Six years after it first appeared at the Berlin International Film Festival, Asghar Farhadi’s About Elly is finally opening theatrically in America. The movie intriguingly opens like any archetypal cabin in the woods-style film would: with a group of family and friends on their way to spend a weekend together at a villa in the forest. Elly (Taraneh Alidoosti), a young school teacher is brought along in hopes of finding love with Ahmad (Shahab Hosseini), a recent divorcee. Upon arrival, the travelers are disappointed to hear that the villa they wanted is unavailable. They will have to settle for a dingy, rundown seaside cabin with no locks on the windows and doors. A similar set-up to Evil Dead although what follows is a different, if all too real form of terror as Elly suddenly disappears without a trace.

The mystery unravels slow-burn style and as all possibilities are explored, the sheer exhaustion of the situation literally bounces off the screen. Cinematographer Hossein Jafarian succeeds in painting the Iranian coastal landscapes in all their dangerous beauty. Dynamically shot, the camera is always on the move. Constant activity and people populate the busy framing, visualizing the mass hysteria that ensues as friends begin to turn on each other. The first act ends with a standout set piece scene taking place in the raging waters that will paralyze you. Not only is the photography a sight to behold but the scene is masterfully cut leading you through stages of shock, dread and desperation with impeccable pacing.

Crashing waves dominate the sound design, a perfect complement to the tumultuous guilt, anger and shame that permeate the dialogue in this beautifully acted film. Golshifteh Farahani is mesmerizing as Sepideh, the mother who insisted Elly join them on their vacation. She is matched by an equally affecting ensemble of actors some of which went on to appear in Farhadi’s next and most celebrated directorial effort to date, A Separation. His script is rock-solid, depicting a collection of diverse and highly relatable personalities who provide a prism of moral justifications. With a plot that never seems to stop moving, About Elly shows how good intentions and one harmless lie can spiral into absolute disaster.