Zalava

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Zalava

2021

1h 33m

Drama

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

In 1978, the inhabitants of a small village in Iran called Zalava claim there is a demon among them. Massoud, a young gendarmerie sergeant, who investigates this claim encounters an exorcist attempting to rid the village of the demon. When he arrests the exorcist on charges of fraud, the villagers fear and anger escalates. Massoud and his love interest, a government doctor, soon find themselves trapped in a cursed house, surrounded by villagers who believe they are both possessed by the demon.

Brian Tallerico

RogerEbert.com

09/17/2021

[Director Arsalan Amiri] shoots his film with striking confidence, getting a lot of mileage out of strange framing, forced POV, shadows, and, yes, close-ups of a terrifying glass jar.

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Keith Uhlich

The Hollywood Reporter

09/17/2021

Dull and deadening, even at a brief 93 minutes.

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Alissa Simon

Variety

09/15/2021

While the film can be appreciated simply as something new in Iranian genre cinema, the allegorical content is even more fascinating.

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Alex Billington

FirstShowing.net

12/30/2022

9/10

Holy hell I'm glad I didn't read anything about this before, because it's a thrilling experience to discover exactly how they have crafted a brilliant Schrödinger's cat horror about a demonic force.

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Panos Kotzathanasis

Asian Movie Pulse

07/24/2022

7/10

With the exception of the romantic part, “Zalava” is an excellent in all aspects film, a testament to both Amiri’s prowess and the level of Iranian cinema overall.

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Erick Estrada

Cinegarage

07/07/2022

Further proof that horror isn't always delivered in jump scares... incredibly well-written. [Full review in Spanish]

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Arsalan Amiri

Director

Navid Pourfaraj

Actor

Pouria Rahimi Sam

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Synopsis

In 1978, the inhabitants of a small village in Iran called Zalava claim there is a demon among them. Massoud, a young gendarmerie sergeant, who investigates this claim encounters an exorcist attempting to rid the village of the demon. When he arrests the exorcist on charges of fraud, the villagers fear and anger escalates. Massoud and his love interest, a government doctor, soon find themselves trapped in a cursed house, surrounded by villagers who believe they are both possessed by the demon.

Director: Arsalan Amiri
Producer: Samira Baradari, Rouhollah Baradari
Screenwriter: Arsalan Amiri, Tahmineh Bahram, Ida Panahandeh
Genre: Drama, Horror
Original Language: Kurdish
Runtime: 1h 33m