The House Next Door: Horror not so much

Cast: Siddharth, Andrea Jeremiah, Atul Kulkarni

Rated: 4/10

Bollywood is yet to get its horror genre right, despite the Mukesh Bhatt kind of haunted slickness that comes visiting you, unapologetically from between the bed-sheets every once in a while. The House Next Door comes on Hollywood lines but without the desired results.

Based out of a groovy house (with a red lit giant cross in the hallway!), the story revolves around a whole lot of untenable “inspired by true story” incidents which keep you somewhat bored for much of the proceedings. There is a Chinese family tale of 1935 interwoven into the possession by ghosts of a teenage girl who has the hots for the dishy neurologist living next door — happily married to his wife of some years.

A child sacrifice, some skeletal remains, scary spirits dripping blood and a crazy Chinese patriarch complete the circle here but not too much avail. The production qualities are fair enough but the soul as one would say is missing.

Indeed horror needs a revamp and directors need to realise that the fear factor needs to be egged on by a story and not by repetitive acts of some dressed up ghost.

Source: Sunday Pioneer, 12 November, 2017