I went to the movies this week and watched this Persian film that was in the horror genre. Whoever asked  me what I watched, and I told them it was a scary movie, looked surprised and asked me if it was a Persian movie. Why? Censorship is not just for sex and women’s hair, it’s also for supernatural themes.

Makes sense, right? It’s against Islam to believe that there are ghosts or powers other than God. So Iranian film makers have generally stayed away from the horror genre. As a result, the few horror movies they do make are not that scary.

The plot was a woman who is being haunted by a ghost (up to this bit it is a little scary) but in the end the ghost turns out to be her husband’s mistress. So when you discover there is actually no ghost it doesn’t really leave you with anything to be scared of.

Me and my little brother Nima thought the movie was funny whereas our Iranian cousins thought it was scary. Since we’re used to seeing real horror flicks and they’re not. My cousin commented that Islam is kind to them in this regard, not letting them beleive in ghosts and the like.