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.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 13, 2024

Riveting central performances.

| May 30, 2024

In Flames raids the box of generic horror tropes but fails to generate any notable scares. Instead, Pakistani-Canadian director Zarrar Kahn’s feature debut musters a vaguely brooding sense of unease.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 29, 2024

Overall, surprise is not the film’s strong suit, but as a visually rich vehicle for social commentary In Flames has plenty of tricks to play, which Zarrar Kahn deploys elegantly if not always subtly.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 23, 2024

In Flames is skilfully executed, its uniqueness lies in its evolution into a narrative of female empowerment, highlighting the bond between mother and daughter as they confront the insidious evils of a patriarchal society.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 23, 2024

Nawal centres the story and holds the screen admirably; conveying emotional subtleties and depths, often without words, and this feels like a glimpse of a world that’s usually hidden.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 22, 2024

Kahn directs all this with a stranglehold on our nerves.

| Apr 11, 2024

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

| Apr 11, 2024

“In Flames” finely straddles the line between a bold genre exercise and a bruising portrait of contemporary Pakistan to deliver a welcome story about resistance and resilience.

| Dec 18, 2023

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.

| Original Score: B+ | May 19, 2023

A haunting tale of oppression.

| May 19, 2023