What if the four walls meant to offer comfort slowly became your greatest source of fear? That’s the unsettling premise behind A claustrophobic psychological horror by Syed Shadan where a shrinking home blurs the line between sanctuary and prison, turning everyday loneliness into a creeping, inescapable dread, the psychological horror short set to have its North American premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival 2026. Presented by Anurag Kashyap and Ranjan Singh, the film turns the idea of home on its head, questioning whether the spaces we seek refuge in can become prisons of the mind.
“The phrase Chaar Diwaari is usually associated with safety and dreams — this is all that a man wants to achieve,” says director Syed Shadan. “But because we’re dealing with horror, I wanted to flip that idea. What if these very four walls that are supposed to give you comfort and safety turn out to be the biggest threat in your life?”
The idea emerged during a period when Shadan was living alone, spending long stretches indoors writing. “I kept thinking, what if every time I went to sleep and woke up, the walls had actually moved a little closer and the house had become a little smaller?” he recalls. What started as a fleeting thought gradually evolved into a screenplay, becoming, in his words, “a form of coping mechanism.” While he describes the film as “semi-autobiographical,” he intentionally distanced the protagonist from himself. “The earlier drafts were so autobiographical that I kind of creeped myself out. I made certain choices so I could objectively make his life worse.”
The film’s contained setting wasn’t just thematic — it was also born out of necessity. Working within the constraints of a short film and a limited budget, the team chose to tell the story in one primary location with very few characters. That decision shaped the film’s visual language. “The camera never leaves the house. You’re always looking through the point of view of the walls,” he explains. Wide frames replace close-ups so the walls remain constantly present, reinforcing the feeling that they’re closing in. “We’ve all heard the phrase that the walls are closing in on you. We wanted to answer the question — what does that actually look like?”
Bringing that suffocating atmosphere to life relied heavily on collaboration. Shadan credits cinematographer Rajiv Malu, editor Sayukta Kaza, and sound designers Shijin and Abhishek for making the psychological tension feel tangible. “If any touch of the wall has a reverberation, it feels as if the house itself is a living entity,” he says. “For a film set in one location with one primary character, I heavily relied on these departments.”
Rather than leaning on conventional jump scares, Chaar Diwaari embraces uncertainty. The audience is encouraged to question whether the protagonist is experiencing reality or losing his grip on it. Inspired by films such as The Zone of Interest, the director was fascinated by horror that comes from implication rather than spectacle. “Sometimes just implying an idea unsettles you far more than showing it,” he says.
For Shadan, the story’s emotional core transcends geography. The protagonist remains unnamed, and the city is never identified, making the film intentionally location-agnostic. “Housing crises and loneliness are rising everywhere,” he says. “We wanted the viewer to be able to place the character anywhere.”
Reflecting on his journey, he says the biggest lesson filmmaking has taught him is not to lose sight of joy. “Storytelling has always been about bringing people together. Somewhere along the way, we get bogged down by numbers and markets and forget that this is all supposed to be fun. If you’re having fun while making something, the audience can sense that too.” His next ambition? A horror film driven almost entirely by sound. “The question is, when do you actually get scared — when you hear something or when you see it? I want to make a film that leaves audiences haunted by a sound they can’t get out of their heads.”
For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.