In Flames review: Complex tale of patriarchal oppression with a horror edge

Selected cinemas; Cert 15A

'In Flames' bears all the usual hallmarks of a grounded social drama. Photo: Blue Finch Film Releasing

Chris Wasser

Sinister men and malevolent spirits play treacherous mind games with a young Pakistani woman in Zarrar Kahn’s unsettling psychological drama, In Flames. Mariam (Ramesha Nawal, brilliant) and her mother Fariha (Bakhtawar Mazhar, likewise) are in mourning. The latter’s father has died – so, too, has her husband, which means the family is now without a patriarch.

The neighbours won’t like that, and though Fariha wishes her daughter would find a husband, Mariam dreams of becoming a doctor and is dedicated to her studies. That is, until Asad (Omar Javaid), a pushy stranger who showers Mariam with compliments, enters the equation.

Meanwhile, an estranged uncle (Adnan Shah Tipu) is keen to look after Fariha’s finances, but can he be trusted? Not likely.

A clever, complex tale of patriarchal oppression in modern-day Karachi, In Flames bears all the usual hallmarks of a grounded social drama – but it also comes with ghosts and fancies itself as a horror.

Fair enough and, despite a muddled third act, Kahn’s film is a hell of a lot better than most mainstream chillers. Seek it out.

3.5 stars