The Blue Elephant

The Blue Elephant (Arabic: الفيل الأزرق, romanized: Al Fil Al Azraq) is a 2014 Egyptian drama/horror/mystery film produced and directed by Marwan Hamed in Cairo, Egypt. The story was originally translated into film from a 2012 Arabic novel written by the famous Egyptian writer Ahmed Mourad, and starring Egyptian actors Karim Abdel Aziz, Khaled El Sawy and Nelly Karim. The film talks about a man called Yehia, who unwillingly comes out of isolation after five years, to resume his service in El-Abbaseya psychiatric hospital, where he is in charge of evaluating the mental health of the criminally insane. It was followed by a sequel The Blue Elephant 2 (Arabic: 2 الفيل الأزرق, translit. Al Fil Al Azraq 2) released in 2019. According to Ahmed Mourad, writer of the Arabic novel, the book and the film hold two different endings. Director Marwan Hamed proposed a change in the closing scene of the movie to allow the film to adapt and satisfy a large mass of audience. The Blue Elephant received mixed reviews but performed well in the Egyptian Box-office during Eid time. The film did not follow the formula of the recent slew of Egyptian comedies, yet it managed to win over audiences across the Arab region. The film gained up to 30 million Egyptian pounds, which is approximately 4.2 million U.S. Dollars. As of 2024, it is the 12th highest rated horror film on IMDb with a rating of 8.0.