Category Archives: Horror

Thamma

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Vampire Owl: Now, they are sneaking into vampire territory.

Vampire Bat: We do not usually let humans make mockery of us.

Vampire Owl: Unless they can really make a good movie this time.

Vampire Bat: It feels like a near impossible situation for humans.

Vampire Owl: Well, they do make strange dumb movies out of nowhere.

Vampire Bat: We cannot deny their special ridiculous skills, can we?

Vampire Owl: At least death ends them all, the useless mortals.

Vampire Bat: You know that they can do the hate-everyone part well.

Vampire Owl: Well. Hate is only the beginning, the dawn.

Vampire Bat: You know that even death is not the beginning or the end.

[Gets a podi masala dosa and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: A group of vampiric creatures known as Betaals have been wandering in the forests and nearby villages of Indian subcontinent for thousands of years, making the first known appearance to outsiders during the invasion of Alexander the Great. Yakshasan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) has remained the leader of the group since the creatures were created, and has given birth to many other vampiric creatures during his long existence as an immortal. Among the vampires, Tadaka (Rashmika Mandanna) has remained the only female presence among the warriors for the last few years. After witnessing the violence among humans during the partition of Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan, the group had decided not to drink blood from humans whose violence make them poisonous and make vampire as violent as them. But this leaves vampires weaker, and with lesser quality blood from random animals that they capture from the forest where they have set their base. This does not go well with all vampires, as drinking blood from at least the most evil humans had kept them going without any remorse for their actions.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: After years of controlling the urges, Yakshasan decides to go against the decision and also turns a number of humans into vampires after drinking their blood. This violation of promise makes the situation leads to vampires imprisoning their leader in the caverns until someone else makes a similar violation which would be drinking human blood and bringing new vampires to existence. In the case of vampires, these promises are to be kept immortally. At the same time, a journalist named Alok Goyal (Ayushmann Khurrana) is caught in the same forest and is attacked by a bear, only to be saved by Tadaka. As the vampires come to hunt him, she takes him out of there and reaches his home with him. Even though his mother Sudha Goyal (Geeta Agarwal Sharma) agrees to provide her refuge as Tadaka had saved her son’s life, his father Bajaj Goyal (Paresh Rawal) remains highly suspicious. But in the vegetarian household she struggles to find enough food, almost drinking blood from the neighbour’s dog. Still, there are more troubles that await them, and it would require them to face bigger horror.

The defence of Thamma :: There is always something about Stree and its related universe that keeps us going. That kind of a strength is right behind here. The romance does have its moments even though not really going too far ahead into the depths. The music is pretty much working in favour of the mood and the songs have different touches here. The visuals nicely create the folklore mood and the looks of the city also works well. The darkness is nicely used and some horror also walks in here and there. The action stays alive as much as the feeling of danger. The dance numbers will grace our world for a long time too. There are some parts of the story which makes the connection really well, and some of the humour comes out of nowhere to create a big impact. The ending nicely sets up the situation for a fine sequel, even though one would still doubt the collaboration of so many movies. There are references to many vampire beliefs though, and the historical connections are nicely done, even though the relevance could be questioned. The movie also manages to take some strength out of the universe which has been created here, as Leo did from its world which was already established with ease.

The claws of flaw :: The movie keeps on missing the opportunities which are provided in front of it right from the beginning itself. Some of the humour would feel too silly to have the funny side going here. There are many easy routes taken here as the in-depth journey into folklore is surely not present here. We are faced with a lot of predictabilities here too. The final sequences are not that interesting and the fight just seems to be there to bring the movie too an end – not many surprises or innovations there too. The movie’s use of elements from multiple sources seems to have hurt it too, and calling this movie an action-adventure-romance-horror-thriller-comedy makes it more of something which is not really here or there. The audience can also have the doubt if this would a vampire romance trend as brought on by Stephenie Meyer a long time ago. As this particular film of the popular franchise did not bring the fame and glory that much, one can still feel that this might not even have its own single sequel. The way vampires greet each other and the unrealistic jumping fight scenes do not serve the cause either.

The performers of the soul :: Ayushmann Khurrana leads the way pretty well, even when the situation keeps on moving to the silly side. Rashmika Mandanna makes an interesting vampire, and despite the flaws of the character, manages the humour well – the look here is suited for the vampire too. After all, seeing a few scenes from Pushpa and its sequels had us feeling that her acting skills had gone missing, but here, she takes on the vampire essence really well. There might not be many actresses who would suit this kind of a vampire role. The best of humour comes from Paresh Rawal who checks out for monsters and keeps the funny side alive – Geeta Agarwal Sharma is also around with her funny moments. Varun Dhawan’s cameo was totally unnecessary as just talking about him at the end of the movie was enough – that one never really suited the movie and just pauses the fine flow around there. Sathyaraj’s cameo was fun though and it is nice to see Nora Fatehi as a vampire as much as the dancer. Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s villainy is more related to the looks and movements and there is not much to perform to create the terrifying antagonist except for in the words of others. Faisal Malik also has his shorter nice moments.

How it finishes :: Right after Rashmika Mandanna shows her vampire teeth, we see the Sensodyne Pro-enamel ad on Amazon Prime Video, which becomes the best advertisement that can be shown for a toothpaste – who better than a vampire for a toothpaste and toothbrush ad? Well, this movie serves well in many aspects, but surely not in all of them, especially as Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra did it so well a few months ago. Matching with that particular movie would feel rather difficult here. It might be the same reason why that Malayalam movie grossed so much more than this one, that too on a lower budget. As it is displayed on various websites, the success of that movie is ten times the making cost, while this one has only managed to take home the expense. But a comparison would do only half the justice, as the genre itself has some divergence, with superhero action on one side and action horror comedy on the other side. Still, this one could have managed to do better with the folklore background, as it fuels both of them. Yet, what this movie has done is pretty much interesting and engaging, as it gives us hope for connection with other movies and sequels.

Release date: 21st October 2025
Running time: 149 minutes
Directed by: Aditya Sarpotdar
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Rashmika Mandanna, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Paresh Rawal, Geeta Agarwal Sharma, Faisal Malik, Rachit Singh, Alex O’Nell, Ankit Mohan, Vinod Suyavanshi, Hritika Kanwar, Deepak Kalra, Raj Premi, Shailesh Korde, Krishna Kant Rai, Janardhan Kadam, Hashim Haider, Deepak Daryani

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Bloody Ishq

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Vampire Owl: It has been a long time since love was seen as bloody.

Vampire Bat: Well, all relationships beyond marriage are bloody.

Vampire Owl: Yes, people do fall in love and die.

Vampire Bat: It is quite natural, as we know the same news.

Vampire Owl: So many people die due to this romance.

Vampire Bat: Yes, such Ishq not in marriage is bloody and terrifying for sure.

Vampire Owl: Are they bloodier than Romeo and Juliet?

Vampire Bat: Well, at least they were really true to each other.

Vampire Owl: We cannot really have the dead people to talk, can we?

Vampire Bat: Not if they do not become vampires or at least zombies with a little bit of brain activity left in their heads.

[Gets a masala bonda and three cups of Yercaud tea].

What is the movie about? :: Neha (Avika Gor) is a young woman who has only recently had a near-death experience by drowning, and had lost her memory. She had fallen in love with Romesh (Vardhan Puri) and married her only a few months ago, and they had fallen in love when she was in Scotland, undergoing her studies. Now, they live in their large mansion on a deserted Scottish island, and as it is a grand old building, which he hopes to transform into a grand hotel by lakeside. Romesh assures her that she will regain her memory slowly and steadily as she goes backs to the same mansion and do things as she used to do. She also feels that she is going to heal in the mansion by herself while he goes to the mainland and work goes on in the building. But soon she feels that there is something hiding behind the grandeur of the mansion in its dark corners which seems to have something for her, as scary situations keep happening against all odds. She feels that there is something paranormal and that the house is haunted.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Now, it seems that she cannot go out of the island as she has developed a fear for water. But inside the house, there seems to be some spirits trying to communicate with her and there are doors which seem to be locked forever with the strongest of locks. There are arms coming after her with some of them bloodied, a naked woman is on her bed with moaning sound heard, and glasses of the house seem to break for no reason and there are weird noises which seem to suggest something out of this world and intending to cause her harm. It is then that she is visited by Devdutt Sinha (Shyam Kishore), an officer from the Scottish police department, who tells her that her husband is the prime suspect in the murder of her father-in-law. She feels that death is also wandering rather too close to her and her falling in water might also have some other explanation to it. Fear and confusion seem to be regular part of her life, with hope seemingly far off.

And what more would happen here as the supernatural is ready to have its final say, making humans feel irrelevant? :: A woman who claims to be her best friend Ayesha (Jeniffer Piccinato) tells her that her husband is a liar and has rather to many secrets hidden within him. She tells Neha to find out the truth before it’s too late. Abhay (Gautam Sharma), a paranormal investigator lets her know that he had come to their mansion with Tanisha (Arshin Mehta), a medium who was possessed temporarily by an unknown spirit at the same building, and he adds that it was a terrible experience. Tanisha was seriously injured during the incident and due to her lasting trauma, do not go for any paranormal investigations anymore. Soon, Neha comes to know about deaths that had happened in their mansion and also understands that the death of her father-in-law was not an accident. There is some mystery surrounding her husband and there is more to the place than what meets the eye. Can Neha find out the truth before time runs out or will the mixture of truth and lies consume her slowly and steadily?

The defence of Bloody Ishq :: There horror stays alive in this movie, and there is fear generation that stays strong. The setting of an old mansion on a remote island with nothing else around, is a location which supports the horror environment so well, and the building itself does the rest with the support of darkness, lighting and antiquity which stands apart. The choice of Scotland is even more interesting with that landscape and the Hollywood feeling provided on the visuals. It also remains a stylish world, and the spirit is also something that generates interest. There are some nice twists around here, and the paranormal suspense is nicely maintained around here. The use of twists over twists work, as they are not that huge and just following the flow of things. The psychological tension is always present and it becomes as significant as the supernatural which gets the support further. Avika Gor leads the way here, as the leading actress who try to find meanings out of lost memories. She seems to nicely suit the horror genre as much as romance. The background score keeps us interested, and the songs are soothing.

The claws of flaw :: The movie is not something we have not seen before, and the feeling of repetition is definitely there. There are moments which provides the feeling that it has happened before, and we have seen enough of this. A lot of things around are there to be guessed correctly, and the twists are not enough to keep us away from knowing some of these truths early enough, even though the protagonist is not smart enough to know the same. The predictability seems to have come from some inspiration that might be from the earlier movies. There are times when things get rather exaggerated, and there is too much of time in getting to that area which could have been reached with so much ease. There is a little bit too much of melodrama here, and that is also stretched towards ending, where the twists towards end lose the steam. There is no real grand terror on the screen by the end as one would expect after this big buildup. The loss of steam in between is mainly due to the romantic side being weak, and never really getting up after falling down multiple times.

How it finishes :: Bloody Ishq takes on the horror genre in that manner which makes one think that this one could have been another sequel to that good old horror genre – Murder with the supernatural or even Raaz. Love and deaths are common elements, and this one was also going to be a step closer to Hate Story it had come from another angle. In a perfect setting, this one tries, and even though never really managing to go in full power, gets an interesting thriller here – entertaining horror target has been achieved without that much of a difficulty. Even though there is certain lacking, this is not as bad as these reviews would say – this one is indeed a very much watchable romantic-horror thriller with good performances and a fine mood despite running predictability. If you enjoy Bhatt-style thrillers, this is for you, but not if you expect to anything new or even has the scope of innovation around here. After all, romance and blood come together in romantic thriller with added horror. Let us hope that Bollywood gains further power to improve on the usual and come up with something bigger.

Release date: 25th July 2024
Running time: 138 minutes
Directed by: Vikram Bhatt
Starring: Avika Gor, Vardhan Puri, Jeniffer Piccinato, Rahul Dev, Shyam Kishore, Coral Bhamra, Arshin Mehta, Gautam Sharma

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Munjya

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Vampire Owl: The universe of Stree always have our attention.

Vampire Bat: Well, they have the vampires, werewolves and witches who form seventy five percent of the population in our realm.

Vampire Owl: I still do not know if anything could match Stree and its sequel.

Vampire Bat: Well, we never know how far horror comedy can go.

Vampire Owl: Comedy can never be horror enough.

Vampire Bat: It is yet to be seen, and we can only wait for the best.

Vampire Owl: I did not know that you have Jio Hotstar.

Vampire Bat: I use a Jio connection with a good plan. So, I would have always had that.

Vampire Owl: We use this in the vampire world? It is news to me.

Vampire Bat: There is nothing that a vampire cannot use, for we are an experienced species.

[Gets a chilli porotta and three cups of Valparai tea].

What is the movie about? :: In 1952, somewhere in the Konkan coast, a boy in his early teenage years tries to marry a woman more than seven years older than him much to her dismay, but they end up getting him a purification ceremony and gets her married off earlier. The relatives feel that everything is solved now, and the boy has also left the impure thoughts, but that was very far away from the truth, as he had other intentions, soon fleeing the village to the forests on the outskirts with his only sister. The boy named Gotya (Ayush Ulagadde) who is not happy with the happenings, plans to perform a human sacrifice as part of black magic, and this is about to happen under a peepal tree in the Chetukwadi forest in the outskirts of the village, but he finds himself falling down while chasing the girl, getting hurt and dying in the process. His remains are buried right beneath the tree to contain the spirit called Munjya which would do anything to get what it wishes for, no matter how many years pass.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: In the present day in Pune, Bittu (Abhay Verma) a young man who lives with his family which consists of his mother Pammi (Mona Singh) and grandmother Gita (Suhas Joshi), and runs a family saloon where he assists his mother while hoping to go abroad for studies. As his childhood friend and crush Bela (Sharvari) gets engaged to her British friend Kuba (Richard Lovatt), Bittu is highly disappointed. When his family travel to their ancestral village for his cousin Rukku’s (Bhagyashree Limaye) engagement, Bittu overhears a conversation about his late father’s mysterious death linked to a peepal tree in a haunted forest. There is a fight regarding his visit to the forest and the possessed tree, and the circumstances leading his father’s death have been unknown to him as they speak about it for the first time in front of him. Disturbed, he visits the mentioned place, and ends up releasing the creature, known as the brahmarakshas in the past, and it also kills his grandmother.

And what more is to follow as the demon wishes to haunt more? :: Bittu is devastated as the villagers feel that he was responsible for the death of his grandmother. His father’s brother Balu (Ajay Purkar) particularly feels the same and is not hesitant to assert the same in front of others even on the day of funeral. He leaves for Pune with his mother, but understands that the demon has imprinted on him and has followed him to the city. It is revealed that only someone who is related to his father’s family can see the demon, and therefore, his mother would not understand what is happening to him. The demon never really stops haunting him as it keeps appearing after the sun sets, and it comes out of him like in the tale of Vetala, as if attached to the person. Everyone around him feels that he is too sad about the demise of her grandmother and the related guilt that he has been taking drugs, explaining his strange behaviour. The demon says that it will not leave him until it gets what it wants, and it is not a simple thing. It wishes to get married to the girl whom the boy of the past wished to marry, but could not, despite even trying black magic. Can Bittu get him the same or destroy it in the process?

The defence of Munjya :: The movie, like the others of the same franchise, takes the roots of its horror from the folktales which had spread through the villages, and this time through the Konkan coasts which are less explored. The details are really good with the scary visuals of forests, big trees and villages making an impact. The Computer Generated Imagery works in favour of he same, and the demon’s detailing also works in its favour. The acting is also very good, led by Abhay Verma who gives life to this character incredibly well. Sharvari Wagh in this role, proves that she can do almost anything, up to that final dance, from that memorable work in Vedaa. Bhagyashree Limaye who plays the cousin also scores so well, and she blends in here really well – hoping to see her as lead soon too. Sathyaraj is the one person who handles most of the comedy, and the same works because of him – whenever he is around, this is just too much fun. Taranjot Singh also supports the humour while Suhas Joshi and Mona Singh remains memorable. The thrills feel real as much as the danger, as scares work and the atmosphere remains a gem.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does not have its humour working that well, and it is a surprise when you consider its premise – to have the jokes somewhat working around here and tries to pull this one by parts. Its feeling of the need to bring a British man to the story to make joke out of his situations was surely not funny and would remain the lowest points of the movie. The movie’s romantic side is weak, and the one romance that does seem to do dome good is that of the demon that hopes for immoral bonding in love. There is a certain amount of predictability about the happenings by the end, as we look at the whole thing. The demon could have been scarier too, when we keep thinking about the situations where the same could have been reflected. After all, so much of work has already been put into this group of movies, and one cannot help thinking about so much more that could have added as extra here. When there is a demon like this one involved, there should be no limit for scares.

How it finishes :: The movie becomes another bonus to the Stree series, and has managed to come up with a fine folktale legend with so much of ease. This is the kind of idea which has been made better by Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra now, and that much of a blending of local folktales has not happened here. Yet, we know that with the kind of demon this movie uses, it is not that easy to make things work, but we some skills at display here for sure. With a cameo in the end, the movie is nicely set in the universe of folklore. I would say that we surely require more of such movies, as local legend and folklore have been often forgotten in comparison to the commonly accepted religious narrations. It is our duty to support the local folklore as much as we keep on going through a view of the world internationally. These movies will keep us energized enough to do the same and will also keep the stories of different regions in the spotlight, for those are as much needed as the stories that come as a whole.

Release date: 7th June 2024
Running time: 123 minutes
Directed by: Aditya Sarpotdar
Starring: Abhay Verma, Sharvari Wagh, Sathyaraj, Mona Singh, Suhas Joshi, Taranjot Singh, Ajay Purkar, Bhagyashree Limaye, Ayush Ulagadde, Shruti Marathe, Richard Lovatt, Anay Kamat, Padmini Sardesai, Shrikant Mohan Yadav, Reema Chaudhary, Rasika Vendurlekar, Radhika Vidyasagar, Akshay Vengulikar, Abhijeet Chavan

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3

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Vampire Owl: We have been reviewing only a smaller number of Hindi movies.

Vampire Bat: Well, we are not that much exposed to Bollywood anymore.

Vampire Owl: Bollywood has not come up with very good movies.

Vampire Bat: If there were such movies, they would not come our theatres.

Vampire Owl: It is such a shame. They still show us dumb Bollywood movies for fans.

Vampire Bat: The so-called superstar movies will come. But they are truly dumb.

Vampire Owl: The Khans and Hritik Roshan will surely get all the screens.

Vampire Bat: Most high budget films without content will get here with more shows.

Vampire Owl: Yes, just put any Khan in there and thrown it this way.

Vampire Bat: We would have wanted Irrfan Khan to be around then.

[Gets a vegetable puffs and three cups of white tea].

What is the movie about? :: Ruhaan (Kartik Aaryan) is a fraud spiritual ghostbuster known by the name “Rooh Baba”, and pretends to be an expert in exorcising spirits and slaying demons who harass people or haunt buildings. But he is actually an opportunist who makes good use of situations and make people feel that he has done something magical and has driven away monsters. He solves problems of non-existent demons for people who always have something to hide. There would always be some mistake committed by a random person who want to put the blame on someone not complaining, and that would be the spirit of a dead person or a demon from another world creating nuisance, misplacing things, setting something on fire etc. It makes him the best-known ghostbuster in the area, and his understanding of people’s superstitions has helped him to set up an office near Howrah Bridge of Kolkata. It is then that he is approached by Rajkumari Meera (Triptii Dimri) who has proof of his activities and asks her to come with her to deal with a paranormal activity in a far away village.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: They leave for this particular place where she belongs to a royal family which has been living in a stable near their old palace because of fear of a spirit that has been living there. The fear has become so much that the whole family has decided to live through a life of poverty forever until they found Ruhaan who is believed to be a reincarnation of a dead prince who somewhat looks like him. This provides them with enough confidence to think about moving to the palace of riches, and after making it look better, hope to sell the palace. He is the only one who is supposed to open the door to a room where a spirit haunting the palace is kept locked, and he is the only one who can save them from the supernatural entity. But he is to wait till the day of Durgashtami to open it, or something worse can happen there. He has to stay there for quite some time now so that he could manage to get his share. At the same time, Ruhaan falls in love with Meera and she seems to feel the same, as he keeps raising the confidence of her family as well as the villagers.

And what more is to follow with the demons and other evil spirits in a haunted palace? :: It is then that a woman named Mallika (Vidya Balan) arrives from a firm which is specialized in restoring old mansions and artefacts. She claimed to replace another employee who had taken a long vacation. There seems to be something strange about her, and feels like too much about the palace and its history is known to her. She stays there with them to further understand the needs for restoration. It is then that another woman named Mandira (Madhuri Dixit) also reaches the palace, after another room is opened. She identifies herself as someone who has come all the way there to buy the palace. She also gives them an offer above everyone else, as she stays there. Now the question remains about what this vengeful spirit really is. One has to wonder what it really tries to achieve – is there any plan other than the ghostly murder of all the residents and the family lineage? What is the worst thing that can happen on the day of Durgashtami? With no real ghostbusters around, is there a chance to save their world?

The defence of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 :: The movie has successfully blended comedy and horror, even though the funny side could have risen even more. The visuals with the old palace and the scary elements remain the fine works around here. There is something that interests one a lot about the old buildings of Bengal, and the feeling of strong history is more in there than any other – it will surely keep us going and wishing for the location to be there for long. There is always some place for twists and some fine scares to happen around here. The fear generation gets active very early, and the atmosphere nicely supports he same. Karthik Aryan has surely added a fresh perspective and freshness to this film. Triptii Dimri does the same, and it is good to see her getting more movies, because Bollywood needs to move on as much as with Karthik Aryan, that much with the actresses around. It needs to find new talents instead of those old superstars from where there is the need the move on.

The claws of flaw :: The humour does not always work, as we often why there is an attempt being made when there is no need, as some of these surely feels forced. The template seems to be repeated, as if there are no particular new ideas to be added to an already existing world, from where this gets the strength, not focusing on innovations. The focus gets the struggle, as too many things get rolled in without justifications, and the final scenes are ridiculously emotional without the required intensity, with the purpose of the evil spirit itself lost in the process of making it appealing to each and everyone even though not perfectly. There seemed to be a feeling of need to give focus to the veteran lady superstars, even when they were never really the focus here. Their presence here seems to be just to add nostalgia and the star value, as these are roles which one of the existing characters in the palace could have done. The story seems to be a little too much deviating from its purpose. As expected, this would not do just to the original at all, with a certain struggle as there is some legacy involved.

How it finishes :: We have watched Manichitrathaazhu and the not much needed sequel called Geethanjali. I have not watched the second part of this particular Hindi series, and therefore do not have an idea how all these have been connected without Akshay Kumar. But I could feel that this particular title could stand alone from the beginning itself. It has surely tried to blend its genres well, but never does it manage to rise to the level of Stree, and it is to be remembered that Stree 2 actually released in the same year. Bollywood does seem to be doing pretty good at making horror-comedies than we had thought it could manage to do. As it depends on the skilled performers instead of both male and female superstars, it moves out of the past, and begins to think better and have some classics. The industry should know that there is a lot of young talent waiting, that too without the nepotic kids becoming weak elements in good movies, something we have witnessed in remakes of movies like Helen – there is also too many of them for the time being. It is not like you say Shazam and you learn acting all of a sudden. Let us hope that the best talents rise out of nowhere and make the industry classic.

Release date: 1st November 2024
Running time: 158 minutes
Directed by: Anees Bazmee
Starring: Kartik Aaryan, Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit, Triptii Dimri, Vijay Raaz, Rajpal Yadav, Sanjay Mishra, Ashwini Kalsekar, Rajesh Sharma, Arun Kushwah, Manish Wadhwa, Shataf Figar, Saurabh Dubey, Denzil Smith, Suresh Menon, Moumita Pal, Shivam Dubey, Surendra Thakur, Kanchan Mullick, Prantika Das, Agrim Mittal, Ajay Tiwari, Yogesh Jadhav, Rose Sardana, Swagatam Halder, Averi Singharoy, Badri Chavan, Arvind Prakash, Parineeta Borthakur

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✠ The Vampire Bat.

Shaitaan

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Vampire Owl: So, is the movie really about the devil?

Vampire Bat: There are many demons who identify as the devil.

Vampire Owl: Is there anyone whom you know?

Vampire Bat: We do not make acquaintances with the shadow world.

Vampire Owl: We are also nocturnal creatures of the shadows.

Vampire Bat: We are the shadow warriors, but we are not shadows.

Vampire Owl: Shadows are still our allies, and they even provide warnings.

Vampire Bat: Allies do not make us. We are better than that.

Vampire Owl: The shadows will keep us safe.

Vampire Bat: Not just the shadows, we shall stay in the dark forever.

[Gets a masala bonda and three cups of mint tea].

What is the movie about? :: Kabir Rishi (Ajay Devgn), a chartered accountant, his wife Jyoti Rishi (Jyothika), daughter Jahnvi Rishi (Janki Bodiwala) and son Dhruv Rishi (Anngad Raaj) decides to take a break from their busy routine, and spend some time at their farmhouse in the outskirts of Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Jahnvi is hoping to end this trip as soon as possible, and go on her on tour with friends, especially her boyfriend. On the way, at a dhaba, they come across a man named Vanraj Kashyap (R Madhavan), who offers them tea when they do not have change. He seems to be a nice person who shows the photo of his daughter and gives friendly advice. He also gives Jahnvi who does not want to have roti and tea, a laddu which she accepts happily. He also leaves her with a few biscuits, much to the dismay of Jyoti. As they reach the farmhouse, they are surprised to find Vanraj following them there. They also find out that Jahnvi had invited him inside the house, and he sits there on the couch as a guest.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: He only asks for a cup of tea and charger for the phone, but soon, Janhvi ends up threatening her brother under his influence, which makes Kabir and Jyoti ask him to leave immediately, to which he disagrees. Before Kabir can push him out, Janhvi under Vanraj’s command stops him. Vanraj says that he has hypnotized Janhvi using black magic, and that she will obey every instruction he gives. To prove his control, he orders her to repeatedly stand and sit, and she does the same robotically. To make them believe in the extremes of his power, he makes her take a tea packet and eat raw tea leaves. He also makes Janhvi slap her father and make her laugh and cry. As she is asked to jump into the swimming pool and stay underwater until he tells her, the parents understand the grave situation. As the frightened family gives him the mobile phones as told, he makes Janhvi destroy all the phones in the house, cutting off their communication with the outside world. Now the question remains about what does he plan to do, and what does he want from the family.

The defence of Shaitaan :: The movie rests on the shoulders of Janki Bodiwala who brings a performance that nobody would ever forget, as she alternates between her character’s own personality and that of a hypnotized mind, as we see her helplessness and determination to commit a task according to an order at the same time, and moving between the two. Madhavan’s alternation between the gentleman and pure evil entity is not that far behind either, as his evolution as an actor is seen again, but we know that he could have also done the father-figure to perfection if given that role. The movie keeps us closer to the situation, because we know that it is indeed a usual family in trouble, even though a little bit too bourgeoisie for many, with the main character driving a Benz Car and owning a huge farmhouse in a hill station besides his original home in the city. The feelings that we have for the family is much more as we can relate to them, at least most of us. The danger is always there, with the younger child closest to death than any other, even though I would consider all lives as equal whether that of children or the elders – I am not a robot to calculate how much more they will live and be useful to society or turn into murderous psychopaths.

Positives and negatives :: The movie might not be appreciated as doing as good as the original, but we know that it is true for all Bollywood adaptations, a case which is best depicted in the works od Priyadarshan, as the original Malayalam movies were all classics which can have no match, certainly none with nepotism factor taking around, like in the case of that remake of Helen. The idea of the original version would always stay strong, and with this one made on a bigger budget and made to suit the spoon-fed and feel-good-seeking audience, some of the soul of a dark movie would be left out – we know what the Bollywood have been involved in making big blockbusters, and so the taste difference would be looked at by the makers who remake works. But the movie has its tension perfectly built and the danger felt from within, with no exaggeration. Each and every moment in the house seems to be perfectly created, and the cast nicely adapts to the same. The satanic touch brings the terror as the movie shifts its world by the end really well.

The performers of the soul :: Janki Bodiwala is the one person who steals the show, long above the veteran stars who surrounds her, and it is no surprise as her character stays at the centre and decides too many outcomes. She had also played the same character in the original movie, and that experience seems to count. This work will establish her as one of the best among the future stars of Bollywood, and maybe could have a hand in another regional cinema too. She has the biggest moments of the film to perform, like the one where sits on the gas cylinder, dancing without end and those smiles and laughs for no reason which are truly spooky. Madhavan might have played the best villain in a horror movie, and let us hope that the ending of Hindi version does not spoil his chance to bring a sequel with him in it. The way in which he gives instructions and talks about his own greatness provides us with the chills. Ajay Devgn and Jyothika plays the helpless parents who still struggle to make things happen and save their family quite well. As the former nicely manages to bring the heroic father to the scene, let’s see what the next sequel of Drishyam brings, as Bollywood is ready take the script from the Malayalam version, and Tamil, Telugu and other versions would be waiting.

How it finishes :: Shaitaan, as a remake of the 2023 Gujarati film Vash, makes a fine impact, even though most of us have not watched the original. But from what has been heard, the original is more of the classic, but as we only have this one around here, and it is very well-made, despite the ending seemingly not that special compared to the original. There is a haunting and satisfying feeling about it, with that strength which is rarely seen in pure horror movies of Bollywood, even though movies like Stree and its sequel had made horror comedy working better. The best horror of pure seriousness was done well by Bollywood quite long ago, and most of the time there were only movies like 3G and Murder which only partially did the job. But this one will surely achieve a legendary status, despite being an adaptation of an older film. Remakes will work very well if done in the right manner, and this one proves it. This is also a proof for the fact that you do not need to keep looking at Hollywood for horror every time, and basic elements for the same working out is right here, with us.

Release date: 8th March 2024
Running time: 132 minutes
Directed by: Vikas Bahl
Starring: Janki Bodiwala, Ajay Devgn, R Madhavan, Jyothika, Anngad Raaj

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Stree 2

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Vampire Owl: What do you know about this particular demon?

Vampire Bat: I can say nothing because I did not see the first part.

Vampire Owl: There are no demons that you do not know.

Vampire Bat: There are witches that I do not know.

Vampire Owl: This one has a witch at the centre, that too a good-looking one?

Vampire Bat: There is a lot of magic in here, and for that, we can use witches.

Vampire Owl: Magic and monsters are not always related.

Vampire Bat: You are talking about the monsters of science.

Vampire Owl: We have left that one with Alien Romulus. Even with the possibility of advanced necromancy.

Vampire Bat: Science has the bigger monsters, especially of this age. The demons from outer space could make an entry

Vampire Owl: The vampires of science are also there.

Vampire Bat: Vampires will never be related to science. They are exact opposites, like the white and black witches from the other side.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein has made sure about that with his research which has no parallel in this world or the other including the shadow world.

Vampire Bat: Well, we do not need to go back to that pseudo doctor.

Vampire Owl: You earlier called Mr. Frankenstein a pseudo scientist.

Vampire Bat: I cannot wait to see that man being thrown out of laboratory.

Vampire Owl: You continue to be disrespectful to him, despite the great inventions which he has made for our people instead of those evil humans.

Vampire Bat: I do not have a reason not to be so.

Vampire Owl: Well, you will soon find his greatest invention above your head.

Vampire Bat: What would that be? A cap? A hat? A cloud of blood?

Vampire Owl: You will know soon enough after watching this movie.

Vampire Bat: This is our first movie in any Forum Mall.

Vampire Owl: And the newest Forum Mall which seems to be the best-looking shopping mall in the whole area.

Vampire Bat: Well, we have finally found the time. We were too busy to live in the last few months, but this time, we are all prepared to watch an interesting movie in one of the best multiplexes in the city right now. The fate has played well to bring us help.

[Gets a box with cheese popcorn and three chocolates and moves into theatre].

Vampire Owl: The strength of folktale is displayed so well.

Vampire Bat: The horror elements have blended nicely with the comedy.

Vampire Owl: Unlike Romancham, this is really a horror comedy.

Vampire Bat: Some elements seem forced, but seem to work even then.

Vampire Owl: Folktale has no limits, I would say, as we have seen where it has gained followers.

Vampire Bat: The original tale providing inspiration seems to be from Karnataka.

Vampire Owl: Yet, there are changes, and those seem to work well too.

Vampire Bat: Rajkummar Rao is indeed the actor to look out for yet again.

Vampire Owl: And Shraddha Kapoor blends in really well.

Vampire Bat: Among the next generation of actresses, she is indeed the best.

Vampire Owl: Pankaj Tripathi adds to the funny side really well, and some of the best moments seem to come from his side.

Vampire Bat: The supporting cast of Abhishek Banerjee and Aparshakti Khurana works well too, especially with the humour.

Vampire Owl: This universe seems to be interesting like the one which has reached Leo.

Vampire Bat: Yet, we understand everything without having watched the first movie.

Vampire Owl: The tale of the headless ghost sounds like something we know.

Vampire Bat: We remember Sleepy Hollow, but that one had the headless horseman.

Vampire Owl: Well, we can always be headless in our journeys like being fangless.

Vampire Bat: Vampires die without their heads, and a stake is not always a necessity.

Vampire Owl: Oh! I almost ended up donating mine to a noble cause.

Vampire Bat: You are one strange vampire, aren’t you?

Vampire Owl: Not as strange as the unexpected werewolf in this movie.

Vampire Bat: They are our immortal enemies, but is on the good side in this movie.

Vampire Owl: That was one extra cameo which seemed to be added just for the universe.

Vampire Bat: The terror feels real, and the addition of humour only makes things better. The ending seems to have the scope to offer more with a possible sequel.

Vampire Owl: So much of supernatural makes me feel better.

Vampire Bat: There were still times when this one could have had those grand moments.

Vampire Owl: The ending also feels too usual for our taste.

Vampire Bat: The final moments have us so close to inferno which seems to be the final terrifying destination to remember.

Vampire Owl: There is no hell that matches the basement of the castle. The area which burns like no other in a world of chaos.

Vampire Bat: We use that area for frying our chicken, and molten lava has been added in the last few years to bring more heat.

Vampire Owl: You mean there are Vampire Chicken? They have been present here all the time?

Vampire Bat: No, there is no immortal chicken yet. There have been applications, but none has been accepted yet by Uncle Dracula.

Vampire Owl: It is a good thing. Otherwise, Chicken Biryani would suffer in all territories, and there would be no great food towards infinity.

Vampire Bat: Shraddha Kapoor makes the favourite demon, that much I can assure you for now.

[Disappears into the darkness of the day with bats bringing the cover, as a feeling of night seems to come in].

This is the YouTube video with the fifth film review there. The video reviews have had the focus by attracting more viewers, and tries to make interesting comments about the selected movies. The writing will also go on through its path, but the visual side also has its say more than ever, as the YouTube channel “Scholar Nomads” intends to explore more areas of interest. For both blog and vlog, there will be film reviews and even more to be seen with new styles.

Release date: 15th August 2024
Running time: 149 minutes
Directed by: Amar Kaushik
Starring: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee, Aparshakti Khurana, Atul Srivastava, Mushtaq Khan, Sunita Rajwar, Anya Singh, Arvind Bilgaiyan, Bhoomi Rajgor, Sunil Kumar, Aakash Dabhade, Simran Sharma, Ajay Pal, Mustaqueem Khan, Badriprasad Chavan, Vipasha Arvind, Tamannaah Bhatia (cameo), Akshay Kumar (cameo), Varun Dhawan (cameo), Amar Kaushik (cameo)

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Chhorii

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Vampire Owl: More of interesting horror to be unleashed?

Vampire Bat: Yes, Dybbuk was a remake from our world, and this one is remade from another language and industry.

Vampire Owl: Some good original horror is always in need.

Vampire Bat: Horror can be original only in a limited way, as it is universal.

Vampire Owl: Unless we become the one true horror.

Vampire Bat: We are never truly into horror.

Vampire Owl: So, we are not into our true nature.

Vampire Bat: The normal terrifying vampire has already been abolished.

Vampire Owl: You mean that there is no normal anymore.

Vampire Bat: Normal is not real as of now, not in our realm.

[Gets some French fries and three cups of white tea].

What is the movie about? :: A pregnant woman is chased in a sugarcane field by unknown forces, and with nowhere to go, they force her to cut their womb. Later, in a city, Sakshi (Nushrratt Bharuccha) is pregnant, and works in an NGO, and lives with her husband Hemant (Saurabh Goyal), who is in trouble for not returning a loan in time, with his business failing. His partner had also disappeared with the money. He feels that he is being stalked by people who needs the money back. She is happy with her work and regarding life in the city, but things don’t get any better with the cash which was borrowed. As people start threatening them, with Hemant even getting beaten at times, this makes the city no longer a safe choice for living. They are given twenty four hours to return the money, and make the decision to leave for their driver’s village which is located in a very remote area, and has a good number of sugarcane fields. Three hundred kilometres away, and a lot distant from civilizations, there are only five houses in the village.

So, what happens with the events to follow? :: It seems that almost nobody comes there, even by mistake. They have to walk a long way through the sugarcane fields, and after almost losing the way multiple times, reach the area which has no network coverage and almost no shop. There, they meet Bhanno Devi (Mita Vashisht), the driver’s wife, a very orthodox woman who seems to be a person completely belonging to that particular village in more than one way. Hemant leaves the place soon enough, to find a solution to their financial problems, and the two women share a bond with each other. What Sakshi doesn’t understand is that there is more than what meets the eye with the people there, as much as the supernatural. Therefore, the fight will be against the dead, the undead and the living to save her world. But is it possible for her to face such terror in a weakened state? Do they have further secrets which needs to be unveiled for her life to be saved from what seems to be doom in waiting?

The defence of Chhorii :: Chhorii adds to the list of horror movies which are part of a human infested, virus infected world, which is not less terrifying than any film which one will get to see. The atmosphere here is really good, and it is really shot here to create the perfect situation for horror. It looks scary enough during the day time, and in darkness, it is something more. Being at the middle of nowhere, with no place to go, is terrifying enough, and there is more here to add to the same. It is certainly a scarier world than the lifeless modernity or a haunted house, with or without the presence of the supernatural. The presence of the children here adds to that eerie feeling more, for we are never hopeless about the terror of some demon kids. The background story which serves as the flashback gets things to be really interesting. The film also has a social message which runs through the background and comes strong in the final moments of the film.

The claw of flaw :: The movie can feel somewhat stretched for one’s liking, as it does feel long with much of time being consumed without a lot happening. With a shorter length, this could have been much more effective, adding a certain amount of crispiness here and there. The language spoken by the villagers can also be difficult to understand, leaving us to look out for the subtitles at regular intervals. The tale could have also been more straight-forward, without leaving the mysterious elements behind. The message also arrives late, and if it had released much earlier, the effect could have been more. The stereotyping and the predictable elements are also allowed to run strong around here. The scary elements could have been more, using the atmosphere to more of an advantage – there were so many moments which could have used better scares, and combined them with the atmosphere. The present world asks for a lot more horror than the pre-Corona world, as people have changed a little too much for everyone’s liking.

The performers of the soul :: The movie is very much centered and focused on Nushrratt Bharuccha. She is very much comfortable in playing the pregnant city woman who ends up in a village, all alone. She deals with the horror genre really well, and it would be nice to see her in a similar role with city horror at some later point. As this film is a remake of a Marathi horror film which released a few years, there would be comparisons, also related to the performances – only those who watched the original can comment further on the same. We know that Mita Vasisht from different movies in the past, and this one is no exception for her, as she runs through the whole thing without holding back. Pallavi Ajay, even though silent throughout the film, makes a strong presence. Yaaneea Bharadwaj plays the one ghost whom we would like for most of the time, and there seems to be a lot of work being put in there. Rajesh Jais plays the man with a mystery to him very well. Saurabh Goyal also does more than what his character seemed to be up to, in the beginning.

How it finishes :: At a time when life is full of horror, especially with humans mostly choosing the evil paths, the requirement for horror films never ends. The one movie that we remember while watching this is the English film, In the Tall Grass, with the environment, and also about an Indonesian film, Impetigore. This movie is also a reminder of humanity’s evil side, and it tells us that humans are always more evil than ghosts, going after their selfish needs all the time. There is so much of evil being repeated in our world, and the movie, even though focuses on the crimes on women, one has to say that the Corona virus infected world has seen too much of the same being done on different unsuspecting people. The film enters the world which has lost its humanity, and repeats its own favourite mistakes – the basic idea that human beings cannot be trusted, will only find a repetition here, as ghosts do have more quality than those who walk on Earth claiming as the superior living species.

Release date: 26th November 2021 (Amazon Prime Video)
Running time: 129 minutes
Directed by: Vishal Furia
Starring: Nushrratt Bharuccha, Mita Vashisht, Pallavi Ajay, Yaaneea Bharadwaj, Rajesh Jais, Saurabh Goyal

<— Click here to go to the previous film review.

<— Click here to go to the previous horror film review.

<— Click here to go to the previous popular film review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Dybbuk

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Vampire Owl: I am surprised that they have come up with a remake of Ezra after four years.

Vampire Bat: Yes, four years is a long time for a movie like Ezra.

Vampire Owl: Do you remember the last time when we had loved a Bollywood horror movie so much?

Vampire Bat: I am also not sure about that. We have been into Hollywood and other foreign language horror only.

Vampire Owl: I would like to know where this one stands in comparison with the original.

Vampire Bat: We had watched the original too long ago. Therefore, I am not sure if we can compare these well enough.

Vampire Owl: I only hope that our memories are as sharp as the vampire manual says.

Vampire Bat: I am sure that this one will have some difference, surely more than what the remakes like Drishyam have.

Vampire Owl: Ghosts need to be shown as somewhat different, because they are all not the same when at different places and affecting different people.

Vampire Bat: Well, maybe the demon of Ezra really needed another outing, and this one can serve it well, like vampires always needed.

[Gets some spicy tapioca chips and three cups of cardamom tea].

What is this remake of Ezra all about? :: The death of a Jew in Mauritius marks the end of a century old history of Jews in Mauritius – he was the last Jew around there, part of a group of Jews who had taken refuge in the island to escape persecutions and possible genocides. A mysterious box from the house goes missing, and soon, a local man is found dead without leaving any clues about the murder. It is indeed a strange case, and police hopes that something will lead them in the right direction. A newly married couple, Sam Issac (Emraan Hashmi) and Mahi Sood (Nikita Dutta) seems to be having a problem-free life until they move to Mauritius and the latter brings an antique box back to their new residence in the island. It is an isolated place, more or less like a holiday home, with no human to disturb them. But that would change soon enough, as what she brought back home as part of decorating the place turns out to be a Dybbuk box, which is supposed to be claimed by a Jewish demonic spirit called Dybbuk.

So, what happens next in this tale of horror out of a myth? :: Meanwhile, Sam is still working, as he is part of a company named Zayke, which deals with the disposal of nuclear waste from Europe. He feels that there is a certain amount of hallucination going on with her, as she had a miscarriage just some time ago. The spirit maintains all the qualities of the usual spirits, but is supposed to be among the most dangerous among them all. There is not much known about the same though, as there are not many Jews they know, with most of them migrating to Israel early enough. There would be strange things happening in the house very soon, and soon, a nightmare would begin for them. They think about getting rid of the box, but the spirit already has its place. To read the Hebrew inscription on the box, they contact a professor who gives them the translation. The same person also gives them the contact details of a rabbi who seems to be the only one who can help them. But are they moving in the right path against this particular evil spirit?

The defence of Dybbuk :: There is variety here, which this move inherits from its original, and there is quality in the looks too, with improvements there. The visuals are used well to create the horror advantage, and the darkness as well as the creepy elements are adjusted well with the use of sound effects, and these work really well in the first half to make us interested in a second half which promises further. The visuals of Mauritius nicely adds to the beauty in totality. There is also a lot in the story here, unlike the usual horror movies, and the creature that does the haunting around here is not among the usual ones, as the myth is comparatively new, especially for those who haven’t watched the original. There is the feeling of antiquity as well as a beauty not of this world being portrayed here. There is also that one twist that happens by the end, but that is not too innovative. But we do see that this one has a very slight edge over the original, and yet both remains the same in many elements as well as repeated scenes.

The claws of flaw :: It has to be noted that the evil spirit doesn’t have the terrifying presence that it had in the first half, being repeated in the second – the final exorcism, brings nothing huge, even though were always going for the big finish to lift the film in the end. There were so many possibilities with this movie with the new demon, and the unlimited number of chances are not used at all – it is kind of strange that the movie doesn’t take its opportunities as much as it could, just like the original didn’t. Dybbuk could have been scarier, and there is no doubt about that, with the original idea already being displayed on the big screen with the support of big sound systems – this one being released on Amazon Prime Video, there was the requirement of more power to keep the audience in fear and at the edge of their seats, but we see that such strength is not there, even though we can approve and appreciate the improvements which were made here. Yet, the background story of the spirit was better in the original.

Performers of the soul :: In a movie that has Emraan Hashmi as the protagonist, it is him who leads the way – in comparison with Prithviraj Sukumaran, one has to say that there has been some difference added to the role, but he has managed well, as he did the same in Chehre, the thriller which also released on Amazon Prime Video a few days ago. His affiliation with horror is here to stay, as it seems – there are a few other Malayalam films with certain thriller elements which could have him in the remake, one would feel. Nikita Dutta has come up with a very good performance as the lady in distress, being forced to be part of a demonic activity in which she is completely immersed. There is not much difference in her performance in comparison to the work in the original, but she does seems to have more emotions coming her way – there was the requirement to have a song like “Lailakame” for her too, with that much quality. The rest of the cast fills in well, and we have to look out for the Rabbis this time, and not the priests of the usual background – they have chosen the appropriate ones to play these roles too.

How it finishes :: There has a little shortage of horror movies in Malayalam movie industry, but Bollywood has chosen to remake this one, which is why, one can be sure that the Indian cinema as a whole, has the requirement is for more good horror. We do not have the need for more drama and more romance – there is so much of the same already, as well as those silly masala movies, and we need to move out of them whether with remakes or originals. Therefore, Ezra‘s remake is something which has to be appreciated, and the fact that there is no missing out here is a fine thing. Remaking a Malayalam movie can only mean good things for Bollywood, even though the exact opposite might not mean the same. As far as this film is concerned, the remake is done really well, and even with the limitations of the original maintained the same, there are a few moments which make this movie work as an improvement, with added visuals and special effects. So, Amazon Prime Video can be happy to have this one at a time when people are slowly just starting to think about choosing the theatres over OTT.

Release date: 29th October 2021 (Amazon Prime Video)
Running time: 152 minutes
Directed by: Jay K
Starring: Emraan Hashmi, Nikita Dutta, Darshana Banik, Pranay Ranjan, Denzil Smith, Ivan Sylvester Rodrigues, Vivana Singh, Sudev Nair, Manav Kaul, Yuri Suri, Vipin Sharma

<— Click here to go to the previous review.

<— Click here to go to the previous Hindi film review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Trapped

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Vampire Owl: Aren’t we all trapped? Isn’t that the reality of our world?

Vampire Bat: How are you trapped? You are wandering all around.

Vampire Owl: I am talking about being trapped in this body and this world.

Vampire Bat: Oh! So, you want to be dead and meet Lady Death to be with her again.

Vampire Owl: Yes, it is kind of like that. There is that certain need which doesn’t go away.

Vampire Bat: You do no the consequences of the same, don’t you?

Vampire Owl: Will I be locked in the top floor of the vampire castle like this particular person ended up?

Vampire Bat: No, unless you make the mistake of locking yourself in. I am sure that you can get out through the keyhole, invoking your inner vampire anyway.

Vampire Owl: Dude, my vampirism is rather inside out.

Vampire Bat: Well, you have to find your true inner vampire, and it is now or never.

[Gets three cups of strong tea with Mariegold biscuits].

What is the movie about? :: Shaurya (Rajkummar Rao) is not the most popular person in the company which he works and has very less number of friends. He has problems talking about his love to Noorie (Geetanjali Thapa), but finally when he manages to do the same, they are together – now the problem remains that they need to get married before she is forced to marry someone else. But before that, he needs to find a house for them live in, and he is just not able to do that with his small salary – both of them don’t earn enough together, and can’t afford to give advance to renting a new house in the locality. There seemed to be many choices earlier, but soon, he seemed to be running out of options, and as the clock seems to be moving so fast, he is prepared to be settled with anything. It is then that he gets what he wants, and feels that this is all going to work fine, but little does he know that it is only going to mess up everything further.

So, what happens next in the movie? :: The new place that he gets to stay is a room at the top floor of an apartment which is newly built, and is at a great height. It is not used for living, as there is some legal issues with its construction, and a case is pending at the court. It stands tall in the city, with no people within and around, as only one old security guard is there to look after the whole thing, and doesn’t really care what happens. So, renting out this place seems to be too easy for the young broker (Yogendra Vikram Singh) who is only happy to gain anything from the same. So, without letting the guard know about it, he just moves in with the essential things without telling his friends or anyone at the company, even his own lover. After he falls asleep, he wakes up late next morning, and in a hurry to get to his lover, goes out, and runs back to get his mobile which he had forgotten – but he had left the key outside the door, and ends up getting locked inside.

And what is to follow with this adventure? :: He finds that his mobile is on low battery, and quickly tries to make calls, but soon the battery gets to zero power, and it turns out that there is no electricity there either. There is no water supply either, and his attempts to break the lock as well as the door itself fails. He tries shouting, but nobody hears him from that far away, and his attempts at writing down things on a cardboard box reaches nobody – even when it reaches someone, it is taken only as a prank as everyone knows that nobody lives in the flat which is plagued by a court case. As days go on, he begins to have hallucinations, and decides to take more desperate measures to ensure his own survival. But the question remains how long he can go on like this, with no chance to communicate to the outside world about his hopeless situation, which gets more and more desperate every day? There is the need to act quickly, or he is done.

The defence of Trapped :: You will find Trapped in its own divergent mode to be effective right from the first moment all these things in the flat begin. This genre is not really something that brings our movies into the confort zone, neither does it do the same for the audience, but this one seems to have got the balance here. You feel the need to get the protagonist out as much as he does for himself – being a common caught in a terrible situation, his tale connects to us better than the others. It also shows the situation in a busy city where nobody cares for the others – it is to be noted that the nobody never really cared that the protagonist was missing and didn’t care to come looking for him – it is all work and nothing else in a busy world which has so less for the common man. We have that there will be hope for more at some other times, but there is none. Rajkummar Rao is undoubtedly the star here, as he makes things better every second, starting from that door getting locked. Geetanjali Thapa has a cute and smart presence in this one when she is there.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does have its slower moments in the middle, and the beginning actually feels rather too ordinary and interesting – it takes getting locked inside an apartment to make things interesting. One also wonders why people never really noticed the fire even in the night – something like that is possible in an abandoned building, and it had to be checked for, no matter where you are – these days, people are suffering from the terrible lack of curiosity, or are they not? It also reminds us of a number of survival thrillers, and you know the names without second thoughts, as they are that good. This won’t come close to being there with them though. It is also the same reason why you would want more with this movie, with more efforts to escape, and what else can be tried differently in an effective manner. The songs are not that interesting, but they are not to focused on.

How it finishes :: When you consider how well this movie seems to have been done, one can only wonder why it doesn’t get to release here with some publicity – we know that even if it is a good movie, the cast wouldn’t matter that much – we know how some of those Bollywood superstar movies run here without much of an audience leading to shows getting cancelled again and again, finally disappearing from the theatre list in less than a week. This type of movies need to have its trailers and posters all around here, and after getting that needed attention, can get to be watched by more people. Serious survival horror has had less attention in our world, and other than Warning which was taken from the much popular Hollywood movie, there is not much being even remotely close to being known to the public. We could have always used more, and it is surely nice to have this one around here. I am sure that we are going to have more of such divergence in the future, like there was with movies like Phobia and Raman Raghav 2.0.

Release date: 17th March 2017
Running time: 105 minutes
Directed by: Vikramaditya Motwane
Starring: Rajkummar Rao, Geetanjali Thapa, Yogendra Vikram Singh, Rahul Dutta , Malay Garg, Girish, Patrick Graham, Rajiv Khanna, Hawk McNab, Hardik Mehta, Rahul Patel, Anup Rupanwar, Shiladitya Sen, RN Shukla, Vivek Soni

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Phobia

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Vampire Owl: I hope that she doesn’t have vampirophobia. I really hope that she doesn’t.

Vampire Bat: I believe that the exact term for the same is sanguivoriphobia.

Vampire Owl: What? Who on Earth comes up with such strange names? Who even gets that at first attempt?

Vampire Bat: Well, they call it the fear for blood eaters.

Vampire Owl: How can someone actually eat blood? And we are vegetarian vampires; we have suitable replacements instead.

Vampire Bat: It doesn’t count. Humans are masters of generalisation, and they create opinions based on that.

Vampire Owl: We should have a phobia of them instead – unless they are all dead.

Vampire Bat: You are in no position to call an event which causes human extinction. They have to cause their own downfall.

Vampire Owl: It is something that I have always believed in.

Vampire Bat: Just make sure that Wonder Woman won’t murder you after naming you Ares, the God of War.

[Gets three cups of special tea with Tiger biscuits].

What is the movie about? :: Mehak Deo (Radhika Apte), a talented artist who is quite popular with her friends, attends almost every party in the town, becoming more of the popular girl in the city. But after being molested by a taxi driver on a terrible night, she develops the worst of agoraphobia, which keeps her away from public places and large groups, as she keeps herself inside the house and mostly in her room. Living in the same house as her sister Anusha (Nivedita Bhattacharya), it gets worse for everyone, as her actions remain more and more uncontrollable and unbearable for all. With the eccentric and unpredictable nature affecting Anusha’s little kid too, they all feel done with helping her, because it seems to be of no use, and Mehak herself doesn’t want to be treated, staying inside home without making an attempt to go out for months.

So, what happens next? :: Shaan (Satyadeep Mishra), Mehak’s good friend decides to help her, and gets her to an apartment which is empty for now after its previous occupant decided to move away. He hopes that this change, and life alone will be better for her, and she will start longing to meet people after this. At the new place, she seems to have some visions, and she feels that there is something sinister about these particular visions. She has two neighbours there with whom she gets to talk often, one of them being Nikki (Yashaswini Dayama), who is a graduate student who lives on the flat on the right, while on the left side, there lives Manu (Ankur Vikal) who had anger management issues and is using laughter to fight the same. The latter used to be in a relationship with a woman called Jiah Khurana (Amrit Bagchi) who had left the place.

And, what is to follow next in the adventure? :: It turns out that Jiah was living in the same apartment in which Mahek is living right now. Knowing that the girl had disappeared without telling anyone, and that there is no clue of where she is, Mahek begins to feel that there is a big mystery behind the same. She comes up with the idea that an angry Manu had killed Jiah and has hidden her body in his apartment. Mehak also feels that her visions are from Jiah’s spirit which is trying to tell her something about the demise. Shaan feels that this is all part of her disease, and that she is having so many hallucinations. Her psychiatrist (Faezeh Jalali) also confirms that Mahek’s condition is worsening every day, and there is not much that can be done unless she is taken to a mental asylum. But Nikki is curious, and decides to help Mehak in finding the truth behind the missing girl. Now the question remains about what really is the truth here.

The defence of Phobia :: There is one thing about which you can be cent percent sure, and it is that Phobia won’t be like any other movie which you have seen in Bollywood, and in psychological horror, it explores more territories, and most of these areas are divergent. The story is nicely presented right from the beginning, and it keeps you wondering what is happening, and what is to follow. The visuals nicely match the overall mood of the movie, and there are some scenes which are particularly great and deserves our attention. Radhika Apte is once again too good, as you would expect her to be – she is that kind of an actress who has more in store for us than anyone from Bollywood, and it is a fact that you just can’t ignore. There are moments from her which you are going to remember for so long. The next one to make the impact is Yashaswini Dayama who keep the curious college girl act going on very nicely.

The claws of flaw :: One can say without doubt that Phobia is not a movie for everyone; I am sure that it might have already been established by many others in one way or the other which randomly talking about the flick. There are also logic flaws in this movie, and her living alone in the flat is nothing less than strange, and having a knife near her when she goes into the virtual reality is rather comfortable. The way in which the mystery is finally solved is also rather strange, when it could have taken a rather direct approach. The climax had potential to be something more, and for some reason, it chooses not to live up to the fantastic build-up in the first half, and finish the movie on a high. The audience is left clueless on a lot of occasions, and more scary moments could have been built regarding the neighbour and other residents of the apartments. When you have an apartment where someone with a mental problem living alone, there is always scope for more.

How it finishes :: Phobia demands that you take things differently, and get your thinking procedure to go another way, which has almost no relation with a regular Bollywood movie; all that those movies are, this movie is not. It is where movies like Phobia and Raman Raghav 2.0 scores, and it is also what we strive to have. Otherwise, Bollywood can only focus on biopics, and tales inspired from real life incidents like Neerja, Rustom and Airlift, which they need to keep the ship sailing in the right direction. It is during such times that this movie does go against the flow, and what we can do is to appreciate the effort and watch this movie without second thoughts about how it will make us feel, and how well it can relate when we haven’t watched similar movies before.

Release date: 27th May 2016
Running time: 99 minutes
Directed by: Pavan Kirpalani
Starring: Radhika Apte, Yashaswini Dayama, Satyadeep Mishra, Ankur Vikal, Nivedita Bhattacharya, Amrita Bagchi, Faezeh Jalali, Salone Mehta, Arush Nand, Dinyar Tirandaz, Amit Kumar Pandey, Malhar Goenka

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Raman Raghav 2.0

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What is the movie about? :: The movie makes it clear that it is not about Raman Raghav a.k.a. Psycho Raman who was a famous serial killer, who unleashed terror in the city of Mumbai in the 1960s. About fifteen years later, another serial killer named Ramanna (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) who seems to follow the same kind of methods, starts his work in the same city. His way of operating is rather strange, and the police has not much clue about what his operations are. His list of victims only get longer, and it also includes Ramanna’s own sister, Lakshmi (Amruta Subhash) who is living with her husband (Ashok Lokhande) and their only son. She reluctantly lets him stay and cooks him food, only to get into an argument with the family. She leaves the place and comes back to take their money as well as kill them all one after the other.

So, what happens next? :: Ramanna is not the kind of person who has any kind of remorse for his actions, and he is surely not the kind of man who thinks twice about what he is to do. He is the worst kind of serial killer whom one could have on their trail. Even after being caught by the police and questioned, there is nothing that comes out of him, and he even escapes with the help of some local boys, thanks to the natural acting that comes to him. ACP Raghavan Singh (Vicky Kaushal) is in charge of the investigation, and has no real clue until finding the photo of Ramanna on the scene of crime, where Ramanna had murdered his sister. He figures out that the man whom they had apprehended a few days earlier has some kind of connection with these brutal murders which have been happening all around the city, keeping the residents terrified.

And, what is to follow next in this tale of terror in the streets? :: Even as he puts a tough cop act all the time, and seems to be righteous cop looking after criminal when someone looks from outside, Raghavan Singh is a a troubled person in his mind, having an unparalleled addiction to drugs, and has an even more terrible anger management issue. He is in a relationship with Smrutika Naidu (Sobhita Dhulipala) at whose place she is staying. It is another terrible relationship that they are having, with him forcing her to have more than one abortion after she keeps getting pregnant as he has his way as he likes. He also has no shame in beating her, but she stays faithful to him, and refuses to go home even after her family hopes for her return. Raghavan gets obsessed with catching Ramanna to such an extent that his issues deepen, and Ramanna at the same time, keeps an eye on the investigating officer – where does this game end?

The defence of Raman Raghav 2.0 :: The dark and terrifying avatar is given more and more life as the movie progresses, and then there is the other side which gets rather scarier. You feel the power of darkness in this movie, and there is so much of energy throughout the flick, thanks to the two main performers. It successfully makes you depressed and leaves you disturbing, with not much hope in the world of chaos. Humanity is surely capable of terrible things, and a lot of these capabilities are there right from the beginning, and are further powered by upbringing and the society. We keep wondering what is to happen next, and we are always interested to know how it all ends, or reach a new beginning. It takes only one serial killer to inspire more, and lets hope that Ramanna becomes our Hannibal to bring more of such movies which can prove to be even better. The final twist is something that breathes life like no other.

The claws of flaw :: There is no doubt that we had expected more from a movie like Raman Raghav 2.0 with its cast and the people who are the helm. We feel that a certain amount of hollowness do exist at times, and this one isn’t that much focused on what we would have been hoping to see with a police officer after a serial killer – this one has almost nothing about the investigation about the murderer. More focus could have been on the characters, and they could have had origin tales, even at the cost of the movie going longer – there are some parts of the movie which could have been cut down to provide space for more of the tale. This kind of movies should have more action, thrilling sequences and deeper story-line which should make us wish to remember the tale more than once; but the focus of Raman Raghav 2.0 seems to be rather a little too much divergent. Then there is the violence – nobody is a role model here.

Performers of the soul :: There is Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vicky Kaushal doing a fantastic job in this movie, which surely keeps things going strong. We keep wondering when we will see more of them with movies which get the wider release here. If it was more about the former in the beginning, the latter of Masaan fame takes it to the next level in the second half towards the end. You will also notice Sobhita Dhulipala and Amruta Subhash, as two actresses who brings some great performances in two of the best sequences of the movie. The one thing about Bollywood is that these names which are not regularly talked about as superstars are the real actors and acting stars – I really hope that their movies get release in every theatre here rather than those which brings the crowd; if I was running a theatre, I would run a special show for sure, no matter how much of box-office collection such movies are to bring.

How it finishes :: The movie leaves one with the message that everyone has the tendency to be bad, or rather evil, as it is the inherent evil in man which has more certainty to it than anything else. It is the situation that brings the worst out of people, whether they are branded good or bad. The hopeless state of humanity is directly or indirectly reflected in this movie, which struggles to find goodness which seems to fade away further and further as the flick progresses, and by the end of this, we have lost almost all hope in mankind – it is the ultimate truth, right? We do our best, and still we live in a society which is all about money and power, and the need for it as well as the possession of it, will only turn more people against each other. Evil is so easy, right? Being good is so difficult, especially with a new generation caught inside more than one kind of addiction. Raman Raghav 2.0 has that kind of protagonists, and we know that there is a good chance that we are all going to die an early, terrible death considering where the world is going.

Release date: 24th June 2016
Running time: 127 minutes
Directed by: Anurag Kashyap
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vicky Kaushal, Sobhita Dhulipala, Amruta Subhash, Vipin Sharma, Ashok Lokhande, Harssh A. Singh, Anuschka Sawhney, Hitesh Dave, Rajesh Jais, Kalidas Parthitan, Rhea Pagar, Arun Singh

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

NH10

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Vampire Owl :: I heard you were not anywhere close to here, and just a few hours ago, you were watching a movie here?

Vampire Bat :: Yes, I was on a trip, but now I am here, and I am back after watching NH10.

Vampire Owl :: I saw the SMS and thought you were travelling through NH10.

Vampire Bat :: You make too many guesses. You even read conclave as con-cave, and delegate as Delhi Gate. You need to think about this seriously.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, we owls find our own meanings and spellings rather than be dominated by any bat community. Do you know what the werewolves are doing these days?

Vampire Bat :: Don’t you think that we are too divided instead of becoming one Night Creature nation?

Vampire Owl :: Yes, the werewolves were the first to invent the Wolfine tapioca chips maker, which is one of the reasons why they think they are a superior community.

Vampire Bat :: First to invent what?

Vampire Owl :: You won’t understand. It is a complete wolf thingy. I am still working on it with the experts.

Vampire Bat :: Can you just go and watch this movie which I recommend?

[Leaves for the tea shop].

What is it about? :: Meera (Anushka Sharma) and Arjun (Neil Bhoopalam) are part of the metropolis and have their lives among the skyscrapers. But after an incident involving a number of unknown men at night, Meera is traumatized and even gets a gun for protection. But as they go on a trip to make up for the trauma, things only get worse. As they stop at a restaurant, a woman asks Meera for help. But she refuses and the unidentified girl and her lover are soon taken away by a group of goons despite Arjun trying to interfere. As they continue on their trip, Arjun notices the car of these people and gets out of the car to follow them hoping to scare them with the gun and thus stop them, despite Meera’s protests. But things change as they witness a case of honour killing, and it is then they are the ones who are hunted, and there might not be enough bullets in the gun for all villains.

The defence of NH10 :: This is like the first full horror slasher movie of India with a message. The movie keeps asking the question if people are actually safe beyond the lands where law has a role to play – are women safe? Does the weak or the less privileged ones, both men and women has a role to play in a society which is becoming more violent and mindless even in a modern world? How long is the list of the modern age subaltern? Is there a certain kind of automatic mindwashing that goes on which makes one hate the other religion or community? Shouldn’t human life be the most valuable thing and not rules or community/religious beliefs? Yes, the questions are endless. What this movie also brings is some violence which mostly stays off the screen, which is actually a nice idea. The thrills are always present and the twists also arrive to make the desired impact. This is also realistic for most of the run-time.

The Claws of Flaw :: The movie’s ending is rather dull, with just some adrenaline rush and everything finishes with the revenge. I did feel that it should have been better thought out and executed in a more interesting manner than quickly going through it. There are also some dumb actions done by the characters, about which I won’t talk much to give too much of the idea out. The songs are ridiculous, and it is totally unnecessary in a movie like this – why would they even think about putting music in between is totally beyond my comprehension, and if those songs were at least good for something, we could have at least be happy to listen to them separately. The darkness doesn’t look that good too, and it could have been better handled with some of the camera shots.

Performers of the soul :: Anushka Sharma manages to come up with a fantastic job and this is the kind of role that I haven’t seen her playing before. She has that scared look on her face for most of the movie, and then there is the anger, frustration and the moment when she knows that she needs to have that revenge – she looks so good. I haven’t watched all her movies, but I find it easy to say that this might be her best performance, and that much is the mark that she leaves on us. Yes, I can’t claim perfection, because there are dumb things that her character does, just like the others – something that the horror slasher movies cannot live without; Hollywood has its horror character doing similar things. She is too good here, and the rest of the characters seem like those of lesser power.

Soul exploration :: The question asked here is about the difference between what is built as an utopia in the cities and the dystopia outside the boundaries of the metropolis, that we see as a universe of development. Are we looking to divide the known world into two, one of development and the other hardly seeing any? I have been thinking about the same during a number of visits that I have made around India – why is the gap too much? Shouldn’t the difference in development be not that much? Shouldn’t we strive to fly high above the differences? And honour killings in this century – it is a strange world, indeed as there is absolutely no honour in killing. Human life should be the most valuable thing of them all. There is no substitute for it; each person has the right to life, no matter how he lives his or her personal life.

How it finishes :: NH10 doesn’t seem to have attracted that many audience here, but that shouldn’t define the quality of this movie. That may be because this was not the kind that they had expected. It has been some time since I watched a movie at the theatre, and tomorrow, it is to be a month since I have reviewed a movie here – I couldn’t let that happen, and so here is the review. This is also the last day on which I can watch this movie because it will change here on Friday and no remains of this movie shall be left here. I would suggest that those who still have this movie at their nearby theatres do give it a try, because it shows that there is promise coming from this year, as we have already watched and were impressed by Baby. It is not flawless, but it is a good and interesting deviation from the regular Bollywood – you don’t get to watch movies like this too often.

Release date: 13th March 2015
Running time: 115 minutes
Directed by: Navdeep Singh
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Neil Bhoopalam, Darshan Kumar, Deepti Naval

nh10

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Warning

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There are only two Hindi movies which I have watched on the first day, first show in a multiplex. The first one was Aurangzeb, and the second one is this movie. This is also the first Hindi movie and the second Indian movie which I am watching in 3D, and there are n prizes for guessing which was the first, for it was the first 3D movie from South India as well as from India. Did this movie deserve my attention? Well, I thought that this was going to be India’s answer to Jaws or Deep Blue Sea. But later, it was revealed that this one is more of an Open Water inspired flick. But while watching the movie, it clicked that this was mostly Open Water 2: Adrift. So, there was the need to watch India’s first underwater 3D thriller a.k.a the first of possible shark movies in the future. The reasons to go for the first show were many, but I have to be clear about something, which is the fact that this is surely more entertaining than Open Water 2: Adrift, but I wouldn’t use the word “better”, for that is highly debatable. I would recommend this with confidence for those who haven’t watched the original. Well, I watched this one for a ticket worth eighty rupees and this is more than just worth that money. Forget the critics who are going to bash this one, my dear friends, just know that we need this movie, and we need variety.

Yes, they are obviously not right about this one, or may be they have their own personal reasons for not liking it, but from a neutral point of view, this is a copy which has been well recreated. If we make a comparison to that original, that may have had other things for support including being more realistic and being the first one to come to light, this one has entertainment, and some surprisingly above average performance from the cast who are quite unknown for me. It looked like they had tried very well. From an unbiased viewpoint, what does one expect from a movie like this, and what is there that this movie doesn’t provide? There is no denying the fact that there might not have been this movie without the original, and there are no big surprises added to the same except for some typical Bollywood melodrama. The movie is thrilling, and engaging throughout. My dear cynics, please try to find the positives, and the name of the movie is not Open Sea 2, its Open Water 2, as I have noticed that mistake in some of the reviews, so if you are going to watch the original, please don’t remain misinformed and search for Open Water or Open Water 2: Adrift.

I have never been that much of a fan of Open Water franchise as I was the fan of Jaws and Deep Blue Sea. But Warning surely keeps the common man interested. There can be the typical argument that there is nothing that really happens except for them staying in water for most of the time, and the most probable theory that there is not much added to the original. Well, let me tell you a few things, Zinda was a fine little brother of Oldboy and the Malayalam movie Cocktail was a good twin brother to Butterfly on a Wheel, even as the Prithviraj starrer Anwar couldn’t be a good brother to Traitor even as there is an attempt to create a difference and be a worthy brother. In that case, Warning is a very good brother to Open Water 2: Adrift, and may be the bigger of the two twin brothers. So what should I do more? Should I go to 1579 and get the much needed blessings from Philip Sidney writing An Apology for Poetry and do the same for this movie if and only if this movie doesn’t get the attention as the harbinger of change into Indian movie industry? Or should I be Alexander Pope or John Dryden and cast a web of support poetry for this work which no spider has managed to weave even in its most gigantic form?

May be I shall go back to 1821 and meet Percy Bysshe Shelley instead. Well, lets not deny the fact that the Vampire Bat belongs to all ages, but that age of literature is far gone now, and he is just a nocturnal creature who doesn’t own a time machine. Now he stands before this movie called Warning, which deserved a better first day first show in the multiplexes than just a few people sitting on the corners of the small world of what they called Screen Nine. Did our movie lose out in marketing, I would wonder. No, this doesn’t have adult-rated comments or bed-room scenes which seems to be necessary these days, but it does have guys who remain shirtless, and women in bikinis. Well, the viewers need that, and no wonder Phata Poster Nikhla Hero is having a tough time compared to the movies like Grand Masti. Well, Warning has its own skin show, but none of them desperate enough and thus keeps the adult certificate away. It has a group of good looking people among its cast, and the best thing is that they can act too. I might have missed this one for Elysium which released here on the same day, and I guess I shall end up having watched both.

Gunjan Dutta (Madhurima Tulli), Anshul Chobey (Varun Sharma), Sabina Sanyal (Manjari Fadnis), Aman Puri (Sumit Suri), Taranjit Bakshi (Santosh Barmola), Deepak Sharma (Jitin Gulati) and Jeanine Getaux (Susana Rodrigues) are the seven friends who are having some great moments on a yacht in Fiji as part of a get-together. Deepak is Sabina’s husband and Jeanine is Taran’s girlfriend who remains the eye candy for the group much to the jealousy of Gunjan, and the only married couple has brought their baby daughter Sara with them. As the guys follow the girls into water in the middle of nowhere in the sea, Taran throws Sabina into the sea to get rid of her fear for being in water along with jumping himself, not before pushing the button to lower the stairs into the water. But is then known that his friend had already pushed the button for bringing the stairs down and himself pushing on it has brought it up instead. They are caught in the water with only a dog left on board which also jumps into water as a result of their attempt to catch its attention. Gunjan tries to stand on their shoulders and climb up, and they also try making a rope with their clothes and sending her up, but she falls down to cause injury, the blood bringing the attention of sharks, as the baby cries from the yacht.

The movie’s cast is basically about the seven people who are stranded in water, and even as they are not familiar faces, all of them has performed fine considering the situation which they are up against. Suzana Rodrigues is the undisputed eye candy, and even as Manjari Fadnis seems to be the typical character who gets all the attention, it is Madhurima Tuli who has the more significant roles to perform, along with staying pretty and gorgeous throughout. She looks particularly good with that short hair cut. She is the one who makes the first attempt to safety and she herself is chosen for the next, and it is her who takes that risk of being dead or saving them all just before the final moments of the movie. In many ways, her character is more dynamic than all the others out there, and one might have to say the same thing about beauty. The cinematography is incredibly beautiful and there is the lovely Fiji right before your eyes after what you saw in 3G and Table No. 21. The 3D is also fine even as the need for the same is questioned on some occasions, but there is no question about the beauty of the visual imagery that is generated, as well as on the music and the songs.

So what can we make of the title Warning? There is no real warnings given out in the movie, and so we can conclude that it is more about being warned about those people who shall intentionally give negative reviews about this movie. Warning is a tale of survival which was never tried in Bollywood, and it has to appreciated for the efforts so that some better and original ideas shall come up later. We have approved Go Goa Gone, and it is time we give scope for the other genres which are unknown to this part of the world. This is the time to get rid of the stupid masala action movies, adult comedy entertainers and ridiculous romantic retardness and grow up to variety which needs some imitation in the beginning which can later be developed into original ideas. It is shot in an amazing manner underwater and there is suspense built slowly and steadily, and it has done its duty to the original. Yes, we can blame its predictability, and most of us know the story already, but this movie is a welcome change as well as welcoming change, and if we deny it the right to be a success, we bombard ourselves with typical romantic bullshit, adult comedy and masala action, and in a few years, we will have only ourselves to blame for nonstop nonsense.

Release date: 27th September 2013
Running time: 109 minutes
Directed by: Gurmmeet Singh
Starring: Madhurima Tuli, Manjari Fadnis, Santosh Barmola, Suzana Rodrigues, Varun Sharma, Jitin Gulati, Sumit Suri

warning! copy

@ Cemetery Watch
✠The Vampire Bat.

Go Goa Gone

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In this world touched by the vampires of the last century and dominated by the not-at-all scary pseudo-vampires powered by works like Twilight, zombies have been forced to take the back-seat. Some would say that it is deserving to be so, and that is al they need, but without solid proof. Still, it would not be wrong if one says that this is more of a racist prejudice against a species which is on its very first stages of understanding the new world after being dead and back as a new person with a little brain as big as a vampire fang. We had seen Zombieland, the 2009 zombie comedy movie making enough fun of the poor creatures of the grave who are just trying to listen to their basic instinct of survival, that is to feed. So, what happens is that instead of finding a flesh and blood substitute for them with the use of what is at their hands, the so called heroes just murder them, not always on self-defence, sometimes as a routine thing. In Zombieland, our heroes take an extended road trip across the United States in an attempt to find a place free from the zombies, and Go Goa Gone is also a trip, and it is another zombie comedy, thus starting a number of similarities there. They should end when they both get positive critical reviews and become good commercial success stories – our movie has to go a little more to be sure about it, but for now, and from what it seems to be, it is surely on its way to becoming a success by all means.

Zombies are typically depicted as mindless, re-animated corpses with a never-ceasing hunger for human flesh and at times for the flesh of a few other creatures, with a special liking for human brains which tastes more like fried rice, and with blood added to it, they have enough flavour. A vampire is basically a re-animated corpse that is believed to rise from the grave at night to suck the blood of the unsuspecting humans; this never-ceasing thirst for human blood and at times the blood of some other creatures, with a special liking for fresh blood of beautiful women which tastes more like strawberry shake with a blood topping. Forget the vampires of Twilight, as they don’t count – they are just mutated humans with superpowers which can only be maintained by drinking human blood; a case of just random parasites of the world. The zombies can trace their popularity to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, while the vampires can trace theirs to Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It is basically John Polidori’s 1819 work, The Vampyre that got the vampire into the spotlight, while Mary Shelley’s 1818 work had already got the world’s first official zombie for the common man to understand. Did he eat human brains? No, but he did eat the brains of his own creator, and that is nothing less than cannibalism in an intellectual manner. Thanks to 28 Days Later and the never-ending series of Resident Evil movies and games, the zombies have finally found their address, in a different way, but not by losing their identity as in Twilight – not by choosing to sparkle rather than being what they really are.

It is known that they are both undead supernatural humanoids who hunts humans to please their instincts. In return, both are usually killed by burning or decapitating. They are both originally the creatures of the night and the undisputed rulers of the grave. The infection is spread and more of their kind is created by biting and infecting the wounds. They usually lack souls and are on the side of evil on a long scale which stretches from pure good to pure evil. zombies can walk in sunlight; vampires can only come out at night. But while zombies continue to decay and continues to lose their body parts, even as they won’t really mind it, vampires are preserved with their looks for eternity unless destroyed by an outside force. The zombies work solo even if they come in hordes – they don’t use nature, creatures or other fiends for help. The difference in looks and the food habits is evident. While zombies move slowly, vampires are incredibly fast. The violence in zombies is passive, but disheartening, as in vampires, it is active and still precise enough with the fangs on the neck of the victim. As zombies continue their mindless walk, vampires can use intellect as well as the superpowers, may be even shape-shift into animals like bats. Whatever is said, they are both still dead, but still moving, and they belong to the other side of the mirror, no matter how much Twilight try to make them assimilated.

Considering the movies like I am Legend and 30 Days of Night, there is surely a mixing of the two in history; forget Underworld‘s vampire-werewolf combination, this is more like that feasible undead combination. The origin through the death of the supreme evil men is one theory, but a virus infection seems to be more suitable to the age these days – zombies have been enslaved to this notion for more time than expected, while vampires also got themselves the scientific side with Daybreakers. Zombies are still scarier than vampires for the new age fans, as the latter have been portrayed in a romantic light not only in Twilight, but also in True Blood. Well, everybody needs their own dose of fear, and if vampires and witches can provide them no more, one has to turn to the zombies. There is always more than one side to horror; for more than it scares you, it rather prepares you for the worse which is to come. In the case of a horror comedy, it does the same without the problems of being that much scared. When Evil Dead didn’t release in India, it was a clear lose to the common horror fan. Whatever the reason might be, it is a clear case of absolute cruelty to a movie watcher to which many people should be answerable. Our movie is horror, comedy and the much needed experiment in this field for a movie industry which hasn’t really ventured to such a world before. Therefore, it is my privilege to welcome all of you into this world of zombies which is closer to the world of vampires than Twilight and True Blood.

The movie is the story of three friends, Hardik (Kunal Khemu), Luv (Vir Das), Bunny (Anand Tiwari). The first one needs a break from work, the second one a time away to deal with his break-up, and the third one has a presentation in Goa, which means that the first two accompany the third so that they can utilize all the facilities which are available to the more nerdy of the three as he goes for the presentation. In Goa, the whole scene takes a wrong turn when Luv meets the gorgeous Luna (Puja Gupta) in a violet bikini at the swimming pool and loses his broken heart once again. She introduces herself as one of his many facebook friends whom he rarely knew, and invites him for a special Russian party at an island not too far away. The party is hosted by a supposed-to-be-Russian guy named Boris (Saif Ali Khan) who is launching a special party drug, a prototype from Russia during this bash. The three friends have good time at the party. But what happens is that almost everyone on the island seems to turn into zombies on the very next day. Bunny even ends up telling a zombie girl to brush teeth before they meet up. As they slowly realize the hell that has come down on the island, Luv talks about saving Luna, to which Hardik replies that he will buy him a better Luna; the Kinetic Luna is always memorable isn’t it? They find Luna and are almost killed when Boris arrives in time to save them. Now, they have to survive, kill some dead people and get out of the island.

Kunal Khemu and Vir Das has complimented each other and has done a great job as the extremely lazy guys who argue so much about who will pick up the remote control andchange the television channel. They drink, smoke and run after girls with no interest in their works. They create the major part of fun in the movie, mostly with their lines. The third friend Bunny, played by Anand Tiwary, is just the opposite, as he is the nerd and he never gives an opinion otherwise. Saif Ali Khan steals the show from the moment he makes his first shot at a zombie. The Russian gangster is surely going to be a model for many characters in the future. He says “I kill dead people” and delivers. Along with the two friends in crime, he gets more of the better lines. He is an excellent zombie slayer and I hope he slays Twilight vampires too. Puja Gupta plays the gorgeous lady lead, and her arrival in the violet bikini marks the beginning of the twist, which would be complete on the very next morning. She transforms from the hot girl to the damsel in distress and then to the shotgun-murderer of the zombies by the end. She is undoubtedly a great addition to the beauty of Goa. Look out for the pool scene and when they take refuge in an abandoned house and try to figure out if one of them is really a zombie with question about Uganda and Mathematics. Go Goa Gone is undoubtedly a clever movie, and it is evident in the execution rather than everything else combined.

A week had the movie 3G as the big release, and here, two movies starting with alphabet G – 2Gs were the big releases from Bollywood, and this one would surely eclipse the other – after all, this movie has three Gs while the other has only one. Zombies would approve that it is reason enough for their success, running a full-time of 111-Nelson. The fun begins from the start itself, and it never ends; with the ending it has got, I would be looking forward to a sequel. This movie is what the Malayalam movie Kili Poyi could have been; with the heroes wandering around in Nee Ko Nja Cha style, the zombies add to the fun which is to be expected when the youth goes to Goa after a break-up and work-tension. Go Goa Gone is unlimited fun, and not your logically superior movie, but it still comes up with a strong message against the use of drugs. They have managed all of these and brought them together in such a manner that there is lots of blood and gore, and the zombie terror, still it is incredibly funny. The references to the movie Evil Dead, and the vampires and zombies of Hollywood just adds to the fun. Overall, it is non-stop entertainment without brains – for all the brains have been eaten by those zombies who are as hungry as any of the non-Twilight vampires a.k.a the real vampires.

Release date: 10th May 2013
Running time: 111 minutes
Directed by: Raj Nidimoru & Krishna D.K.
Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Puja Gupta, Kunal Khemu, Vir Das, Anand Tiwari

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠The Vampire Bat.

Table No. 21

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There are times when one has break the narrative and the flow, and come up with something which he missed in his writing, something which deserved to be there, but faded into the void even before threatening to make an impact. This would need a flashback and some scratching of the memories, and here comes one movie which was left out thinking that it was released in 2012 while remembering the dates from February when this blog was started, but actually the date was 4th January 2013 – but considering how good a movie it is, there is the need for it to be present here, and here I add this one to the middle of the others, almost like inserting the past into the present even as 2013 as a whole could be considered the present. This can be more considered as a guest, or a former tenant who couldn’t stay in the house enough to make it known to the neighbours and the people of the town or village. Well, Table No. 21 is much more than a simple tenant – it is more of an owner of its own genre, something which would be revealed more as we progress. Welcome to the group, forgotten movie – for you are to be remembered in this post with a status as good as the others, as belonging to the present, for you deserve it; this is more of a honorary status.

I am being lenient on this one considering my ignorance which was inflicted upon this so brutally, even as the brutality affects not even Mickey Mouse. The question would be more like how much brutal this movie can be – and how cruel the game master can be. Well, this is about a game, and that much should be certain for everyone who has read something about the movie. The unemployed couple Vivaan (Rajeev Khandelwal) and Siya (Tena Desae) gets a chance to visit Fiji. To add to the glory of visiting the beautiful islands, it is their wedding anniversary. But all the beauty tends to take a wrong turn as they encounter Mr. Khan (Paresh Rawal), the owner of the resort who invites the couple to take part in a live game show named Table No. 21 which offers a breath-taking amount of 10 million Fijian Dollars as the prize money – something which would convert to crores of rupees. The rules are simple – a total of eight questions will be asked regarding their personal life for which they have to answer truthfully with an yes or no, and have to do the task assigned to each question. They are not allowed to quit in the middle of the game, and neither can they skip a question or its related task. Their mobiles are taken away and are surrounded by cameras and henchmen.

The questions first seem very easy to answer and the confidence level reaches new heights for the couple, as if they were made for this game and all their financial needs are soon to be met. Their doubts about this is an idea to make fun of them, slowly vanishes. The first question about their love and the task to kiss in public was of no trouble. The question concerning them knowing each other and the task of Siya eating non-vegetarian is also of not too much difficulty. The question concerning manipulating others and the task of instant manipulation creates no tension even if it leads to slight suspicions which they leave behind thinking about the huge amount of money which awaited them. Then comes the difficult parts, the need for blood which is the first dangerous and life threatening situation of the game, as Vivaan answers he would go to any extent to save his love – the point is that here he has to fight his tendency to faint at seeing blood to save her by filling a bottle full of his blood and use it as a key to unlock a glass cage short of oxygen. Even in an unfamiliar territory, as the need had arisen, the task is completed right in time.

The question of love continues, and the task involves shaving Siya’s head to which they protest, but is brought back into the game by threatening, with the lady ending up with a shaved head. The next question is about domestic violence, and Siya is asked to return a slap she recieved from him with full force, a point when they realize that the master of the game knows more about them than they thought, even the most personal details. The task involving Vivaan vandalizing a random car puts him in trouble as he gets beaten up as well as getting almost caught by police, and what it does worse is when he asks help and thus breaks the rules landing his wife in trouble. He arrives in time to save his wife, but that is not the last of the troubles, as the game goes on, the situation becomes even more strange and horrible, and they realize that their past is being reminded in a horrid manner. But the true realization comes only the end, and it is where the game master is justified and the hidden truth of the past is revealed to the audience. But this revelation never overpowers the thrills and the social message, as the balance is successfully maintained. An another message could be said to be against the greed and never-ending avarice, the desire for easy money and also about the meaninglessness of reality shows.

Parwesh Rawal seems to have the movie working like a flawless machine with his performance as the game master. He is the most hospitable resort owner, the sadistic manipulator and a loving father, three in one. Even as he has the second personality during most of the movie and may be before the horrid twist happens to the game, there is no loss of the power of trio in himself. Rajeev Khandelwal does his character in a rightly truthful manner. There is no exaggeration of the personality and there is nothing unnecessary added to it; the simplicity in complexity attributed to the character is lesser only to that of the game master – he traverses from the inflictor or pain to the vulnerable one at the recieving end. Tena Desae as Siya – has blended in well from the beach, bikinis and love to fear, anxiety and absolute horror. From having a shaved head to being in one of the worst situations for a damsel in distress at a strip club, from the passionate and loyal lover to losing her character and trust, from the photogenic lady in bikini to the oppressor who became the oppressed, it is quite a powerful performance adding to the strength of the film. There is no flat, static character among these, for they have all gone through the much needed changes.

The movie rests on the three, and if we add the next two important characters, the whole suspense would be lost. As the clues, there is the college were these two met and fell in love and there is the case of ragging. There is no loss of intensity in that flashback story too. The bottomline of the movie is its message that ragging is not a joke, but a crime. The title of the movie comes from the article 21, on the protection of life and liberty. The message is as powerful as the movie, and the use of flashbacks has worked perfectly to suit the overall mood of the movie, and the whole game is more or less a recreation of their cruel deeds at the college as the seniors. Even the uneasy silence and the absence of descriptions in the movie makes an impact and the whole setup which leads to one powerful social message is the ultimate triumph of the movie. But, the message is not used as a propaganda. A joke is no joke that causes harm to others and having fun at the expense of others is both a sin and a crime – this is the best way it can be summarized. The injection of reality into unreality in a sincere manner as to create the feeling of truth – it is surely not something many horror movies desire to achieve and not something any popular horror movie has come up with so far.

The greatest advantage of this movie is that it surprises you – right from the beginning to end; almost every moment has a certain amount of unpredictability associated with it, sometimes with the twists of plot and sometimes with the performance of the cast. There are lesser moments when it would seem that this one has lost its gasoline, but then it comes up with an alternative fuel which takes over and makes this one run better. The biggest of the twist comes up with the social message which is the most striking element of the movie and how it is unveiled is a method of slow, step by step ignition leading to the big catastrophe of ultimate success. There was rarely a moment when the movie was not ahead of the audience, creating that element of spooky suspense, and by the end, one comes to know how much ahead it really is, in a world where the suspense horror movies never really got its due – suffering from a typical horror movie rights violation due to some too-natural or never-natural romantic love stories which never really deserved to be called movies; therefore this is your welcome break and not to be missed even for a chance to go to Mars and be imprisoned by the Martians virtually created by the lies of science which people adore and would never cease to believe.

Release date: 4th January 2013
Running time: 108 minutes
Directed by: Aditya Datt
Starring: Paresh Rawal, Tena Desae, Rajeev Khandelwal, Dhruv Ganesh

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠The Vampire Bat.