Al-ta'weeza

Six years after leaving audiences confused, Shebl gave it another go with a more adult follow-up. The disco-dancing vampires might be gone, but the social commentary is as forced and blatant, with characters staring down the camera and complaining about, of all things, the lack of imagination in the nation’s film industry. But that’s only a minor example; Shebl also attempts to open his audiences’ eyes to the dangers of real estate scams, particularly when they involve black magic. Protagonist Mahmoud is a high school teacher, who lives with his entire family in a tiny apartment. The landlord is desperately trying to force them out to the point of enlisting the devil’s help. Like “Al-Ins wal Djinn,” the film’s opening scenes establish a sense of tension that continues to mount until, for some reason, a goat shoots a star-shaped laser out of its forehead, and everything quickly falls apart. Furniture spontaneously combusts, an invisible presence settles in Mahmoud’s apartment, and the devil rapes his wife and she thinks it’s an earthquake. Things reach their peak when, for the second time on this list, Yousra is drenched in actual chicken blood. Whereas “Anyab's” insanity was entertaining because it was intentional, “Al-Ta’weeza” is disturbing, considering the director assumed it makes even the slightest bit of sense. The most interesting aspect of “Al-Ta’weeza,” though, might still remain unseen, as the film seems to have been heavily censored. In existing prints it’s fairly easy to see the censor’s scribbling for a few frames between abrupt cuts. There’s a good chance the objections were made over something fairly unremarkable; but it’s still interesting to think of ways by which Egyptian censorship laws might be challenged through horror films.