Under the Shadow: parents' guide
Best for ages 13 and up. Rated PG-13 for terror, scary images and brief language.
A subtitled Persian-language ghost story, smart and very tense, best for teens who like slow-building horror. In 1980s Tehran during the Iran-Iraq War, a mother and her young daughter end up alone in their apartment building after a missile strike, and the girl insists a djinn is after her. There is little violence, swearing or anything sexual. The concerns are sustained supernatural dread focused on a frightened child, wartime air raids, and an elderly neighbor's death after the strike. We suggest 13 for the intensity rather than for any specific content.
What's in it
Violence
MildLittle actual violence. A missile crashes through the roof without exploding, air raid sirens sound often, an elderly neighbor dies of a heart attack after the strike, and spirits physically attack the mother as she tries to escape.
Language
MildBrief: a man angrily calls a woman a "whore," and the subtitles include a few milder words such as "damn" and "God."
Sex and nudity
NoneThe sources we read note no sexual content or nudity.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
NoneThe sources we read note no drinking, smoking or drug use.
Scary or intense scenes
StrongSustained supernatural menace centered on a frightened little girl: a ghostly figure in a billowing chador invades the home, apparitions take the daughter's form, and nightmares blur with reality. Bombing raids and sirens add real-world fear.
Worth talking about
The mother is barred from finishing medical school because of her past politics. Talk about how the film ties her fear and frustration to the war and to the limits placed on women.
On our lists
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Checked October 13th, 2026 against the MPA, bbfc.co.uk, Wikipedia. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.