Movie: Bhoot The Haunted Ship
Direction: Bhanu Pratap Singh
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar, Ashutosh Rana
Music: Akhil Sachdeva, Ketan Sodha
Cinematographer: Pushkar Singh
Editor: Bodhaditya Banerjee
Genre: Horror
Rating: ∗∗½
What is it about: It’s a horror film based on true events which took place in Mumbai, about a ship lying static on the beach. This is the first film of the planned horror film franchise. The film is directed by Bhanu Pratap Singh.
Why it’s disappointing: Horror is a tricky genre and at the same times an easier for a filmmaker to get away with clichés. Still there are films which have stood out in the crowd. This film borrows a bit of everything and tries to spin an original. In the process, it becomes a little repetitive and seems to be in a hurry to get places. The premise was good but was not executed to its worth. It keeps oscillating from being scary to thrilling and doesn’t land strong on either. The VFX of the Ghosts could’ve been better; in order to hide it they made the entire movie on a dark tone which kind of gets tiring after a while. Horror films need good lighting techniques which are not hard on the eyes of the audience. The Dark works better if utilized well. In order to ease the tension in the film, humour was laced but that ends up lame and mocked by the audience. And this would be Vicky Kaushal’s underperformed film. Ashutosh Rana looked really lost in the haunted ship. So were the rest of the cast.
What to watch out for: A handful of scare tactics were good and works well. But the credit goes to an amazing sound edit and mix. The background score by Ketan Sodha was really good. Other than that, I don’t find anything very impressive about the film. Hope the second film in the franchise does a good job.
Verdict: Bhanu Pratap Singh tried hard to break the stereotype but ended making a mix of cliché with a weak screenplay, which doesn’t scare you much. Keeps wandering hoping to get lucky, unfortunately it doesn’t. May work with the multiplexes as pop-corn munch horror flick. Indian Cinema is yet to dish out a genuine a horror film which satisfies the genre.
