[Mother of Fears] Parenting Under Pressure in Under the Shadow (2016)

Welcome to Mother of Fears – a monthly column that will explore the various roles that mothers play within the horror genre. Mothers are a staple feature in horror movies, and yet, their stories, motivations, representations, and relationships with their children are so varied and complex that we never feel like we’re watching the same story twice. Every month I will take a look at a different mother from the world of horror, explore their story, and look at how they fit into the broader representation of women in horror.

Set in the 1980s, Under the Shadow (2016) follows Shideh, a mother who is trying to find her place in the world. Shideh’s story takes place in post-revolutionary Iran during the War of Cities and sees her not only try to cope with current events but also piece her life back together now that the revolution is over.

Shideh was training to be a doctor at university but dropped out of her studies in order to support her political beliefs and take part in the revolution. Now that the revolution is over, Shideh wants to resume her studies but is refused entry from her old university as punishment. And while becoming a doctor seems incredibly important to Shideh, it seems like the whole situation is confused by a couple of her family members. To begin with, it was Shideh’s mother who had real dreams of her becoming a doctor. With her mother dying just six months ago, it’s clear that Shideh may be keen to pursue her old career again in order to remain closer to her mother and try and achieve the dreams she was unable to live long enough to see her daughter complete.

Shideh’s husband, Iraj, is also a doctor, and it’s obvious that she feels inferior to him. Iraj chose to continue his studies instead of joining Shideh’s political journey, and while he had to put up with a lot of insults from his wife at the time for being spineless, he at least managed to walk away with his career intact at the end of it. 

Shideh and Iraj also have a young daughter, Dorsa, who seems to gravitate towards her father more when looking for comfort. Her father is also the giver of her doll, Kimia, who he says will protect her. This is something that Dorsa clearly needs, especially when the family have to make frequent trips to their apartment building’s basement as the air-raid sirens blast overhead. 

When Iraj is drafted to be part of the war as a doctor, Shideh quickly finds herself struggling. Even before Iraj leaves, it’s clear that his high status as a doctor bothers his wife, especially because he is so quick to dismiss her dreams when she is unable to gain entry into her university again. The fact that Shideh was also expected to stay home and raise Dorsa is also a point of contention between the pair. Shideh knows that as a man, Iraj has a much easier time of it when it comes to following his career dreams.

And with Iraj gone, Shideh has to deal with Dorsa by herself. As well as Dorsa experiencing nightmares and wetting the bed, she also believes that a Djinn may be trying to hurt them. A neighbouring boy tells Dorsa about Djinns and how she can try and protect herself from them, but Shideh is quick to dismiss her worries. 

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Now while this is a horror movie—so there’s obviously something spooky going on— it’s clear that Dorsa is also dealing with a lot for such a young child. Most of her life has been based around the war, and with her father now in the heart of the action, and the air raid sirens getting more and more frequent, it’s no wonder she’s trying to find some way to control the situation and protect her family. 

During a bombing where the apartment building is significantly damaged, Dorsa’s doll goes missing, which pushes her over the edge. Believing that Djinns take a personal item of the person they are trying to attack, Dorsa is convinced this is where her doll has gone. She quickly becomes obsessed with finding the doll, refusing to focus on anything else, and ending up feeling unwell with a fever due to her obsession.

Shideh’s one escape from her life is her Jane Fonda exercise VHS, which she watches on a forbidden VHS player. Shortly after Dorsa’s doll goes missing, Shideh’s VHS is also gone, though she finds it destroyed in the bin. The Djinn is intent on driving a wedge between mother and daughter, and this is something else which Shideh blames Dorsa for. Without her escape, Shideh is clearly struggling. We later see her doing a workout routine in front of a blank television as she desperately tries to regain some control over her life and do something that is only for her. 

With the bombing threats only getting worse, Iraj wants Shideh to go to his parent’s house. His main concern is only for Dorsa’s safety, and he never tells his wife that he is worried about her safety. However, Shideh feels uncomfortable reaching out for help because Iraj’s family have been judgmental of her in the past. Between her husband and his family, she feels like a failure of a mother and decides to stay in her apartment building, where she feels safe rather than risk opening herself up to even more scrutiny. 

But slowly the other residents in the building decide to leave to avoid the bombings, and the perceived safety of the apartment is stripped away as Shideh is left with only her daughter and the possible Djinn for company. Shideh eventually decides the best course of action is to leave as well, but Dorsa refuses to go before she finds her doll. Shideh is clearly at the end of her tether at this point. She is desperately trying to keep everyone happy, but Dorsa is making it difficult, telling her mother that if she loves her, she will stay and look for the doll. Shideh is forced to pull the entire apartment apart searching for the doll.

One night the pair are attacked by a chador which moves like a ghost through the apartment. While Dorsa claims the apparently woman is nice and only comes to play with her, Shideh is terrified. The pair flee into the streets after one of the attacks, but rather than receiving help, Shideh is instead reprimanded for being outside without the appropriate head covering on. Shideh is frequently portrayed as a difficult woman. Between trying to get an education, and frequently wearing her hair uncovered more than other women in the film, it is also commented on that she is the only woman in the apartment building who drives as though it were an insult. She realises that no one is going to believe her and that she needs to find Dorsa’s doll in order to get her daughter to come with her willingly and ensure they manage to maintain some sort of bond. 

In a last-bid attempt to find Dorsa’s doll, Shideh opens her locked bedroom drawer and finds the dolls inside, ripped to bits. Not only that, but Shideh’s medical textbook with an inscription from her mother is now missing. The pair’s relationship is already very fragile, and now Dorsa believes that not only has her mother been lying to her about the doll all this time, but also that she destroyed it. Dorsa even says that she’s going to go with the entity rather than spend more time with her mother. 

This is all of Shideh’s worst fears come true. Even though she has a pretty strained relationship with her daughter, she obviously loves her and wants to do what’s best for her. However, she has a suspicion that Iraj thinks she’s a bad mother, so the wedge the Djinn is driving between them is only exacerbating this underlying issue. At this point, Shideh has lost her husband, her dream career, and even the safety of her apartment building and the community that came with it. All she has left is Dorsa and she needs to protect her. However, with her book now missing, it seems as though the Djinn has shifted its focus onto the mother instead.

With her doll mended, the pair are finally able to flee the building, but as they run down the stairs, Shideh hears Dorsa calling to her from inside the apartment. Shideh is unsure who to trust. She doesn’t know which version of Dorsa is her real daughter, but she can’t risk leaving the real Dorsa behind in the apartment, so she heads back upstairs. It’s the Djinn’s final move to try and separate the pair, as the Dorsa in the apartment is revealed to be the monster as it tries to drag Shideh under the bed. 

Shideh has proved that she’s willing to do anything to get her daughter to safety, but downstairs the real Dorsa feels betrayed. The two have had trouble communicating their needs to each other throughout the whole film, so it’s no surprise that they still aren’t seeing eye to eye as they make their escape. The Djinn tries once more to capture both mother and then daughter, with each having to rescue the other before they are finally free of the apartment building. Through this mutual act, the bond between the two is finally strengthened. Both now know that they are trying their best to save the other from the Djinn, so they can make it to safety together. 

Finally, Shideh and Dorsa are able to drive away from the building, hopefully to the safety of Iraj's parents. However, we see in the apartment building Dorsa has left behind her doll’s head, and Shideh’s book is still in another apartment. If the legend of the Djinn is true, then it may still have a hold on the pair through their possessions. However, its power over them may be significantly weakened by how strongly the pair fought to keep each other safe in the final battle. 

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