Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby is a fantastic, gripping comedy about what it’s like to feel out-of-place in your mid-twenties and about the constantly shifting power dynamics within relationships. Seligman creates a claustrophobic atmosphere throughout the film and constantly ratchets up an unbearable amount of tension as the film progresses. Tight closeups on our protagonist’s face as she’s in conversation with people we don’t see, the unsteadiness of the handheld camerawork as the tension ramps up, and the horror movie score all work together to keep us on edge. Seligman understands that, as funny as young adulthood can be, it can also be comically horrific for young women navigating parental expectations, the norms of any tight knit community to which you might belong, predatory men, and the prospect of finding your way forward. It’s a sharp, funny, painfully honest about what it means to be a young woman today.