I don't have alot to say about Zalava.
This one was billed as an Iranian horror, but I found it more of an oddity, certainly not scary. The plot takes place in Zalava, a small village which is, annually it seems, possessed by a demon causing innocent residents to bleed from the nose and in the case of the daughter of a local man, fall to their death. A lauded resident takes it upon himself to perform an exorcism each time, and will emerge with the demon secured in a glass jar, never to be seen again.. until the next year.
We follow a local police inspector sceptically investigating the goings on. He isn't a believer so is targeting the exorcist for taking advantage of the simple town folk who know no better. But after he takes ownership of the demon jar, he becomes wary of it, starting to wonder if there is something to the myths after all.
It isn't really shown if there is actually an evil presence in the story or not. To look at this harshly, it is about stupid people believing in the supernatural through mob mentality and because it's convenient. The villagers are so terrified of the demon being left to roam free that they will kill some of their own to keep it secure.
I have nothing against films that purposefully go without a conclusion, that helps get people thinking/talking about them which is great - but only if the film itself has built up a curiosity in the audience, which I'm afraid to say didn't happen with me. I did like the village setting and the police officer but I didn't think this one was up to much. It was lacking in presence and suspense, there was no heft to it. There wasn't enough going on for me, it felt like the point was being laboured even though there wasn't much of a point anyway, unless I had just missed it!
Comentários