Achoura is a 2018 horror film directed and co-written by Talal Selhami. An international co-production of Morocco and France, the film stars Younes Bouab, Sofiia Manousha, Iván González, Moussa Maaskri, and Omar Lofti.[2] 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.[3]
Achoura | |
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![]() Promotional release poster by Aleksi Briclot[1] | |
Directed by | Talal Selhami |
Written by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Mathieu de Montgrand |
Music by | Romain Paillot |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
Countries |
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Language | French |
Described as the first monster movie shot in Morocco,[4] Achoura premiered in December 2018 at the Paris International Fantastic Film Festival.[3][5]
Filming took place in Morocco, around Casablanca, in 2015.[3] Producer Fabrice Lambot described the film as "the first monster movie shot in Morocco."[4]
Achoura premiered in December 2018 at the Paris International Fantastic Film Festival.[3][5] The film then screened at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival on 12 April 2019.[1][3] It had its North American premiere at the Cinepocalypse Film Festival in Chicago, Illinois, in June 2019,[6] and later screened at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain in October 2019.[3]
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.[2]
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.[6] 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."[6]