Vaastu Shastra

At this point I've seen more than a few Hindi horror movies and for the most part I usually find them amusing but certainly not scary. This one... well, "scary" might be taking it too far, but creepy it certainly was. I'm not sure that any Indian horror film has raised my neck hair as often as this one did. Predictable? Sure... but aren't they all? There are very few "original" story ideas left in the horror genre. But even with the best of story ideas, it's the execution that separates the good from the mediocre from the truly bad (see "Kaun?", 1999). And Vaastu Shastra is pretty much spot-on in the execution department. Staging and lighting worked well, even the makeup was better than the norm (especially for the creepy dead-things). And while some have pointed to other films as "inspirations" for "Vaastu Shastra", it's not the obvious Hollywood or Korean or Japanese (or Hong Kong, or...) ripoff that you might expect. Yes, there are elements of several previous films, but really... can't you say that about just about every horror movie released since "Night of the Living Dead"? Someday perhaps a writer somewhere in the world will come up with a story we've never seen before. But with the sheer number of films that have rolled out since the invention of the motion picture camera, it's nearly impossible to make a film in any genre -- especially the horror genre -- that doesn't include elements of those that have gone before. "Vaastu Shastra" is no exception, but the "borrowed" elements are more a salute to the films that came before it than they are blatant plagiarism. This is a well written, well-directed, well produced movie and one well worth watching.

RGV continues with his ability to surprise the audience in this movie - sometimes a positive and sometimes a negative surprise. I found this movie positively surprising. A masterpiece in the genre of horror movies in India the movie carries on the legacy created by Bhoot and grips you slowly with fear. The eeriness quotient rises as the movie progresses and its not about the ghosts with funny caricature like faces but about something which you can feel. I would rate this in the league of Raat by Revathi. RGV has the ability to create an eerie atmosphere without usage of much of dialogues between the characters. The tempo of the movie is a bit slow initially but really speeds up in the end. The climax is apt for the theme.

Ram Gopal Varma creates more mysterious garbage! This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. It is so bizarre, repulsive, and stupid. Varma was right--this movie is very scary--so scary that it scared the audience out of the theaters! By the end of the movie, I was laughing my head off. That's not a good sign when you're watching a horror/thriller. The climax is so disgusting and utter nonsense! Do yourself a big favor and avoid this one! I must say, though, that the child artist was awesome! He really looked as if he just saw a ghost. He definitely deserves some awards for his performance. Sushmita also did a good job.

His isn't a bad movie at all. Pretty gosh-darned enjoyable, in fact. Maybe a little dated as to the scares, but it wasn't common when it was made. The child actor, is OUTSTANDING ! It's a good and enjoyable.

Overall this was a pretty good movie!(Definitely worth a watch)

Usually i never write comments for movies, but felt that the comments left by the others, were a bit to harsh on the movie.

Often before watching a movie i check out its rating on IMDb, to see whether its worth watching or not and i so with this movie too. After seeing the rating and reviews, i wasn't really looking forward to watching the movie but i had the movie on one of those 3 in 1 DVD's hence watched it anyway.

Well after watching it i was pretty surprised to find it was decent movie, hence this review and a recommendation to others to give the movie a chance. Don't get me wrong by any means, this is not a polished piece of cinema or even of the horror genre but its not as bad as others have made out either. Also i found that watching the movie on my PC alone in my room did the trick in terms of making the movie a little more scary (although that day i was jumping at shadows hence I'm not sure exactly how much credit to give to the movie for that:))

Summation:

Decent movie(with flaws as others have mentioned), but worth a watch and great acting from the child actor and Sushmita Sen always puts in a very solid performance. Also it nice to see Bollywood become more diverse, rather then sticking to a the love theme constantly, hence movie like this and directors such as RGV and Mani Ratnam are appreciated.

7/10