Mahakaal

Troubled by her recurring nightmares, a woman and her friends find themselves targeted by a deformed killer that exists only in their dream world who was originally killed years ago by their parents and forces them to deal with the killer in order to stop his deadly rampage.

This turned out to be quite the impressive and enjoyable effort. What gives this one a lot of its impact is the fact that it's so close to the original film that it allows for plenty of fun to come from these familiar elements. Once she enters the dream world, those scenes are incredibly fun as the extended opening dream of her running through the abandoned boiler room where she continually runs into the strange figure despite all the different attempts to run away gives this a strong, stylish opening as well as sets the stage for the dreams to follow. The following night, where her friend is also involved when the two of them are chased around the strange bunker is just as crazy and frantic detailing their encounters in the cobweb-riddled structures is a fantastic sequence, while the big attack at the hotel makes a strong reference to the original's strong opening sequence as well as helps itself to some censorship- imposed changes that allow for a chilling sequence. The later hallucination at the school following her dead friend into his hideout actually comes off far better in this variation with the encounter featuring the body resurrected to fight her before running into the killer for a lengthy sequence, while the jail encounter works far better here by incorporating the elements of local cinema into the attack by using poisonous snakes to add that extra level of tension to the sequence. Even the flashback sequence explaining the killers' resurrection is a rather enjoyable affair with the brawl inside the sacrificial temple and the subsequent search for the burial spot that really serves this one incredibly well by keeping the pace going to fill the engorged running time as well as give this the kind of chilling set-pieces needed to really make this one quite fun. Even the finale, where it features his attempts at getting to the family before their big confrontation with him gives this a lot of fun qualities and really let the good qualities of her possession take the forefront here. As well as offering that kind of film, the fact that it employs so many elements from Indian cinema makes for a rather enjoyable immersion, from the song-and-dance routines that offer some enjoyable pop tunes to the goofy comedic relief from the pop- obsessed classmate that even manages to crack some hilarious meta-jokes here that add to the fun. The closeness to the story in terms of how it plays out makes this one so easy to get into based on being able to recognize the plot-points and beats quite easily while allowing for the different side-tangents that bring about the different local antics that add a flavor to the film such as the goofy wordplay, dance routines and even several martial arts sequences. Now, in the end, these do end up leading the film to a few small problems in that this does feel it's length because of its tangents and side points, as the need for the constant rape attempts by the gang aren't needed not only because they add nothing to the film but also because the censorship dictates due to the country of origin mean it won't play with them anyway. That also has an effect on rendering a lot of the kills bloodless when they shouldn't, but overall these are all that's wrong with it.

Rated Unrated/PG-13: Violence and Attempted Rapes.

Mahakaal directed by tulsi and shyam ramsay is a horror, thriller and action film. It's an Indian adaptation of nightmare on elm's street. Ramsays are famous for directing horror movies. The problem with indian entertainment industry is that they exaggerate everything and that is where the beauty and aesthetics of film literature gets vanished. Mahabir bhullar as shakal is utilized just as a prop.. He has been given no dialogues. Non verbal roles are difficult to portray. One needs an effective script for portraying such a role. Robert Englund's Freddy is much higher in terms of performance compared to shakaal. The other characters are fine, but script and direction should have been much better. Adaptations should be of ideas. Once an idea is perceived, then it should be treated with complete originality. But anyway tulsi and shyam ramsay have tried their best to make mahakaal convincing. Shakaal could have been a simple looking villain too.

Avoid this time waste movie. Its no where near to the Nightmare at the elm Street. Go and watch the real movie amazing graphics. Real movie is best freddy kruger is best villain.

The beginning years of the 90s were most traumatic for the B-horror genre of Bollywood. Attempts were made to return the audience to the old school of horror but these attempts only fueled the sense of hate among the audience for the Ramsays, who were once liked by the horror buffs for their originality. I really don't understand what went wrong with the Ramsay brothers that they failed to maintain their originality in the early 90s. They tried to make their film as shocking as possible with a limited budget in hand. The resulting films, which were usually rip-offs of highly successful American films, failed to do any good to them as they all turned into a big fiasco. Previously, The Ramsays used to copy few jack-in-the-box scenes from certain Hollywood films but as the time went by, they said yes to complete plagiarism. Films like 'Aakhri Cheekh' and 'Mahakal aka The Monster' are the living examples of plagiarism which never helped the Ramsays reclaim their lost position in Bollywood.

'Mahakal' is 'A Nightmare on Elm Street - 1984' rip-off but those who've already seen this Wes Craven masterpiece will be left with frowning faces once they have watched this piece of trash. The main storyline comes concurrent with ANOES with few exceptions where Ramsays have tried to improve it. Ha ha, they thought they were improving the original version but we know what they came up with. If anyone of the Ramsays is reading my review then please note that by making 'Mahakal' you've only insulted yourself and not Wes Craven. Wes Craven made a masterpiece which was hellish and freaky in every sense and was packed with guts and gore. Including dance numbers and infantile comedy doesn't give 'Mahakal' an advantage over ANOES.

Archana Puran Singh who along with Navjot Singh Siddhu has been criticized by many for her meaningless laughter plays the lead part in 'Mahakal'. She often dreams of a man with long steel fangs who attacks her in dreams. Archana usually wakes up with cuts and bruises she gets during her struggle with the monster in her dreams. Her family and friends try to console her, but Archana is the destined prey of this monster who won't leave her unless she has been laid to rest forever.

I guess this part clearly coincides with the original ANOES but whatever has been trashed out apart from the above plot is clearly an additive and a foolish contribution to the original version. If they want to make a rip-off they should first learn to create an effect on the viewers. I don't say that films need a good budget to be effective. Films like 'Gehrayee', 'Raat', 'Red Rose' etc. didn't have a heavy budget but their effect can be felt till date. All you need is a good plot, good actors and expert direction. I won't recommend 'Mahakal' to anyone who has already watched the original A Nightmare On Elm Street', because 'Mahakal' is simply a comedy of errors.

"The Monster" (aka "Mahakaal") is a fun and scary film at the same time. Yes, it's a ripoff of "A Nightmare on Elm Street", but it was so much fun for me. And the acting wasn't as bad as I expected. Not Oscar worthy. But fine for an Indian horror film. The music is taken straight from the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise. The thing that really stands out is the role of Johnny Lever. He is funny, clumsy and everything you want from Mr. Lever. The musical numbers also stands out. The comedy stands out. The villian is not the best. A cheep rip-off of Freddy Krueger. In this film called Shakaal. But overall it's a great pile of entertainment. I definitely recommend this title!