
The 16th Episode
2019

2019
Director
Abdelhamid Bouchnak
Runtime
113 minutes
Average Rating
No ratings yetSynopsis
Come for Tunisia’s first horror film, following three students’ filmed investigation of weird rumors in a remote village, and stay for the sickening madness, macabre witchcraft, ghastly beheadings, and gory cannibalism.
Overall Score
Limited
Category Breakdown
LGBTQ+ Representation
The film lacks explicit LGBTQ+ characters or narratives. It focuses strictly on psychological and supernatural tension within a traditional rural social framework.
Gender Representation
Gender dynamics follow conventional horror tropes, often centering on character vulnerability. The power structures adhere to established hierarchies rather than subverting masculine or feminine roles.
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
The production excels in regional authenticity by utilizing a predominantly Tunisian cast. It avoids globalized whitewashing by prioritizing North African identities and local landscapes.
Religious & Cultural Diversity
The story engages with local folklore and superstition. It depicts a world where traditional communal structures are disrupted by ritualistic violence and madness.
Disability Representation
There is no evidence of characters with visible or invisible disabilities serving as central narrative drivers or possessing specific agency.
Strengths
Areas for Improvement
AI Analysis
Dachra stands as a landmark in North African cinema, marking Tunisia's first venture into the horror genre. It successfully pivots away from Western cinematic structures to embrace indigenous mythologies and rural superstitions. The film's greatest strength lies in its cultural specificity. By centering North African identities and local folklore, it disrupts the dominance of Western-centric horror tropes and provides a high degree of ethnic agency. However, the film remains conservative regarding social hierarchies. While it excels in ethnic representation, it relies on traditional gender dynamics and lacks engagement with LGBTQ+ identities or disability representation.

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