Haunted – 3D Movie Review: Vikram Bhatt Rules
Vikram Bhatt has been the undisputed king of horror in Bollywood; a director has given us some very good spine-chillers like Raaz, 1920 and Shaapit. This time, he has really upped the ante with his latest outing that takes horror cinema in India to the next level-3D Format.
Story of Haunted:
Set amidst a lush landscape is a sprawling mansion called Glen Manor, in which lies a haunted, scary secret. Rehan (Mahaakshay aka Mimoh Chakraborty) visits this mansion to complete its sale that his father had initiated through their brokerage firm. In no time, does he realize that the manor is spooky; there are various signs that threaten him while at the same time, he finds that there is a presence of a girl who is reaching out for help through music. He sets out to find what ails the mansion. Rehan unearths the bitter past of the house; he finds that that this home has an 80 year old, the story of Meera (Tia Bajpai) and her piano professor Mr. Iyer (Arif Zakaria) who rapes her repeatedly. When he tried to do it first, Tia hits him with a vase, which kills him. After death, his evil spirit comes back to haunt her, rape kill and make her life miserable to the point of driving her to death.
Rehan feels strongly for her and wants to free Meera’s spirit from the evil spirit of the professor. To do this, he has to go back into the past and change certain things. But it is not so easy; because there are lot of elements that go against him; some of them extremely scary ones.
What works for Haunted:
When 3D meets horror, it is sure to be exciting and when you have the best man in the business to deliver, things may not go wrong. Vikram Bhatt knows the mechanics of horror very well and knows when to use horror and when to use silence as a tool to elicit fear. He goes for the kill right from the beginning; there is no beating around the bush.
Also, in Haunted; we are in for some really new things that we have not seen before-dealing with two spirits, a better plot (not the usual clichéd revenge plot) and a time travel concept blended nicely with horror. Raju Rao’s background score is very good and sets the tempo, while Chintan Bhatt’s music is also pleasing to the ears.
What does not work for Haunted:
The clichéd things still remain-distorted face, hanging bodies, flying objects, dropping of things in an uncanny manner, weird sounds etc, and lights going on and off etc; some of them taken from his past ventures like Raaz and 1920. Nevertheless, we can live with them.
Best scenes of Haunted:
- Edge of the seat opening sequences that set the mood
- Achint Kaur’s tree sequence
- A bonding scene between Meera and Rehan , which has Mahaakshay dancing and also comparing about mobile phones in 2011 and life in 1936. Forcefully put, it is the only peaceful part in the film.
- The climax
Performances in Haunted:
Mahaakshay Chakraborty tries to deliver his best, and thanks to his set of 3 expressions, he manages to just about get it right; because there is not much to do apart from feeling baffled, panicky and angry. Newcomer Tia Bajpai is quite good in horror scenes; specially her horror-struck expressions take the cake. But the two stars of Haunted as Arif Zakaria and Achint Kaur, both create an impression that sticks to the mind for the remaining part of the day. Sanjay Sharma is competent as Sufi saint while Mohan Kapoor and Prachi Shah get little cameos.
Conclusion:
Do you feel like watching a horror film? Then go watch Haunted-3D…Now!
Rating:**** (Very Good)
2 Responses to “Haunted – 3D Movie Review: Vikram Bhatt Rules”
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hi, vikram sir
kya movie hai man gaye apko climax k wo 3 minute mujhe hamesha yad rhenge………thank u
bhut hi acchi movie hai………