Bokshi

Initial impressions of "Bokshi" might leave one with mixed feelings, yet this film is undoubtedly worth the watch. I generally shun "teens-in-the-woods" garbage. The Ouija board drivel, the wannabe "A24" or "NEON" knock-offs trying to ape "The Wicker Man"-I steer clear. But "Bokshi" seizes every cliché-witches, boarding schools, cursed treks-and cracks them open like a skull on sacrificial stone. After "Bramayugam" (do check out my review), this is another Indian horror that doesn't just unsettle-it flays. This film is history hissing in the ear, it's horror as hex, tribal whispers in the dark in this coming-of-age where adulthood means facing the monsters patriarchy calls "witches"-only to find one's own reflection staring back.

Director Bhargav Saikia doesn't just subvert expectations-he skins them. Every predictable setup-the haunted girl, the sinister school, the ill-fated expedition-becomes a razor, slicing through complacency to reveal something far darker. This is a film about reclamation. The Nepali term "Bokshi"-a word used to brand, to burn, to break women for centuries-is twisted into a war cry. Saikia's vision thrums with schoolyard cruelties, racial tensions, and tribal secrets, all simmering beneath an atmosphere so thick you could choke on it.

A girl's bed wet with terror, a grandmother's cruel whispers, a boarding school's cold walls-in "Bokshi" Anahita (Prasanna Bisht) bears her mother's curse like a second shadow. But here, curses aren't what they seem. This terror stems from her mother's brutal vanishing, whispered by her rigid grandmother to be the work of a witch. That stern matriarch sees not grief, but the enduring mark of a "witch" in Anahita's bloodline, promptly dumping her in a rigid boarding school. Yet, within those walls, something ancient stirs. A violent act of bullying shatters her, opening a new path. A strange current draws Anahita to Shalini (Mansi Multani), her history teacher. Shalini, with an unsettling pull and an ancient glint in her eye, invites Anahita into a secret circle, hinting at the supernatural and a journey into North Sikkim's primordial forests, to a mysterious prehistoric site. This was no mere excursion; it was fate. Then the forest takes its due, becoming a waking terror where the very rocks hold memory. Anahita, compelled to a prehistoric site from her dreams, witnesses the veneer of civilization peel away. Folk horror meets feminist fury, a middle finger to patriarchy written in shamanic chants and sacrificial smoke. Here, women, like her and Shalini, ignite with untamed power-they're the nightmare even shadows fear.

"Bokshi" isn't for every palate, especially if one is chasing visceral jolts, cheap scares and a rapid pace. And yeah, folks who really know their visual effects or if that matters most, might say the CGI looks a little wonky sometimes. Yet, what distinguishes and truly standouts is thematic resonance and a visual artistry of startling, untamed audacity. When the ancient ritual ignites the film's climactic, devastating crescendo, "Bokshi" stands resolute before the monstrous. This is, by all measures, an imperative call, a Homecoming for those who seek horror that irrevocably grips the psyche.

Struggling to fit in at school, a woman arrives with other locals at a mysterious site in the middle of the woods said to contain supernatural powers that begin to showcase a strange effect on her that triggers a series of psychological issues buried deep within her that threaten the rest of the trip.

For the most part, this was a generally impressive and likable enough feature. One of the better aspects of this one is the strong build-up that provides an immensely fascinating look into this type of storyline. As we get an in-depth look at her backstory, being bullied by her classmates, left alone by her parents, and basically ridiculed by her grandmother who doesn't approve of her trying to keep her parents' traditions alive even though they make a target of scorn for the grandmothers' friends, these all bring about a kind understanding about who she is and the struggles she has fitting in. Once she arrives at the college and begins fitting in with the other girls there through the History Club they all share, the comparison between her two lives serves as a precursor to the spiritual awakening she experiences later on. That comes about through the solid and rather engaging aspects featured while on the fateful trip into the middle of the forest for their school. While on assignment, the physical and mental hurdles that are attempted there create a great baseline for the later incidents as the idea of the entire area being haunted by supernatural spirits means that it starts offering up the kind of dark and ominous atmosphere found in the best folk-horror elements. As the stories start to become far more real as the whole thing comes about with the perceived notion of witchcraft and conjuring evil spirits within the jungle, the trip starts to become more focused on their witchcraft and connecting to the world around them creating an intriguing enough connection to the fabled story of the actual witch haunting the area. By the time it all meets itself in the finale where the true extent of everything is revealed, this one really picks up steam and has a lot to like. The slow-burn payoff manages to come together nicely with the initial stages of her cursed lineage bringing about the series of fantastic chases in the area using one of the group as a vessel to be possessed and carry out what's happening that adds nicely to what's going on. Ending on a spiritual ritual and the full reveal of the trip's purpose to return her to her family's heritage and legacy following through on the different rites that have to be taken to bring about the full witch reincarnated that set everything in motion, this part is fast-paced and far more brutal than anticipated with how this is portrayed. These aspects are all tied together with impressive camera work to go along with everything to give this one a lot to like. There are a few factors here holding this one down. The most obvious and egregious is the unnaturally overlong running time that manages to run on way too long for its own good. The first half here getting such an in-depth feel for her and what she's going through at school could've been handled without running everything in slow-motion, and is a feat that could've been continued in the rest of the film. The pace at which everyone acts at and has everything transpire is just way too slow to be engaging over as long as it is and really could've used a speed-up function since the story doesn't have much that could've been trimmed out as it's just paced to a point that keeps its focus wavering. Outside of the few other instances of the budget betraying it, this is the main drawback of the film.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.