1920 Horrors of the Heart Movie Review: Wonder what is it about the year 1920 that all the desi bhoots and chudails are converging to haunt it up. 1920: Horrors of the Heart is the latest installment in Vikram Bhatt's 1920 series that continues to persist past its expiry date (that ended with its first film itself) but with such diminishing returns that even Vikram Bhatt has stopped bothering to helm it, instead giving control to his daughter, Krishna Bhatt. And even though the bar isn't that high, 1920: Horrors of the Heart is easily the worst in the franchise, with no department bothering to improve it. Avika Gor's Hot Kissing and Lovemaking Scenes From 1920-Horrors of the Heart Songs Go Viral; Fans Say 'Balika Vadhu' Has Grown Up!

On the eve of her 21st birthday, Meghna (Avika Gor) is shocked to find her father Dheeraj (Randhir Rai) hanging himself. Later, she finds his diary, in which he accuses her mother Radhika (Barkha Bisht) of being a selfish and evil woman who tried to slowly poison him, which had a negative impact on his health, and then left them for a taste of the high life. Meghna learns that Radhika has since married an aristocrat named Shantanu (Rahul Dev) from Girivaan, and they have a teenage daughter.

Meghna seeks revenge on her mother and incites her father's spirit to help her. She leaves her boyfriend Arjun (Danish Pandor) behind and travels to Girivaan to her mother's new home, but is surprised to find that the residents there are not as bad as she thought. While Radhika is initially aloof, Shantanu turns out to be a kind-hearted man, and her step-sister Aditi (Ketaki Kulkarni), who just turned 16 but acts like an annoying 12-year-old, latches on to her dormant sisterly affection. However, Meghna's burning desire for revenge, instigated by her father's evil spirit, wreaks havoc on the family, as the spirit possesses the young Aditi and indulges in Exorcist-like pranks.

Watch the Trailer of 1920: Horrors of the Heart:

1920: Horrors of the Heart is once again set in British India during the year 1920, though this period aesthetic has stopped existing to being relevant to the franchise. Instead, what it is doing to the present movie is making a challenge for the makers to recreate that period setting within a budget that doesn't have the capacity to pull that off.

So instead what we get are plenty of greenscreens to standin for some of the buildings of that era. The makers go one step even further and even use greenscreens to act as interiors of the mansion where Radhika lives, and blur it out so that we won't catch what they are doing. Unfortunately for them, the scares are so bad that they aren't enough to distract us from the low-budget making of the film. The VFX looks quite cheap - the makeup on Amit Behl who plays an undead evil tantrik is laughable.  The visual quality is so bad that the film reminded be of Zee TV's Anhonee, that too of the bad episodes ('cos the good ones were truly creepy).

I thought since the reins moved from the father to the daughter, there would be a refreshing change of perception in how to handle horror aspects of these movies. Sadly, Krishna Bhatt borrows the same tired scary tropes that plagued the previous horror films helmed by Vikram Bhatt, and brings nothing new to the table. So we still have creaky doors, blankets getting yanked, foggy exteriors, whitish ghoul faces that is simply poor makeup, Gayatri mantras, evil tantriks, cheap and predictable jumpscares all making their presence felt here. There is an action scene on top of a train that is so badly executed that you stop taking the film seriously from this point onwards, and that's truly saying something. Also, come on, are we still persisting with the trope that ghosts find closed doors a sudden barrier in their rampage, when seconds later, they are easily out of the room to continue their menace? Durgamati Movie Review: Bhumi Pednekar Can’t Pull Off an Anushka Shetty in This Dumb Horror-Thriller With a Sneaky Political Twist.

There is also an infusion of sex that is so randomly placed in the film, as if the makers are trying to tick all the boxes of what makes a desi horror film.  And when you add poor acting to the list, the ritual is complete. Avika Gor goes theatrical when she has to emote hard. As her unfortunate boyfriend, Danish Pandor is stuck with one expression or two. Barkha Bisht and Ketaki Kulkarni are both okay, while Rahul Dev looks bored in what is perhaps the nicest character of his career. And when I have to speak of performances, I also noticed certain dubbing sync issues in certain scenes. See, this is what happens when your film doesn't spook me enough - I have all the time to scratch out the little messes.

Final Thoughts

It's a crying shame that in 2023, we're still no closer to making a good horror film in Bollywood, where films like Raat, Bhoot and Tumbbad feel like aberrations rather than norms. After all, we've all been brought up on stories of ghosts and ghouls, so you'd think we'd have a natural aptitude for horror. 1920: Horrors of the Heart is a torturous disappointment that fails poorly in nearly all aspects, be it technically, in the performances, and in the making. If you're looking for a good scare, this ain't it. Watch it at your own risk!

Rating:1.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 23, 2023 03:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).