******MINOR SPOILERS****
Mixing dashes of THE EXORCIST, EVIL DEAD-inspired scares with Dario Argento-style image/sound combinations against a NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET-derived female teen protaganist, RAATRI really is the business. Never dull, and boasting some eerie atmospheric sequences (esp. when she finds herself alone, in what was seconds previously a crowded cinema-truly hallucinogenic), the cut'n'paste nature of the plot doesn't interfere with the flick's high enjoyability factor.
RAATRI is an oddity for a Hindi flick- with no songs, no dance sequences,it delivers none of the escapism/romance typical of mainstream Bollywood fare. (To my Western eyes it seems like a totally "Off-Bollywood" production). This fact alone makes it a rare treat, and the peculiarly Indian spin on Hollywood's high school genre combined with the usual censorship limitations (i.e low gore) combine in an exotic manner delivering a tone quite unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's as cheesy as 80's Hong Kong horror in places, but...with that era sadly gone forever, this isn't necessarily a complaint.
The lack of body count may disappoint hardcore gore-hounds but the film makes up for it in spades, with over-the-top sound design and a highly charged, atmospheric and eerie music score (some of which sounds awfully familiar to THE EXORCIST).
For newbies to Hindi film, it's a great introduction and minus the staple song and dance numbers, (which I felt would have been terrific) it's a breezy two hours plus in duration. The acting is fine, the fx-old school (but all the better for it) and...the ending?...well, I've always been a sucker for a freeze-frame finale, especially when there's a demonic cat involved! Who couldn't dig a film that that simply announces "THRILLS by..." in the opening titles?
The end credits mysteriously announce "70mm" in sound and pic departments-and the mind boggles at the thought of this gem being shot and viewed (if such is the case) in this format. WOW!
Mixing dashes of THE EXORCIST, EVIL DEAD-inspired scares with Dario Argento-style image/sound combinations against a NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET-derived female teen protaganist, RAATRI really is the business. Never dull, and boasting some eerie atmospheric sequences (esp. when she finds herself alone, in what was seconds previously a crowded cinema-truly hallucinogenic), the cut'n'paste nature of the plot doesn't interfere with the flick's high enjoyability factor.
RAATRI is an oddity for a Hindi flick- with no songs, no dance sequences,it delivers none of the escapism/romance typical of mainstream Bollywood fare. (To my Western eyes it seems like a totally "Off-Bollywood" production). This fact alone makes it a rare treat, and the peculiarly Indian spin on Hollywood's high school genre combined with the usual censorship limitations (i.e low gore) combine in an exotic manner delivering a tone quite unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's as cheesy as 80's Hong Kong horror in places, but...with that era sadly gone forever, this isn't necessarily a complaint.
The lack of body count may disappoint hardcore gore-hounds but the film makes up for it in spades, with over-the-top sound design and a highly charged, atmospheric and eerie music score (some of which sounds awfully familiar to THE EXORCIST).
For newbies to Hindi film, it's a great introduction and minus the staple song and dance numbers, (which I felt would have been terrific) it's a breezy two hours plus in duration. The acting is fine, the fx-old school (but all the better for it) and...the ending?...well, I've always been a sucker for a freeze-frame finale, especially when there's a demonic cat involved! Who couldn't dig a film that that simply announces "THRILLS by..." in the opening titles?
The end credits mysteriously announce "70mm" in sound and pic departments-and the mind boggles at the thought of this gem being shot and viewed (if such is the case) in this format. WOW!