{{Short description|2018 horror film}} {{About|the film|the Islamic holiday|Ashura}} {{Infobox film | name = Achoura | image = File:Achoura (2018) poster.jpg | caption = Promotional release poster by Aleksi Briclot<ref name="Miska 2019">{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/videos/3554675/achoura-famished-wants-eat-joy-children-trailer/|title='Achoura' is Famished and Wants to Eat the Joy of Children [Trailer]|last=Miska|first=Brad|date=8 April 2019|website=Bloody Disgusting|access-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203070127/https://bloody-disgusting.com/videos/3554675/achoura-famished-wants-eat-joy-children-trailer/|archive-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> | alt = | director = Talal Selhami | writer = {{Plainlist| * Jawad Lahlou * Talal Selhami * David Villemin }} | producer = Lamia Chraibi<br>Talal Selhami | starring = {{Plainlist| * Younes Bouab * Sofiia Manousha * Iván González * Moussa Maaskri * Omar Lofti }} | music = Romain Paillot | cinematography = Mathieu de Montgrand | editing = | released = {{Film date|2018|12||PIFFF}} | studio = | distributor = | runtime = 90 minutes | country = {{Plainlist| * Morocco * France }} | language = French, Arabic<ref>https://www.pifff.fr/2018/film-206-Achoura-en</ref> | budget = | gross = }} '''''Achoura''''' is a 2018 Moroccan-French horror fantasy film<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Moroccan Horror Film “Achoura” Praised at Sitges Fantastic Film Festival |url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/10/284628/moroccan-horror-film-achoura |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=www.moroccoworldnews.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=شكري |first=زينب |date=2022-10-08 |title=فيلم خيال علمي.. السلهامي يطرح "عاشوراء ليلة الأطفال" بقاعات السينما (فيديو) |url=https://al3omk.com/785613.html#:~:text=%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%B9%D8%AF%20%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A1%20%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84%20%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%85%20%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A,%D9%88%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%B1%20%D9%84%D8%B7%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%8C%20%D9%88%D8%A5%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%AC%20%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%A1%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A8%D9%8A |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=العمق المغربي |language=ar}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lesecransterribles.com/achoura-interview-talal-selhami/50159| title=Talal Selhami: "I really pushed the cursor to the end by forbidding myself any form of exoticism" | publisher=lesecransterribles | access-date=9 November 2020}}</ref> directed and co-written by Talal Selhami. Moroccan actors Omar Lotfi and Younes Bouab star alongside Sofia Manousha, Ivan Gonzalez, Mohamed Choubi, and Moussa Masskri.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Miska 2021">{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3691751/dark-star-acquires-achoura-creature-feature-described-meets-babadook/|title=Dark Star Acquires 'Achoura', a Creature Feature Described as 'It' Meets 'Babadook'|last=Miska|first=Brad|date=12 November 2021|website=Bloody Disgusting|access-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203070419/https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3691751/dark-star-acquires-achoura-creature-feature-described-meets-babadook/|archive-date=3 December 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> The film's plot follows four childhood friends who reconnect when one of them, who disappeared 25 years prior during the Ashura holiday, re-enters their lives, leading them to confront a monstrous djinn.<ref name="Hekking 2019">{{cite web|url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/10/284628/moroccan-horror-film-achoura|title=Moroccan Horror Film "Achoura" Praised at Sitges Fantastic Film Festival|last=Hekking|first=Morgan|date=15 October 2019|website=Morocco World News|access-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203065757/https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/10/284628/moroccan-horror-film-achoura|archive-date=3 December 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> The film is regarded as the first Moroccan fantasy film.<ref>{{Cite web |last=شكري |first=زينب |date=2022-10-08 |title=فيلم خيال علمي.. السلهامي يطرح "عاشوراء ليلة الأطفال" بقاعات السينما (فيديو) |url=https://al3omk.com/785613.html#:~:text=%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%B9%D8%AF%20%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A1%20%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84%20%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%85%20%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A,%D9%88%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%B1%20%D9%84%D8%B7%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%8C%20%D9%88%D8%A5%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%AC%20%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%A1%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A8%D9%8A |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=العمق المغربي |language=ar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dale |first=Martin |date=2019-12-08 |title=Arab and African Filmmakers Are Increasingly Focusing on Genre Films and Series |url=https://variety.com/2019/film/festivals/arab-african-filmmakers-genre-1203428775/ |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>
Described as the first monster movie shot in Morocco,<ref name="Hanley 2015">{{cite web|url=http://www.fangoria.com/new/exclusive-first-photos-moroccan-monster-movie-achoura|title=Exclusive First Photos: Moroccan Monster Movie "Achoura"|last=Hanley|first=Ken W.|date=28 February 2015|website=Fangoria|access-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502102433/http://www.fangoria.com/new/exclusive-first-photos-moroccan-monster-movie-achoura|archive-date=2 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Achoura'' premiered in December 2018 at the Paris International Fantastic Film Festival.<ref name="Hekking 2019" /><ref name="PIFFF 2018">{{cite web|url=http://www.pifff.fr/2018/film-206-achoura-en|title=Achoura|website=Paris International Fantastic Film Festival|access-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203065213/http://www.pifff.fr/2018/film-206-achoura-en|archive-date=3 December 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> The film met success at the Tangier National Film Festival where it won the award for best production, and at the Film Festival of Marrakech. The film also won the grand prize at the Hard Line Festival in Germany in October 2018.<ref name=":0" />
==Cast== * Younes Bouab * Sofiia Manousha * Iván González * Moussa Maaskri * Omar Lofti
==Production== Filming took place in Morocco, around Casablanca, in 2015.<ref name="Hekking 2019" /> Producer Fabrice Lambot described the film as "the first monster movie shot in Morocco."<ref name="Hanley 2015" />
==Release== ''Achoura'' premiered in December 2018 at the Paris International Fantastic Film Festival.<ref name="Hekking 2019" /><ref name="PIFFF 2018" /> The film then screened at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival on 12 April 2019.<ref name="Miska 2019" /><ref name="Hekking 2019" /> It had its North American premiere at the Cinepocalypse Film Festival in Chicago, Illinois, in June 2019,<ref name="Bromley 2019">{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3567655/cinepocalypse-review-achoura-bleak-somber-meditation-death-innocence/|title=[Cinepocalypse Review] 'Achoura' is a Bleak, Somber Meditation On the Death of Innocence|last=Bromley|first=Patrick|date=17 June 2019|website=Bloody Disgusting|access-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203064910/https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3567655/cinepocalypse-review-achoura-bleak-somber-meditation-death-innocence/|archive-date=3 December 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> and later screened at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain in October 2019.<ref name="Hekking 2019" />
In 2021, Dark Star Pictures acquired distribution rights for ''Achoura''; the film is set to be released on DVD and digital platforms in the United States on December 14, 2021.<ref name="Miska 2021" />
==Reception== In a mostly positive review of the film for ''Bloody Disgusting'', Patrick Bromley noted the similarities between ''Achoura''—which was shot in 2015—and the 2017 film ''It'' and its 2019 sequel.<ref name="Bromley 2019" /> Bromley wrote that ''Achoura'' "offers a unique look into the fears and folklore of another culture. That it's so reminiscent of ''It'' does it a disservice, even if the movie itself cannot be faulted for the comparison. It's a serious, somber meditation on the death of innocence, bleaker than what Stephen King offers and full of powerful, evocative imagery all the way to its final moments."<ref name="Bromley 2019" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|4188180}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Achoura}} Category:2010s supernatural horror films Category:2018 horror films Category:2018 films Category:Moroccan horror films Category:French horror films Category:Films shot in Morocco Category:2018 French films Category:2010s monster movies Category:Religious horror films Category:Films based on African myths and legends