Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap’s Ghost Stories was a much-anticipated film of this year. Since the film was dropped on Netflix on Jan 1, 2020, and as we were expecting to be spooked watching the year's scariest movie, what we got didn't really cut it. From trying to attempt to scare us to the stories each director tries to put in, you are left questioning ‘But where are the scares?’ Here’s the first review of Janhvi Kapoor and Mrunal Thakur starrer.
“Darna Zarrori hai" is the dictum we go by while watching horror films. If you don't get the creeps and scares after watching a horror film, how good is it? Not quite, right? That's the taste Ghost Stories leaves in your mouth. We saw the film on the first day of the new year, expecting a unique bone-chilling experience, considering the cast and direction might behind the OTT film, but boy, it didn't float our boat. After Bombay Talkies and Lust Stories, we expected near perfection from this team but, what we got was Lost Stories, sorry Ghost stories!
Ghost Stories is a compilation of four short stories based on the very idea of ‘fear’ which has been narrated by four filmmakers Zoya Akhtar, Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap and Dibakar Bannerjee. The four directors tell a story in their extremely contrasting storytelling styles for Netflix. Zoya Akhtar’s story is based on a nurse played by Janhvi Kapoor and a patient Surekha Shriki. The tale is about a creepy episode revolving around a homestay-nurse and an ailing elderly woman. Anurag Kashyap’s part deals with a pregnant woman and her inability to come to terms with her mysterious past. Dibakar Bannerjee’s short is about a village full of man-eaters whereas Karan Johar’s story is about a guy’s obsession with his grandmother that freaks out the newly wed-bride.
What saves the day for Ghost Stories? National Award-winning actress, Surekha Sikri, who is absolutely brilliant as a frail paralysed old lady. Watch it also for the excellent individual acting performances and the exceptional title sequence.
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