The Night

A strong psychological core balances the more fantastical elements of The Night, an original and unsettling directorial debut for Kourosh Ahari. Babak (Shahab Hosseini, familiar to followers of Iranian cinema from his appearances in films by Mohammad Rasoulof and Asghar Farhadi), wife Neda (Niousha Noor), and their infant daughter leave a dinner party with friends. The two have been reunited in America following a long period during which she stayed in Iran while he prepared their new home. As Babak has overindulged at the party, Neda insists that they find a hotel in which to spend the night. Their choice proves ill-fated as the vaguely threatening and unexplained sights and sounds of the hotel progress from mildly annoying to terrifying.