Sommerleigh Pollonais, Horror Head Writer
South Korean, Mexican, Taiwanese. Thanks to Netflix I’ve seen more than my fair share of international horror movies, but strangely enough I haven’t seen that much of the genre courtesy Bollywood. Shaitaan popped up in my recommended feed and even though the long runtime (a standard for Bollywood films) initially put me off, I decided to give it a go.
Shaitaan manages to pull off something different by blending two sub-genres of horror you rarely see together—a home invasion with a supernatural twist (I strongly recommend watching it without viewing the trailer). I went into this knowing nothing about it, making the mystery and creepiness of Vanraj Kashyap’s character, Madhavan, all the more effective. To keep things as spoiler free as possible, I’ll just give you the broad strokes. A happy affluent family decide to vacation at their farmhouse in the countryside. On the way there they stop for a bite and a charming stranger joins them for lunch. His sights set on their teenage daughter Jahnvi (Janki Bodiwala) he shows up at their home and reveals he has the sinister ability to control Jahnvi. As the night progresses and the horror unfolds, parents Kabir and Jyoti (Jyotika) do everything in their power to protect themselves and their young son Dhruv (Anngad Raaj) as Madhavan’s twisted games are played. But his true motives for targeting Jahnvi are more diabolical than anything you could expect and it’s up to Kabir to save them all.
I’m not a parent, but director Vikas Bahl and writers Aamil Keeyan Khan and Krishnadev Yagnik do a fantastic job of making you feel the unease, dread, frustration and helplessness felt by the parents here who could do nothing but watch this maniac tear apart their family. Vanraj Kashyap’s portrayal of Madhavan was a standout of the movie and one of its main strengths, but I also have to give props to Janki Bodiwala whose role as his teenaged victim was quite physically and emotionally demanding and she delivered in spades.
As I mentioned earlier, the runtime here is problematic (it’s two hours and 20 minutes) and certainly not necessary for a story such as this one. A lot of time is spent watching the family suffer Madhavan’s twisted games to the point where it will make you wish even more for his demise, but it also creates a plot hole as very early on we’re told there’s a clock on his machinations (why waste so much time?). Overall, though, Shaitaan was a thrilling watch from beginning to end and I’ll definitely be more inclined to check other tales of horror from Bollywood in the future.
Sommer’s Score: 7 out of 10
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Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge-Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes. Double Tap Baby! Read More