Zalava

Directed by Arsalan Amiri, Zalava, which transpires in 1978 Iran, follows the residents of a small village as they task a traveling shaman (Pouria Rahimi Sam’s Amardan) with exorcising their community of a supposed demon – with the movie predominantly detailing the local police officer’s (Navid Pourfaraj’s Masoud) continuing efforts at discrediting said shaman. First-time filmmaker Amiri certainly does a fantastic job of establishing and sustaining an atmosphere of pervasive (and seemingly inescapable) dread, and there’s little doubt, ultimately, that the picture benefits substantially from its stirring performances and Mohammad Rasouli’s moody cinematography – with the watchable vibe heightened by a surprising narrative that rarely goes where one might’ve anticipated. It’s just as clear, however, that Zalava‘s exceedingly deliberate pace paves the way for a hit-and-miss midsection riddled with less-than-enthralling stretches, with the picture’s slowest-of-slow-burns execution ultimately dulling the impact of the admittedly tense closing stretch – which does, in the end, cement the movie’s place as an erratic yet often striking paranoia thriller that bodes well for Amiri’s future behind the camera.

**1/2 out of ****