A highly enjoyable and impressive Hindi remake
While taking a trip in the woods, a group of friends hear a tale about a reputedly haunted house nearby and decide to investigate, unaware of the fact that the area is home to a freed demonic entity that's haunting the woods around the house forcing them to find the secret to stopping the nightmare.
Overall, this is a fun if decidedly flawed Hindi remake. When this one works, it's due to the films' overall similarity and familiarity that generates a slew of highly enjoyable sequences. This becomes apparent from the beginning when the recreation of the tragedy at the house as a flashback shows the dangers of the book's inscriptions when he reads it and is immediately afterward attacked by his possessed wife forcing a rather brutal confrontation to take place to stop her. This continues on once they arrive at the house which is geared towards more of a haunted house set up with atmosphere and action on display, with the ghosts appearing and disappearing around them, numerous sightings of the supernatural phenomenon around them, and the overall vibe of something being in the house with them. That setup then allows the film to go for broke with the second half piling on the over-the-top supernatural action with solid recreations or just slight alterations to classic sequences. With the group already aware of the danger posed due to the ghostly sightings, the series of encounters in the woods where the girlfriend is forcibly possessed during a botched escape attempt, the torment of the main group once they return and the frantic finale featuring all manner of graphic and brutal incidents between everyone as the deformed possessed beings start taking them out come together alongside the grisly effects work to give this one a lot of highly likable features. There are some issues to be found here. One of the biggest drawbacks is the rather obvious and eerily similar setup that manages to run pretty similar to the original in most regards. Taking the same formula of the deserted cabin in the woods and the group of friends on vacation arriving there, discovering the fabled book, and unleashing all manner of demonic activity as a result of speaking specific passages to bring the demonic entities into our world, there's a high degree of familiarity present that makes it feel less like a remake and falls into the rip-off territory. That's not just copied in the setup but also the filmmaking tactics and concepts employed here which copy many of the same elements that fuel this even further. Some might not mind this all too much as it's certainly a personal issue more than anything, but it can be seen as the biggest stumbling block to get over with this one. Some might also find fault with some of the traditional Bollywood padding being featured here, with a hilariously awful song-and-dance routine placed in the film for no reason made further damaging with the bad lip-syncing featured, the extended romances sequences at the beach and bizarre comedy which do crop up and lower this one overall.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Language, and Brief Nudity.
Overall, this is a fun if decidedly flawed Hindi remake. When this one works, it's due to the films' overall similarity and familiarity that generates a slew of highly enjoyable sequences. This becomes apparent from the beginning when the recreation of the tragedy at the house as a flashback shows the dangers of the book's inscriptions when he reads it and is immediately afterward attacked by his possessed wife forcing a rather brutal confrontation to take place to stop her. This continues on once they arrive at the house which is geared towards more of a haunted house set up with atmosphere and action on display, with the ghosts appearing and disappearing around them, numerous sightings of the supernatural phenomenon around them, and the overall vibe of something being in the house with them. That setup then allows the film to go for broke with the second half piling on the over-the-top supernatural action with solid recreations or just slight alterations to classic sequences. With the group already aware of the danger posed due to the ghostly sightings, the series of encounters in the woods where the girlfriend is forcibly possessed during a botched escape attempt, the torment of the main group once they return and the frantic finale featuring all manner of graphic and brutal incidents between everyone as the deformed possessed beings start taking them out come together alongside the grisly effects work to give this one a lot of highly likable features. There are some issues to be found here. One of the biggest drawbacks is the rather obvious and eerily similar setup that manages to run pretty similar to the original in most regards. Taking the same formula of the deserted cabin in the woods and the group of friends on vacation arriving there, discovering the fabled book, and unleashing all manner of demonic activity as a result of speaking specific passages to bring the demonic entities into our world, there's a high degree of familiarity present that makes it feel less like a remake and falls into the rip-off territory. That's not just copied in the setup but also the filmmaking tactics and concepts employed here which copy many of the same elements that fuel this even further. Some might not mind this all too much as it's certainly a personal issue more than anything, but it can be seen as the biggest stumbling block to get over with this one. Some might also find fault with some of the traditional Bollywood padding being featured here, with a hilariously awful song-and-dance routine placed in the film for no reason made further damaging with the bad lip-syncing featured, the extended romances sequences at the beach and bizarre comedy which do crop up and lower this one overall.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Language, and Brief Nudity.
- kannibalcorpsegrinder
- Apr 7, 2023