🕯 Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend!
Grab a crucifix and some holy water, because this week I’m recommending five ghost movies 👻. The depiction of ghouls, specters, and other paranormal beings are often associated with horror movies, but their use can be seen in every genre. So, I’ll be sure to share some movies for you scaredy cats.
Okay, here’s day 1️⃣.
Today’s movie: Under the Shadow
STREAMING ON NETFLIX
What it’s about: Under the Shadow takes place in war-torn post-revolutionary Iran in the 1980s where a mother named Shideh (Narges Rashidi) is left to care for her daughter (Avin Manshadi) when her husband is sent to war. However, when unexplainable things start happening in their apartment, she becomes convinced an evil spirit is trying to possess her daughter.
Why it’s great: Under the Shadow has a lot in common with Jennifer Kent’s masterpiece ghost story The Babadook (2014) — famously a gay icon — as both deal with single mothers struggling through tough times under the shadow (!!!) of supernatural forces.
While The Babadook is a meditation on grief, Under the Shadow deals with the themes of female oppression, motherhood, and the anxiety of war in direct relation to Iran’s politics. While the movie has a lot on its mind, it doesn’t hold back on scares. It’s tense and terrifying throughout.
The key players:
🎬
Babak Anvari
🖋 Babak Anvari
🎭 Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, Bobby Naderi, Ray Haratian, Arash Marandi
The details:
⏳ 84 minutes // 🗓 2016 // 📺
Trailer
// 📝
My review
Fun fact:
Here’s the movie title in Persian: زیر سایه. It translates directly to “under the shade.”
Don’t have Netflix? Under the Shadow is available to buy or rent on Prime Video, iTunes, and YouTube.
In movie news: Crisis averted? Spider-Man is back in the MCU
🕸 After a very public parting of ways in the summer, Disney-owned Marvel Studios and Sony have struck a deal to have Marvel to produce another Spider-Man movie for Sony starring Tom Holland. In addition to a third Spider-Man movie, the character will also appear in a future MCU movie.
Background: Sony owns the character of Spider-Man, but after The Amazing Spider-Man 2 starring Andrew Garfield flopped, they hatched a deal with Disney/Marvel to bring the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
My take: There are two ways to look at this. On one side, it’s great for the MCU and fans to have the character back. However, while the details of the deal are undisclosed, it feels like Sony essentially broke to Disney’s demands.
Thanks for being here! If you ever have feedback, just reply to any email. I’d love to hear from you.
Have a great night! 💤
Karl (@karl_delo)