisting of a mother, father and child, seems to be happy in itself, they are constantly in the habit of staging and projecting unhappiness, triggered by environmental factors.
At the beginning, the story seemed strange and the clues as to where the movie would evolve remained a mystery. With the outbreak of the war, however, the story began to take shape and it became clear that the main purpose was the life of Shideh and his daughter Dorsa, who were weakened by loneliness and despair.
Up until the moment when the true story unfolded, the movie was extraordinarily good at keeping you watching. After the true story was revealed, although the story flow stagnated, with the sense of curiosity created and the successful handling of the tension, the fluency was restored and the horror theme took its place to be above average. I liked the suspense and horror aspect of the movie.
The character of Shideh (played by Narges Rashdi), who presents a strong female figure, struggles with many entities throughout the movie. Some of them are otherworldly beings, but some of them are worldly and very familiar beings. I can also summarize them by saying that they cannot tolerate the female figure.
Shideh's fighting power and determination was really worth watching. Her patience and effort to prove herself both to the outside world, to her husband and to her daughter was admirable. As the bombs started to fall, the character became increasingly lonely at home; as she showed mental weakness, she succumbed to otherworldly beings.
His determination at the beginning and his acting in the moments when he started to succumb to forces he didn't believe existed were excellent. The change he staged step by step from the strongest moment to the weakest moment was worth seeing.
Under the Shadow was noteworthy as one of the productions worth watching with the way it handles tension and fear and with its origin story. I definitely recommend you to watch it. Watching movies from different countries in productions with actors' performances is like evaluating the same event from different perspectives. The movie successfully reflects this difference to the audience.
Thank you for being here and reading. I hope I was able to give you a preliminary idea about the movie. I wish everyone who will watch it a good time. Take care and goodbye!