10 Amazing Films From 2022 Nobody Is Talking About
9. Zalava
Although Zalava got its premier in its home country of Iran last year, this atmospheric chiller didn’t make its way to the UK until March this year when it screened at Glasgow Film Festival.
Directed by Arsalan Amiri, the film takes place in the titular mountain town where the inhabitants are convinced that a demon is amongst them. They turn to a shaman for assistance, who claims they can rid the town of their problem. But when a level-headed sergeant (Navid Pourfaraj) is sent to the town to investigate a different matter, he becomes caught-up in the ensuing chaos.
Though he’s initially sceptical of the people’s beliefs, an intoxicating combination of paranoia and superstition seep into the eerie atmosphere as the sergeant realises that the shaman might have been right all along. As the situation grows increasingly volatile and violent, mob mentality overcomes the people, and the town is plunged into hysteria.
A razor-sharp black comedy cuts through the taut, slow-burn pacing to a devilishly wicked effect. Zalava is a madcap horror-comedy that takes its simple premise to extraordinary heights. Moervoer,this is the only film that's made a (potentially) empty jar scary.