Haunted home: Behind the intimate and universal horror of Emirati film HOBA

In a cinematic landscape increasingly defined by genre experimentation and cultural authenticity, Emirati filmmaker Majid Al Ansari has emerged as one of the region’s boldest and most introspective storytellers. With HOBA, his second feature-length film, Al Ansari pushes the boundaries of psychological horror to craft a story that is as chilling as it is deeply human.

The truth of horror

At the heart of HOBA lies a deceptively simple premise: when Khalid brings home a second wife, the new bride is not the only thing that enters the family house. But beneath that logline simmers a volatile exploration of emotional betrayal, female agency, and the haunting consequences of secrecy.

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For Al Ansari, the film was sparked by a real encounter. “Back in 2018, I met a man who boasted about having two wives who were unaware of each other’s existence,” he recalls. “I was speechless, but my mind was racing, thinking about consent, agency, and the imbalance that exists when such a decision is made without transparency.”

That conversation stayed with him, evolving into a cinematic idea that fused psychological realism with supernatural terror. “As a horror fan, I wanted to explore how deception within a marriage could manifest as something truly frightening, not just emotionally, but physically and spiritually,” he explains. “The horror in HOBA doesn’t come from monsters. It comes from betrayal, from the quiet collapse of trust within the home.”

The supernatural element

HOBA follows Amani, a devoted wife and mother whose life shatters when her husband brings home a younger, pregnant bride, Zahra. Trapped between societal expectations and personal despair, Amani struggles to maintain control for the sake of her teenage daughter, Noor. But as unsettling, inexplicable events begin to unravel their lives, Amani’s grip on reality begins to slip, and her search for the truth exposes something far more sinister than her husband’s betrayal.

Al Ansari describes HOBA as a “female-led horror,” one where the scares are anchored in emotional authenticity. “It wasn’t about making a statement on polygamy,” he clarifies. “It was about capturing the psychological journey of a woman whose sense of identity and stability is ripped away, and translating that emotional trauma into something tangible on screen.”

To achieve that authenticity, Al Ansari immersed himself in research. He and co-writer Johnnie Alward spent months interviewing women who had experienced polygamous marriages, both consensual and non-consensual, as well as individuals raised in such households. “The goal was never to judge,” he says, “but to understand the spectrum of emotions,  shame, resilience, love and the fear, that coexist in these families.”

The film has already amassed awards like Best Horror Film at the Fantastic Fest 2025, Austin, Texas, and screened at Sitges International Film Festival 2025, and London BFI Film Festival 2025.

Female voices at the core

Despite being a male director, Al Ansari made a conscious decision to build HOBA through a female lens. “Empathy wasn’t enough,” he admits. “I needed perspective.”

That perspective came from Fatima Al Dhaheri, the development executive at Image Nation Abu Dhabi, who became a key creative voice during the writing phase. “Fatima was instrumental in shaping the characters and their emotional journeys,” Al Ansari says. “She grounded the film in cultural truth and helped ensure that Amani, Zahra, and Noor felt real — not symbolic.”

From script to screen, HOBA is a story told with women as much as it is about them. Emirati casting director Alwiya Thani helped assemble a powerful cast led by Bdoor Mohammed as Amani, whose raw, grounded performance anchors the film. Saudi actress Sarah Taibah brings complexity and quiet menace to Zahra, while Eman Tarik, in her first feature role, embodies the vulnerability and confusion of Noor.

A milestone in Emirati cinema

Produced by Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Spooky Pictures, HOBA marks a historic milestone as the first Arabic-language Emirati film under their global horror slate. The powerhouse producing team includes Roy Lee (Barbarian), Steven Schneider (Insidious), Derek Dauchy (Late Night with the Devil), and Rami Yasin (Watcher).

Al Ansari’s insistence on shooting on 16mm film added both texture and challenge. “There’s a grain and imperfection to film that mirrors Amani’s unraveling,” he explains. “It gives the story a tactile, almost suffocating intimacy that digital can’t replicate.” The decision required transporting footage to London for processing — a logistical feat that underscored the team’s commitment to authenticity.

True to his debut film Zinzana which was the first Emirati feature to stream on Netflix and a breakout hit at Fantastic Fest and the BFI London Film Festival, Al Ansari continues to carve out his signature space in the genre world. Yet HOBA stands apart as his most emotionally charged work to date.

Through Amani’s descent into paranoia and desperation, HOBA confronts the silent burdens women bear in maintaining family harmony amid emotional upheaval. “Amani’s story reflects countless women who are forced to accept, adapt, and endure decisions made without their consent,” says Al Ansari. “But in the end, she reclaims power; not through vengeance, but through truth.”

With HOBA, Majid Al Ansari proves that horror can be both personal and political, intimate yet universal. By intertwining gender, culture, and fear, he creates a story that resonates beyond the region, one that asks audiences everywhere to confront what happens when the home, the supposed sanctuary, becomes the site of ultimate betrayal.

“It’s not just a ghost story,” Al Ansari says quietly. “It’s about what haunts us when love turns into control, and how women, even in their most fragile moments, find the strength to rise from the darkness.”

HOBA is screening in UAE cinemas from October 30.