Bollywood's signature "masala" content has trickled down to almost every genre of films that it has made over the years. This applies to the horror genre too. With weird concepts like haunted pianos to deadly butterflies, we recommend you some of the most bizarre Bollywood horror films to watch alone during the lockdown. And yes, we mean it as a compliment.
Take a look at some of these horror films which are so bad that they are good:
Khamoshiyan
Made by debutant director Karan Dara and produced by Mukesh and Mahesh Bhatt, this 2015 film tops our list due to its absurdities. Kabir (Ali Fazal) goes to Kashmir to seek inspiration for his new book. Here, he meets Meera (Sapna Pabbi), the owner of the guest house he is staying in, and whose husband Jaidev (Gurmeet Chaudhary) is paralysed and bed-ridden. As Kabir falls in love with Meera, he realises she has not left her house in 2 years and is keeping a secret.
The uniqueness begins when you find out who the villain is, even though it is not very hard to figure this out. Without spoiling the film, there are sadistic paintings, blood droplets, flying ‘tantrik’ and a sword-fight with a butterfly involved. Go figure.
Raaz 3D
Even though we all agree that the original Raaz was superior and even that will not stop producers from churning out one film after another in the franchise, and now is the time to choose the worst of the lot. Raaz 3D, directed by Vikram Bhatt and starring Emraan Hashmi, Bipasha Basu and Esha Gipta, immediately comes to mind. A lot of these films, full disclosure, worked only because they were of the erotic genre and Raaz 3D too benefited from that.
A story of two half-sisters who are also competing Bollywood actresses. One of them is so jealous of the other, she makes her boyfriend do black magic on her sister, which leads to some of the cringiest scenes in the history of Indian cinema, but that is for you to enjoy. This again becomes a cliché love story, but which Indian horror film isn't? Browny points for getting through a scene involving ghost cockroaches.
1920 Evil Returns
The 1920 franchise keeps churning out bad films, but these are also amazing when you want to have a hearty laugh during a bad jumpscare. The second film in the franchise--1920: Evil Returns--is an oddly entertaining film. Directed by Bhushan Patel and starring Aftab Shivdasani and Tiya Bajpai, this film is a horror-romance-revenge saga that honestly doesn't make much sense.
A man takes in a woman who has lost her memory but doesn't know that there is an evil spirit inside her. He is a lonely poet, who was in love with a woman he had only known through letters, but she passed away after an accident. After naming this mysterious damsel Sangeeta and feeling a connection with her, various spooky things seem to happen in his mansion. He still doesn't ask this weird lady to leave. There are several baffling flashback sequences, angry best friends and a ghost who vomits iron nails. 1920 Evil Returns is weird but super fun.
Creature 3D
Directed by Vikram Bhatt, Creature 3D starring Bipasha Basu and Imran Abbas, is best known for the umbrella dance between the lead actors, rightfully so because it is the only memorable moment from the film. And that is a lot, considering the creature in question is a 10 feet long man-eating ‘Brahmarakshasa.’ Probably not a film that confines to the horror genre only, but it deserves a place in the list because of how, well trashy, it is.
A brave hotel owner refuses to run away to save her life after the area is tormented by a ‘Brahmarakshasa’. There are a lot of references to ‘Kartik Purnima’ and Brahma temple in Pushkar, but that does nothing to make this film interesting. However, it is a must watch if you enjoy bad acting, bad VFX and bad storyline simultaneously.
Shaapit
This film is a mess, and that is exactly why we are recommending it to you. Directed by Vikram Bhatt, Shaapit has Aditya Narayan in the lead. Aditya is also one of the seven screenwriters of the film. Too many cooks! The film too, like the spoilt broth, is frustratingly confusing and bizarre but a generation that thrives on Love Is Blind of Netflix shouldn't have a problem watching this, right?
Our hero Aman proposes to his girlfriend Kaya and immediately meets with an accident. It is then revealed that Kaya is a descendant of a king who was cursed that no woman of his lineage will be happily married. This is because the king had molested a woman who committed suicide and like most people in our society the writers thought it is valid to punish women for men's sins. From a haunted cinema that is like a club where all spirits hang out to a Maharani who randomly emerged at the scene, Shaapit is one of the trashiest films out there. Make sure you have popcorn with you.
Junoon
For nostalgia's sake, Mahesh Bhatt's 1992 film starring Rahul Roy and Pooja Bhatt might have been a technological miracle back in the time. Now, it’s just weird. There have been a thousand films and shows about a werewolf on a full moon night, but this time it is a cursed tiger. This itself is enough to peak one's curiosity about the film.
A man on a hunting trip with his friend gets into an altercation with a cursed tiger and then gets affected by the same curse, which makes him transform into a tiger on every full moon. He is also blinded by his obsession with his doctor and the evil in him makes him kill innocents. A must watch if you like to see how much technology has changed over the years.
Machhli Jal Ki Rani Hai
If you live getting your childhood memories destroyed, Machhli Jal Ki Raani is a must watch for you. A comical "paranormal thriller," this film tells the story of a couple who relocates to an old house in Jaipur and is met with paranormal events happening around them. The film has four to five parallel storylines (none of them are about fish) that lead to nowhere and exist to confuse the daylights out of the audience.
Why did Swara Bhasker, who usually is a great performer and chooses good scripts do this film? Was there a ransom involved? We will never know. But all we can do is enjoy this Debaloy Dey film, that looks like it is made with a vodeo recorder from 2005 and laugh about it.
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