Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Onlinewsma Absolutely Brilliant!

Orla Zuniga It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

paulclaassen Well, I must be honest I did not expect this to be as good as it was. This low budget supernatural thriller was highly effective and terrifying. Narges Rashidi was excellent as the stubborn mother - upset with the world because she was denied finishing her medical studies due to her involvement during a revolution. While their town is still under attack from Iraq, the tension inside her apartment slowly builds from suspenseful to creepy to terrifying. There's a lot of unexpected jump-scares, and some really great visuals. Absolutely brilliant.

petra_ste Set in Teheran during the Iraqi raids of the Eighties, Babak Anvari's debut is an effective supernatural horror film. Premise is simple: a mother and a daughter are trapped in a house haunted by malevolent ghostly entities. The film creates an ominous atmosphere with a good use of sound (and silence) and some creepy jump scares. It's never groundbreaking or exceptional, but it's definitely competent.The unusual setting is interesting and well-integrated into the plot. The ongoing conflict justifies the usual objection to the haunted house scenario ("why don't they just leave?") and provides further elements of tension and social commentary; for example, there is an unsettling scene where the mother rushes outside seeking help and law enforcements threaten her for not wearing veils. This elevates the movie above more conventional stuff like The Innkeepers or the American remake of The Grudge.6,5/10

redxcat so after all the good reviews i thought i would give it ago while home along as my partner doesn't like horrors and even more so if subtitled. well it was dubbed so i really wondering if that was my problem as the actress they got to do the mothers voice was worse than an old style lybrivox recording. you always lose a lot when dubbed way more than subtitle but OMG get some talent to do it. A 90 year old Catholic priest could have put more flare into the voice acting than this woman. still that aside i just could keep watching it was so boring. And yes I'll admit i turned it off after 20 min but looking at the other bad reviews I'm glad i did. I watch everything horror but this didn't seem like it was going anywhere scary and the mother even without the voice over of a board old nun with coffee breath is so unlikable.bitch to her husband a horrible mother to her child, as said i didn't get to far in but she probably deserved it and maybe if she was nicer ghosts would want to mess with her. If your looking for a good other language horror/thriller there are far better out there. just switched to "The Wailing" on Netflix also already 100% better and I'm only 12 minutes in.

Jackson Booth-Millard Film critic Mark Kermode said that this British made Persian language (you can also watch it dubbed into English) movie was his favourite film of 2016, and I heard many other very positive reviews and recommendations for it, so I was looking forward to it. Basically set in the 1980s, during the war between the Islamic post-revolutionary Iran and Iraq, former medical student Shideh (Narges Rashidi) cannot resume her studies because of her involvement with student leftist groups. Returning home, Shideh gets rid of most of her old medical textbooks, apart from a book of medical physiology given to her by her deceased mother. War is intensifying, Shideh's husband Iraj (Bobby Naderi), a doctor called by the military and assigned to an area of heavy fighting, insists she should take her daughter Dorsa (Avin Manshadi) with her to stay with her parents and be safe, but Shideh refuses to leave, Dorsa is upset to see her father leave, Iraj promises her that her favourite doll Kimia will protect her. A new boy moves in with his cousins, the Ebrahimi family, his parents were killed in an attack, during a shelling he whispers something to Dorsa and gives her a charm, she tells her mother the boy warned her of an evil spirit called a Djinn, and that the charm will protect her. Shideh throws the charm away visits Mrs. Ebrahimi, who informs her that the boy has been mute ever since the death of his parents, soon Dorsa gets a fever and has a number of nightmares, Shideh is also haunted by bad dreams. During another shelling, a missile strikes their building, an upstairs neighbour dies of a heart attack, Kimia goes missing in the commotion, Dorsa's behaviour becomes increasingly disturbed and erratic, she insists someone took Kimia, that there is a strange presence, and that Kimia is somewhere on the upper floor. The neighbours gradually leave to get away from the fighting, Mrs. Ebrahami (Aram Ghasemy) warns Shideh about djinns, explaining their ability to possess humans and that they steal beloved personal items from their victims, then the Ebrahamis leave as well, leaving Shideh and Dorsa as the only two inhabitants left in the building. Shideh's nightmares get worse, and she finds her personal items are disappearing, one of her scary visions is of a floating chador moving like a ghost, Dorsa admits seeing the same visions, but she claims that the ghost wants to help her find Kimia. Shideh finally wants to leave to go to the house of husband's parents, but Dorsa refuses to leave until Kimia is found, after receiving a strange phone call, Shideh does find Kimia, but the doll is mutilated, this upsets Dorsa. Shideh promises Dorsa that they will escape, but the Dorsa she goes down to the shelter with is an apparition, she goes back to the house and rescues the real Dorsa, before they are stopped and attacked by the chador apparition. Shideh urges Dorsa to get out, the floor begins to suck her down, but Dorsa rescues her and the two get away to the car, they drive away to Iraj's parents, but it is revealed that Kimia's detached head was left behind and Shideh's medical textbook is still in the djinn's possession, this implies they may harassed again. Also starring Arash Marandi as Dr. Reza, Behi Djanati Atai as Pargol, Hamid Djavadan as Mr. Fakur and Soussan Farrokhnia as Mrs. Fakur. Rashadi's performance is empathetic and powerful, there are a few scenes where you probably see something, but most of the terror comes from the claustrophobia, the wartime setting, dramatic sounds and your mind playing tricks on you, it is an interesting alternative to a haunted house movie, a creepy and well made psychological horror. It won the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for Babak Anvari, and it was nominated for Outstanding British Film of the Year. Very good!