US critics review Iranian film

Kourosh Ahari’s horror thriller movie ‘The Night’ has been hailed by American film critics.

The Persian-language movie produced in the US, which hit the big screens in American cinemas since January 29 and came into Iranian theaters from February 24, has grabbed the attention of famed film reviewing journals and critics.

The Rogerebert website refers to the film as a “knochout debute- so assured that it stands on its own as a filmmaking achievement apart from its historical significance,…”.

While Variety scrutinizes the plot summery of the movie to introduce its storyline from a technical and aesthetic perspective, it hails the performances delivered by Shahab Hosseini and Niousha Jafarian as being “excellent”.

“Kourosh Ahari’s debut feature proves an accomplished psychological chiller that impresses far beyond its historic status as a US production featuring primarily Iranian or Iranian-American talent”, as Hollywood Reporter puts it in words.

The Los Angeles Times refers to the movie as a goosebumps-inducing affair.

Most of the film-reviewing journals including the ones mentioned in this article compared Ahari’s movie with the classic horror ‘The Shining’.

The Chicago Sun-times have even gone further by starting its review by putting the film in comparison with the Eagle music band’s ‘Hotel California’ penning that you might be able to check out this hotel, but you might never be free. This stands for the fact that ‘The Night’ is a psychological horror-thriller that goes over the issue of one’s psyche’s demons that they would carry with themselves wherever they go. 

‘The Night’ tells the story of a couple who learn some secrets about one another during their one-night residence at a hotel.

Some insidious forces come between the husband and wife during the endless night.

AA/FM