Shideh (Narges Rashidi) is a young mother living in 1980s Tehran, trying to hold her life together as the Iran-Iraq war destroys everything around her. Once a promising medical student, Shideh was forced out of university by Iran’s Cultural Revolution; having taken part in leftist political rallies, she’s effectively barred from finishing her degree, which leaves her little option than to stay home and look after her daughter, Dorsa (Avin Manshadi). And as if the encroaching conflict weren’t bad enough, as if it weren’t terrifying enough that her husband Iraj (Bobby Naderi) had been drafted into service, Shideh must also face the possibility that something evil is lurking in the building – with its sights set firmly on Dorsa. Because of the care that’s been taken over the film’s setting and character-building, it’s easy to see Under The Shadow as a metaphor for the horrors of war; you could choose to think of it as a story about a woman losing her grip on reality while under enormous pressure, rather than as a straightforward supernatural shocker. The film works just as well whether you believe the monsters are real or not, and the script never confirms anything either way. Let’s just say horror fans won’t be disappointed if they’re hoping for scares – there are several jump-out-of-your-seat, hope-your-heart-hasn’t-actually-stopped-beating moments of pure fear along the way. But there’s a lot more going on here than in your average ghost train-style spookfest. Anvari uses the imagery of war to prop up the horror, and vice versa; there are recognisable horror tropes here, but they’re made unfamiliar by the setting, or because they’ve been turned inside out. Most haunted house stories involve families moving into abandoned places where something violent has happened in the past; in Under The Shadow, Shideh and Dorsa are in their own home when the violence comes to them, and while they started off surrounded by people, their neighbours flee as the fighting grows closer, leaving them in a crumbling building all alone. In those circumstances, you’d probably start believing in the boogeyman, too. It helps, too, that his cast is so strong. Narges Rashidi is captivating, the kind of heroine you can’t help but root for despite her flaws, while first time actress Avin Manshadi totally sells her role as a child faced with incomprehensible evil. The supporting cast are all pretty great, too, but it’s the relationship between mother and child that’s the heart of the film, and the two actresses capture something that feels utterly convincing. If comparisons must be made, Under The Shadow falls under the same kind of psychological horror umbrella as films like Repulsion, The Babadook, The Haunting and The Others. But it’s not the kind of film that requires you to do your homework before watching it; it’s very much its own beast, and it’s one that can hold its own against any horror classic you care to name. Intelligent and terrifying, poignant and pointed, Under The Shadow is unmissable. See it. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.