Bhoot: Part One - The Haunted Ship

The end result is completely unconvincing, barring a few scenes that provide some chills. Vicky Kaushal has done a good job in something which was a new genre for him... If climax was good with some logic and background then I would have rated this 7

A weak movie with not many scenes that will make you feel scared. The story is extremely weak with the only saving grace being Vicky Kaushal.

Movie suffers from a half-baked plot and a flawed script which leaves viewers confused.

The end result is completely unconvincing, *not at all scary* & Thrilling quotient is missing too.

A young shipping officer Prithvi (Vicky Kaushal) dealing with a massive personal loss, he decided to solve the mysteries of a haunted ship...!!

The make-up ends up making the characters look unintentionally funny, rather than scary.

For a horror film, 'Bhoot - The Haunted Ship' falls short of being a good movie. Give it a miss..!!

Bhoot Part 1 - In August 2011, MV Pavit, an oil tanker that had been abandoned by its crew near Oman, drifted aground in Mumbai, having evaded the coastal security. Bhoot Part 1, directed by Bhanu Pratap Singh under the Dharma Production banner builds on this incident with the objective of giving the incident a spooky conclusion.

When the Seabird washes ashore in Mumbai, the DG Shipping finds it a headache as there are immense possibilities of oil spills and other environmental issues that might just spoil his retirement party. Prithvi (Vicky Kaushal) is tasked with getting it off the ground. But Prithvi has issues - he is battling his own demons, suffering from the guilt of causing his wife and daughter's accidental deaths and also is habitual of psychotropic drugs. Clearly, he is hallucinatory about the two and also has communication sessions with his daughter Megha using a childish contraption. Adventure seekers on the abandoned ship soon meet with misfortunes and then Prithvi himself experiences the presence of ghosts. Initially dubbed as a hallucination, Prithvi's claims are proven true as his colleague and friend Riaz also witnesses horror.

The first half is quite engaging and raises a few gasps and chills. The eerie environment inside the abandoned ship and its unexplored chambers create a dark, mysterious backdrop to the plot unfolding. The music and VFX are great accompaniments to taking the mystery to a crescendo. Alas the second half fails to build on it as it quickly degenerates into a contrived plotline, including the possibility of a possessed individual trapped inside and a malevolent spirit trying to communicate something to Prithvi. Who other than Ashutosh Rana could be trusted with the exorcism, because he has created a niche for himself in such roles. Vicky Kaushal gives Bhoot an earnest effort and there are moments of shock, jolts and chills, but the weakness of the story and the complexity of the crime involved undermine the second half, making it an average fare really.

Bhoot: Part One - The Haunted Ship tries to revive a forgotten genre in Bollywood. As horror is my favourite genre, I was intrigued to see how Dharma Productions and Bhanu Pratap Singh would handle something like this. Unfortunately, the outcome wasn't pleasant.

Bhoot: Part One - The Haunted Ship follows Prithvi, a man dealing with loss, who investigates the mysterious Sea Bird ship that arrives on the beach.

What this film does well is create an eerie atmosphere. A lot of the film has a grey/dark colour palette to reinforce the spooky atmosphere. The set design of the ship itself is done really well. The dilapidated state of the ship makes it seem haunted and tension does rise whenever we're inside the ship. Even the sound design is well executed and builds upon the eerie tone.

Whilst the film does look good, there is nothing special about it. Bhanu Pratap Singh decides to use classic horror tropes such as dolls, jumpscares, creaking doors and children. All of these clichés are found within multiple horror movies in the past. It doesn't feel unique in any way. The over-reliance on jumpscares started to get tedious towards the end. The first half did give me a sense of hope as I liked the psychological trauma that Prithvi was going through but the second half tarnished whatever was good about the first half. It seems like Singh didn't know how to end the film so he came up with a really contrived and rushed backstory that was not convincing at all. Not only that but the film also ends with a set up for a sequel. How lovely!

The performances were actually good. Vicky Kaushal really carries this movie with his acting. He's convincing as his character and his way of handling his character's loss is done well. Bhumi Pednekar has a very brief role but does a good job. Ashutosh Rana is good despite his severely underwritten character.

Bhoot: Part One - The Haunted Ship was quite disappointing. The first half had good elements and set up the creepy atmosphere well but the thrown together second half was a huge let down.