Critic Reviews

It’s a seedy ride through a bleak existence that would be entertaining enough to watch with popcorn if it didn’t depict a life that’s all too real for too many people.

Kahn manages to assemble the story in a way that escapes feeling like a series of object lessons.

When In Flames premiered at Cannes last year, I compared it with Ari Aster’s Hereditary, but suggested Kahn’s film has more heart and conviction. I stand by that.

A roaring achievement for the first-time feature director, In Flames is an intensely vivid tale of survival. Khan’s humanistic approach towards understanding marginalized women is hauntingly beautiful.

At its strongest, In Flames teases out how the patriarchy — a large, unruly force — fractures the relationship between mother and daughter.

What lends this film distinction is the way it evolves into a story of female empowerment, and the bond between mother and daughter as they combat the pernicious evils of a patriarchal society.

The many textures and mysteries don’t always fit together. Indeed, the movie is better when it trades in real-world patriarchal controls and abuses rather than things that go bump in the night. But this remarkable debut feature will keep you hooked until the final reveal.

Thought-provoking and poignant, In Flames isn’t an easy conversation, but it is a necessary one that rests its narrative on the pervasive gaze of patriarchal oppression.

As a supernatural chiller, In Flames finds itself undermined by its own everyday horrors.