Ghost Stories

The only scary part of Ghost Stories is how these 4 are supposed to be amongst Bollywood's top film directors. Serious rubbish and scary thought about the future of Bollywood. Dibakars segment is relatively better but Anurag Kashyap needs to retire. He is going the RGV route. Except that Anurags peak has been much lesser than RGV.

Cliche !! only thing that came into my mind while watching this Horror Anthology. Indian literature is enriched with bone chilling horror stories yet filmmakers relies on western crap. And watching Karan Johar trying his hands on horror is just pathetic. Anurag Kashyap's Story was dull and boring so is Zoya Akhtar's. Only saving point of this Anthology is Dibakar's take on Warewolves who actually looked more like Big Foot, was interesting and had bit of gore which is new for Indian movies. Avoiding this one won't be a loss. Rather watch Ghost Stories 2017, which is actually a good Brit Anthology horror.

I was quietly confident about this film being good as I have found, being a horror fanatic, some of the best ones I have watched have been low-budget, foreign horror films. Without the overinflated budget which means that the films are full of cheap scares and CGI, smaller budget films rely more on creating good atmosphere and good acting so I was quietly confident.

The film is actually 4 separate "ghost" stories in an anthology so the best way to review them is to do so individually...

1. So this one didn't really feel like a horror film to me. The beginning of the film had remanence of the start of "the grudge" with a carer looking after an elderly person in a home that seems haunted. Most horror films will gradually grow until they reach a crescendo or they have peaks and troughs but this film lacked both. It stayed lukewarm throughout and I found myself losing interest... So much so that I actually missed the twist right at the end and it wasn't until I read the reviews I realise I had missed something. I think it was a good premise but ultimately it just lacked a good storyline and presentation.

2. This segment was filmed in almost completely monochromatic fashion which does lend towards the desolate, aged appearance of the film. Ultimately this one was very confusing and there was not enough backstory or background to the characters to really understand the point of the film. Towards the end it became quite surreal and it was hard to tell what was real and what wasn't but without knowing the characters backstory, I had trouble feeling sadness and sympathy for the main character and her dilemma. Even though she was played very well, this film just lacked substance.

3. This was the best one of the four for me. The setting of the film was very good and I liked the base storyline. Having children involved as well, also lends towards the dire situation of the film. It still was low budget so it relied heavily on sound effects, of my camera screeches and howls and set to create the tension and it started off really well. However as it progressed once again there seems to be any lack of definition towards the ending or what indeed actually had happened and once again I was left really disappointed after previously being captivated. That being said this one definitely have the most promise.

4. Although the setting of this film was not as good as the one before, I found the storyline the easiest to follow and most "ghost story" like. The story premise was easy to follow and understand, there was no ambiguity and what you see, was what you got. The sons obsession with his dead grandma was suitably creepy and helped build the storyline but the acting did feel a little wooden and unfortunately this is made worse by the poor quality dubbing. However I did enjoy the story and found this one had a satisfying, understandable ending.

Overall I have to say that I was a little bit disappointed and I did expect more from this anthology. Quite a lot of stories just felt rushed and felt like they were filmed in a day without much thought. A lot of them are quite ambiguous endings and there was really no clarity towards what happened in a lot of them. Because 4 had squeezed into the space of a standard film, there was no time to build background or have any kind of understanding and therefore compassion for the characters you are watching and I feel in a horror film that is necessary to help you feel the tension that they feel.

Let's go one by one:

Zoya Akhtar: Okay, it was quite a watchable chapter, and to me doubtlessly the main reason to watch is the stupendous performance of Surekha Sikri, who gives it the tension and mystery it needs. Jahnvi Kapoor is quite effective, too. Her presence here made me wonder how this role would have been played by her late mother Sridevi, who fitted such genres perfectly. The conclusion is not very surprising, but it's quite a nice chapter.

Anurag Kashyap: This one for some reason reminded me of Kashyap's film No Smoking, and it was one hell of a mess. Actually the chapter was more amusing than chilling, and it was not very good for someone as good as Kashyap.

Dibakar Banerjee: Indeed, this one is perhaps the most effective of the four segments. The entire zombie track was derivative obviously but it had a very nice political message which worked out well. Some of the portions were indeed disgusting, but the climactic portions of this chapters were perhaps the most interesting in the entire film.

Karan Johar: As one can expect from Johar, this one is set in a luxurious mansion, and in this regard the visuals make it more than it would have been otherwise. The setting is stunning, but the story is nothing to write home about. It actually gave me some 'Get Out' vibes (that great 2017 film), but obviously much less efficient. Again, much of it is almost comical in tone, and the conclusion is most predictable, making for a rather forgettable chapter overall.

--- In many ways, Ghost Stories is exactly what happens when filmmakers fall in love with ideas than substance. A few good moments here and there do not really save this forgettable anthology film.

Zoya - 5/10 Anurag - (-)3/10 Dibakar - 6/10 Karan - 3/10