Under the Shadow(2016)
2016 · Babak Anvari · 84 min
After Shideh's building is hit by a missile during the Iran-Iraq War, a superstitious neighbor suggests that the missile was cursed and might be carrying malevolent Middle-Eastern spirits. She becomes convinced a supernatural force within the building is attempting to possess her daughter Dorsa, and she has no choice but to confront these forces if she is to save her daughter and herself.
Drama · Horror · War
6.5746 votes
TMDB score
4/5
Intensity
1/5
Gore
4/5
Stays with you
How Under the Shadow scares
Under the Shadow builds its fear slowly, using the constant threat of war outside and a growing unease inside a cramped apartment to make you feel trapped long before anything supernatural shows up. The dread comes from isolation, motherhood under pressure, and the sense that danger could be a bomb, a neighbor, or something unseen in the dark, and the movie never lets you settle into knowing which. It leans more on mood and helplessness than on shocks, with only occasional sharp scares breaking the tension. This is one for people who like their horror slow, heavy, and tied to real fear and grief rather than roller-coaster thrills.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Under the Shadow rates psychological 5/5, visceral 2/5, gore 1/5, lingering effect 4/5, and overall intensity 4/5.
- Psychological: 5 of 5
- Visceral: 2 of 5
- Gore: 1 of 5
- Lingering: 4 of 5
- Intensity: 4 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 20 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 15 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 75 of 100 — leans Disturbing
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow-building drama that gradually tightens into dread before ending in a sustained, breathless rush.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5.
How scary is Under the Shadow?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Under the Shadow rates 4/5 — one of the more punishing watches in the catalog, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. The fear is mostly in your head — it unsettles far more than it assaults. Expect it to be restrained with gore and genuinely disturbing. Expect it to stay with you for days.
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