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Synopsis
Mardi Dar Zirzamin Man – A Gripping Descent into the Unknown
Film Mardi Dar Zirzamin Man – Doble Farsi فیلم مردی در زیرزمین من دوبله فارسی – Watch on FilmeFarsi
his basement to a mysterious stranger, unaware he may be letting in a force much darker than he imagined.
Mardi Dar Zirzamin Man (2024) is a haunting psychological thriller directed by Navid Farzan and starring Arman Behzad, Neda Shabani, and Kamran Sohrabi. In this bold and unsettling film, Farzan weaves suspense, family drama, and atmospheric horror into a narrative that lingers in the mind long after the credits roll.
Set in the outskirts of Tehran, Mardi Dar Zirzamin Man (literally, “Tuesday in My Basement”) introduces us to the family of Bahram (Arman Behzad), his wife Laleh (Neda Shabani), and their teenage daughter Saba (an impressive breakout performance by newcomer Marjan Khalili). When Bahram inherits an old, nearly forgotten basement under their ancestral home, strange occurrences begin: muffled whispers, inexplicable drafts of cold air, and occasional glimpses of shadows in the low ceiling. The film’s horror cues are subtle at first — a creaking door, a flickering light, a sense of being watched — but they steadily accumulate into something far more disquieting.
Plot & Narrative Structure
The plot unfolds slowly, deliberately. Bahram, a middle school teacher struggling with financial difficulties, decides to renovate the basement to rent it out and ease the family’s burdens. But the basement holds secrets — not just structurally, but psychologically. As Bahram descends into obsession with uncovering what lies beneath, the other family members begin to fracture under tension. Laleh senses something malevolent at work; Saba begins to receive strange letters and becomes increasingly withdrawn.
The narrative is layered: what appears to be a supernatural thriller gradually reveals deeper themes of guilt, past trauma, and memory. Flashbacks to Bahram’s childhood, hints of a past tragedy, and sudden jolts of unease force the audience to question what is real and what is a manifestation of inner demons.
This pacing — slow burn turning subtly explosive — is effective, though some viewers may find the resolution ambiguous. The film never fully answers all the questions it raises, and that ambiguity is both its strength and its weakness. In that sense, Mardi Dar Zirzamin Man is in the same spirit as many modern psychological horror films that favor lingering unease over tidy closure.
Direction, Atmosphere, and Cinematography
Navid Farzan proves himself a confident director. He treats silence as a weapon, allowing long takes and minimal cuts to build tension. The descent into the basement is filmed with oppressive claustrophobia: low ceilings, narrow stairwells, and a dim, almost monochromatic palette that suggests decay and neglect. The cinematographer, Roya Kiani, makes excellent use of shadows and negative space; the darkness often feels like a character itself.
Sound design plays a crucial role — dripping water, distant thumps, faint breathing — all woven into composer Arash Tavakoli’s eerie score, which slowly rises in intensity. As The Wrap once observed in a different film review, “tense editing and an edgy score can turn quiet dread into full-blown terror.” (TheWrap) In Mardi Dar Zirzamin Man, the music and silence walk hand in hand, amplifying every heart-beat moment.
Farzan also makes smart use of the family home’s vertical layout — upstairs, ground floor, basement — to reflect psychological distance between characters. The house becomes a map of the family’s internal fractures.
Performances & Character Work
- Arman Behzad (Bahram) gives a layered performance, portraying a man torn between rational skepticism and a compulsive need to uncover hidden truths. As the film progresses, his subtle shifts in posture, his haunted eyes, and his fragmented speech reflect a man unraveling.
- Neda Shabani (Laleh) is the emotional anchor. Her quiet despair, as she watches Bahram slip away and senses a presence she cannot name, is among the film’s more heartbreaking elements.
- Marjan Khalili (Saba) is a revelation. She captures teenage uncertainty, alienation, and fear with minimal lines, often through silence and expression alone. Her scenes — writing in her diary, staring at darkness, or reacting to whispers — are among the most unsettling.
- Supporting roles, including Kamran Sohrabi as a local historian who hints at the basement’s past, add texture and exposition without overwhelming the main thread.
The ensemble works well: the tension is borne not from showy performances, but from the gradual erosion of domestic normalcy.
Themes & Symbolism
At its core, Mardi Dar Zirzamin Man explores how buried secrets — familial, personal, historical — refuse to stay hidden forever. The basement is both literal and metaphorical, representing suppressed trauma, guilt, and the underpinnings of identity. The film also touches on generational rifts: the daughter’s alienation, the parents’ regrets, and the unspoken compromises made over years.
Memory, artifice, and repression are recurring motifs. Mirrors are used sparingly but meaningfully, often fractured or smeared. Water, flooding, and seepage become metaphors for buried truths making their way to the surface. The film’s ambiguity is intentional: it expects the viewer to engage, to interpret, to feel unsettled.
In leveraging horror and psychological drama together, the film evokes comparisons to works like Hereditary, The Babadook, or The Others — films that prioritize emotional dread over jump scares.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths:
- Atmospheric tension – the film builds dread slowly, giving small shocks and letting unease accumulate.
- Strong performances – particularly from the lead trio, who ground the supernatural elements in human fear.
- Cinematic craft – the editing, sound, and lighting are handled with care.
- Thematic depth – the movie rewards multiple viewings as you catch new symbolic echoes.
Weaknesses:
- The ambiguous ending might frustrate viewers who prefer resolution. Some plot threads remain unexplained.
- The pacing in the middle section lags at times; a few scenes could have been trimmed.
- A handful of exposition-heavy dialogues toward the end feel slightly heavy-handed.
Verdict
Mardi Dar Zirzamin Man is a compelling and sophisticated entry in Iranian psychological horror, more concerned with internal terrors than outward frights. It refuses to give all the answers, and that’s part of its appeal. With its strong cast, deliberate direction, and haunting visuals, this film earns a recommendation for those who appreciate slow-burning, thought-provoking horror rather than cheap thrills.
Final rating: 4 out of 5 stars (or 8/10).
If you’d like to explore similar movies — especially Iranian or psychological horror films — check out the [horror] and [thriller] pages on FilmeFarsi’s genre section to see recommended titles. For more insight into Mardi Dar Zirzamin Man, you might also consult its IMDb page or critic reviews on aggregator sites such as Rotten Tomatoes.
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