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| Haunted 3D |
Bhatt merges the deadly combo of horror with 3D effectively. It's an absorbing and gripping edge of the seat horror film that keeps the mercury rising in those 2.15 hours. This movie is not for the faint-hearted, I wish to state at the very outset.
For Bhatt, it all began with RAAZ. He gave the audience a taste of classy, spine chilling horror experience with that film and after a gap of almost six years revisited the genre with 1920 and SHAAPIT. After a trilogy of spooky films and comprehending the genre better, the film-maker delivers yet another scare fest that ranks amongst his most accomplished works so far.
What really sets HAUNTED apart from films of its ilk, even those attempted by Bhatt, is the fact that it never takes the tried-and-tested route or resorts to cliches while narrating the tale of a haunted mansion. In fact, there are times when one feels that Bhatt is taking the easy route of getting back to the comfort zone with some worn out sequences, but the goings-on, all of a sudden, take a 360 degree turn and enter a zone we could've never envisioned.
And this happens not once or twice, but several times in the storyline. Sure, HAUNTED packs in spooky effects aplenty like the lights going off in the haunted mansion, creaky doors, the evil spirit jumping from nowhere et al that makes adesi horror film 'comprehensive' in the true sense. But, at the same time, Bhatt uses silence to a chilling effect. Also, the plot has been well situated in the desi milieu thanks to the neat and intelligent writing by writer Amin Hajee. Bhatt and the writer's trump card is the merging of the new technology with old-fashioned beliefs and values that a wide chunk of Indians still adhere to, despite the fast-changing times.
Another prime reason why HAUNTED stays with you is, well, watching the story unfold in 3D. It claims to be India's first Stereoscopic 3D film and it better live up to it, right? After all, we have watched 3D films and also 2D-converted-to-3D films unfold on the Hindi screen rapidly, post AVATAR. Though not at par with what the West has to offer, HAUNTED definitely takes a leap by Indian standards. The technology adds a new dimension to this horror film.
Now let's look at the flipside. If the writing is smart and wicked at most times, it gives away at a few places as well. Especially when [spoiler alert] the hero goes back in time and romances the heroine. The entire dance and song sequence in the middle of the night is outrageous and despicable simply because when you have fatality staring at you in your face, you just cannot dance and sing. It takes away the gravity of the goings-on. Actually, HAUNTED would've made a greater impact had it been a songless film, since the songs act as an encumbrance in an otherwise almost perfect fare.
Besides, the rape sequence seems very tame by today's standards. In fact, the physical attacks were depicted far more illustratively in THE ENTITY and also in the Tabu starrer HAWA.
Another prime reason why HAUNTED stays with you is, well, watching the story unfold in 3D. It claims to be India's first Stereoscopic 3D film and it better live up to it, right? After all, we have watched 3D films and also 2D-converted-to-3D films unfold on the Hindi screen rapidly, post AVATAR. Though not at par with what the West has to offer, HAUNTED definitely takes a leap by Indian standards. The technology adds a new dimension to this horror film.
Now let's look at the flipside. If the writing is smart and wicked at most times, it gives away at a few places as well. Especially when [spoiler alert] the hero goes back in time and romances the heroine. The entire dance and song sequence in the middle of the night is outrageous and despicable simply because when you have fatality staring at you in your face, you just cannot dance and sing. It takes away the gravity of the goings-on. Actually, HAUNTED would've made a greater impact had it been a songless film, since the songs act as an encumbrance in an otherwise almost perfect fare.
Besides, the rape sequence seems very tame by today's standards. In fact, the physical attacks were depicted far more illustratively in THE ENTITY and also in the Tabu starrer HAWA.
