Well, this is not what I was expecting from the first movie of the year 2020. At the stroke of midnight, Netflix released its original Indian film, Ghost Stories. The four directors of hit Lust Stories returned to direct new segments in this one in a new genre. For most of them, this was the first attempt at horror. Zoya Akhtar has written the screenplay for horror-ish Talaash. Anurag Kashyap has directed No Smoking, which can easily pass off as a psychological horror film. Karan Johar has produced Kaal. Dibakar Bannerjee was in a brand new territory. And interestingly, Dibaker is the one who gets it the most correctly. Ahead of Netflix’s Ghost Stories, 5 Horror Movies of the Decade That Proves Bollywood Has the Potential to Deliver Spine-Chilling Flicks.

Zoya's segment features Janhvi Kapoor and an impeccably talented Surekha Sikri. Janhvi has certainly given a better performance here than in her debut, Dhadak. The atmosphere of the film is scary. The story not so much. Unless you count the horror of the lead female figuring out that men are trash. Maybe that was the point. Janhvi plays a proxy nurse, Sameera, to an ailing, delusional Aunty (Surekha). They are let down by the one man they trust the most in their lives. But to drive the point home, Zoya has used a cliched ending that you'd be able to predict. Thankfully, the message is not hammered into our heads but left to interpretation. You might as well see this segment with absolutely no commentary and it will still make sense. Something that you should not do with Dibaker's segment.

Next up is Anurag's segment featuring Sobhita Dhulipala in the lead. For some reason the setting is London, the 60s maybe. This segment will leave you thinking if it's a psychological horror or if supernatural elements were at work. I am going to go and say it was an amalgamation of both. The supernatural forces dive deep into the disturbed mind of a pregnant woman, played by the actress. For the most part, you are only getting to know the characters until the final blow. The use of desaturated tone of colours is creepy and adds to the aura. Again, I wouldn't push it but I wonder if kids are the real devil is the message that Anurag had on mind. A technically smart film only hampered by the fact that some might fail to look past the layers.

And if you want to skip all the shorts and only watch Dibaker's segment. By all means, please do that. This is absolutely unmissable. Gulshan Devaiah has been promoting the film but was absolutely nowhere to be seen in the promos of posters. You will find out why and how. The utterly creepy atmosphere is made even creepier if you are able to read into the commentary on social politics. I would go out and say this one deserves a full-fledged feature. A man is trapped in a small village, bustling with flesh-eating zombies/vampires, with nothing to his aid but last two surviving kids. The rules of survival and technicalities of this new dawn are explained slowly and painfully. Gulshan Devaiah gets the best role to play at the very beginning of the decade. Gulshan Devaiah Reveals Dibakar Banerjee Is the Reason He Did Netflix’s Ghost Stories.

The production design of this segment is beyond amazing. Truly, the most horrifying of all. And it is not dependent on the darkness of the night. You get to see the horror unfold in broad daylight. When was the last time there was a movie set in the day? Highly recommended.

And finally, 'Karan Johar makes a horror film' is a horror film in itself. Credit where due, this man has made the most glamourous horror film ever. Mrunal Thakur leads this one about a woman married to a man who talks to his dead grandmother. The cinematography and the set design is beyond beautiful. I can watch it again for that sake. It is a tough competition between Anurag and Karan as to who played the best with colours. My vote would go to Karan. The director uses colours to tell the story if you have the eye to notice. Brilliant. But the story has been flipped out of an episode of Aahat. Hell, I've seen Aahat episodes with a better plot than this. Karan's segment plays the most with cliches. All Karan and Zoya had to do were to watch Darna Mana Hai and it's an underwhelming sequel to know what they are doing has been done already. At least, I was able to find a subliminal message in Zoya's story.

I convinced myself that KJo is being ironic about the cliches and maybe, just maybe, the movie is self-aware about it. Maybe that was the point of the film, but it was not. It all comes crashing down with a boring climax.

Yay

Dibaker FTW

Gulshan is amazing

Janhvi can act, guys

Technically sound films

Nay

Cliched stories

Conclusion

Give it a try. If you have not watched enough horror movies, you'd enjoy it. But for horror fans, this one will be a letdown in totality. Individually, Dibaker's film will blow your mind away. Anurag's comes a close second. A technically smart film let down by mediocre stories.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 01, 2020 08:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).