13B: Fear Has a New Address

With 13B, Indian film-makers take another tiny step towards exploring new ideas on screen. Gone are the days of those silly and childish horror movies served to us a few decades back. Moving ahead in that direction, 13B can be termed as a good attempt by the director Vikram Kumar who tries to give something new and out of the box in the genre of fast paced thrillers with good suspense.

But like the recent Raaz-2, 13B is also a good thriller and not a complete horror movie as publicized in the media campaign by the producers. Yes, it takes the idea of spirits coming through a TV from THE RING, but the similarity ends here only and the movie takes a completely different path as it proceeds further. The story is about a family coming to their new house, with an address of 13B and within days they start experiencing mysterious and strange events. The women of the house, who are addicted to the afternoon TV serials, catch on to a new daily soap called "Sab Khairiyat" which has just started on a channel. Surprisingly, the happenings in the serial are exactly similar to what they are living in their real life. And as the incidents start becoming violent and bloody, there arise serious problems in the family.

The movie starts off as a cold water kept on the fire for boiling. The first half only raises the temperature to a certain limit which results in just a mild hot water. The viewer keeps waiting for something fast to happen but he is served the hot dish only after the intermission. In sharp contrast to its first half, post interval the temperature starts rising with a great speed and as you reach the climax the water is boiling hot as a red hot iron. The well written sequences unfold the secret in an impressive way, handled well by the director towards the end.

Though there are several loopholes in the script regarding the suspense but they don't strike you at once since the second half has many disclosures being made at a very brisk pace. In the first half, the writer takes too much time to come on to the main topic and that deprives the movie to be called as a complete entertainer. The Storyline has a good suspense but the spirits roaming in the house are not scary enough as expected from the promos. The movie should have been edited more severely (by at least 15-20 min) which would have resulted in a far better product for the viewers.

I still wonder about one thing in bollywood, which is regarding its passion for the songs. After so many new & fresh minds now working for the industry, why they all still stick to the idea of adding a few songs in a movie. And that too in a thriller, horror or murder mystery. Ideally these genre of movies should be strictly made as song less ventures to generate the desired impact on the viewer. But I think it will still take a long time for us to get away with this old passion of ours.

On merit basis there are three major assets of the movie. The first one is the Solid Background music and fabulous sound design. In fact in the titles only you get the feeling that some good sound effects are here on the cards. The second merit is the outstanding Camera-work which is visible in each frame and scene. The creative visuals enhance the experience of this thriller to a great extent, especially the scenes with the blind man and his dog, sequences related to the old black & white television and scenes at the mental asylum. The third worth mentioning plus point is the superb act by Madhavan, which he can easily rate as his best work till date in Hindi Cinema. He acts better in the tense scenes involving encounter with the spirits.

Among the other actors, Neetu Chandra is fine and she looks exactly like a lady next door with the right home wears. Deepak Dobriyal excels in his performance and impresses. Poonam Dhillon is wasted and so is Sachin Khedekar who doesn't suit the role he is given.

In short, 13B can be rated as good attempt by its team but it could have been much better with a lot of editing and without the unnecessary songs. Fans of thriller cum horror movies should feel about 65-75% satisfaction after watching 13B.

My two thumbs up for Director Vikram Kumar who made this gripping thriller. First one for his well written script & second for his crackling & detailing direction. I've read that Kumar was keen to work with R Madhvan & had approached him earlier but he rejected his offer & demanded a better script. So Kumar spent two years to come up with the story idea & four to pen down a hardbound script of 13B. Love's labor was not lost & ultimately Madhvan loved the script & instantly signed the project. The film was then shot in 40 days flat. & Kudos to that brilliant script which makes you hooked in the edge on the seat second half. So what's 13 B? Well, it's a jinx number. A family messed up in their newly purchased flat. The first half is just average which projects focus on several unimaginable incidents in their flat- a lift refuses to function, disfigured images taken by mobile cam, milk splits everyday, nobody can hit a nail in the pooja room & jarring & suspicious television serial which resembles with the lives of the family members. And I thought for a minute- Am I watching some superstitious crap nonsense or what???

But hey, the film bowled me over in the second half. It's really intriguing & successfully kept the tension rolling for the audience with twists & turns of the story. The revelation of suspense is just awesome. And I 'm not going to spoil it by revealing anything further. Madhvan always do selective films & most of the time he comes with bingo performance. He has an expressive face & natural body language which suits his roles perfectly. Watch his expressions of fear in this & you will agree with me. Rest of the players has also played their parts as naturally as possible but I specially like to mention the performance of Deepak Dobriyal, who has acted the role of Ashok in the film. He's really a revelation. (Remember the actor who was guided by Saif Ali Khan in 'Omkaara') Technically also the film is faultless & successfully enhances the thrilling effect for the audience. The only thing which I would like to edit in the film is cutting of those two songs in the first half.

A Strong recommendation of the week but it's my humble request to watch it in theatre. No piracy for this sort of talented & promising director's film please.

Ratings- 8/10

I remember watching this movie in some little parts on DD National when I was child, that one scene where R Madhvan told his friend to lock him up was still in my mind even after 10 years. Recently, i watched this movie with my family from start to end and everyone loves it. Story and Suspense in the movie was well written. Movies like this and Tumbbad are the one of the best indian horror movies ever made. Only downside of this movie is acting otherwise it's 10/10 movie.

One chilling fact of nature that has stayed with me for years was the notion we will take for granted the importance of oxygen until there is a lack of it. We never really pay heed to something that is in our lives everyday, and therefore is relatively ignored. As such, our dependency on technology has grown to such extent that, without it, mankind would quickly crumble as a civilization.

A breed of horror has arisen prominently in the new millennium that exploits this very idea, and in rather creative ways: What if basic living was suddenly turned against us? When there is no place like home, do you really own it? Or does it own you? When I watched this film through I couldn't help but realize I witnessed a subtler adaptation of Mikael Håfström's "1408". But this was certainly not a bad thing. Oh no, not at all. 13B expands past 1408's borders quite brilliantly. With it, blending in the elements of The Ring, Final Destination, and Poltergeist (with a sprinkling of quirky humor) to a delectable mix of "that inanimate object has the ability to kill you in 150 ways" paranormal paranoia. The majority of the dialog is Hindi but coherency isn't an issue for 13B, as the tone-sensitive visuals tell the tale just as effectively. The acting and score also carries the plot well.

I had a few minor qualms with 13B. The dialog at times seemed unnatural, almost forced. Camera movement was also a problem. Some scenes had the camera volatile to enhance suspense but for me it did the opposite.

13B is a fine example of intellectual horror. It does not force feed the suspense, but allows the viewer to build their own overtime as the protagonist becomes aware of the unnatural forces manipulating his and his family's mentality to the breaking point.

Yes, finally a thriller! There is definitely a scarcity of movies belonging to this genre. Whether it be your Abbas-Mastan flicks or other supernatural suspense such as Raaz, 1920, and Bhoot, I'll be there! 13B is a great edge-of-the-seat thriller that keeps you as engrossed as the ladies in the film are with the TV serials. The film revolves around a mysterious TV show that mirrors and reveals what will happen in the protagonist's family's life that day. Everything is great--lighting, sound, etc. The plot is fascinating and the unraveling of the story behind the TV serial's characters is eye-popping! The violent flashbacks and disturbed characters leaves the viewers horrified! Madhavan, as always, has given a sincere and outstanding performance! You feel terrified with him. Good watch.