The Judgment

Mo and Hisham have built a settled life together in the United States, far from the eyes of Mo's family in Alexandria. When a family emergency calls them home to Egypt, the couple must step back into secrecy and present themselves as friends, while Mo's mother, unaware of the truth, grows fond of Hisham. Then unsettling things begin to happen. Mo becomes convinced that witchcraft has been aimed at them as punishment for their relationship, and the skeptic he became abroad gives way to a man gripped by religious terror and by a past he never healed from. Writer-director Marwan Mokbel blends family drama with supernatural horror, using the genre to look at faith, shame and the weight of what goes unspoken at home. Junes Zahdi, Freddy Shahin and Samara Nohra lead the cast of this nearly two-hour Egyptian feature.