Horror never fails to enthrall audiences and film-makers alike and from multiple adaptations of Wilkie Collins’s 1860 story, ‘The Woman in White in films like ‘Woh Kaun Thi’, ‘Bees Saal Baad’ and the Ramsey fear fests, the horror genre has grown to include zombies, supernatural elements, meta humour, romance, crime, and even dystopian and investigative thrillers. The rise of OTT platforms has also popularised long-format shows in many languages with horror at their core. This winter you can also enjoy some chilling fun in the theatres and on the small screen so here is a list you can pick and choose from.
1. Victoria
Anand Pandit Motion Pictures and Pushkar Jog’s Goosebumps Entertainment’s Marathi horror film, ‘Victoria’, are all set to be released on December 16. Jointly directed by debutants Jeet Ashok and Virajas Kulkarni, the film revolves around the inmates of a haunted house and the mysterious events that follow. The big-budget movie that was primarily shot in Scotland stars Pushkar Jog, Sonalee Kulkarni, and Aashay Kulkarni. It is also the debut Marathi movie of the Punjabi model and actress, Heera Sohal. The spooky entertainer promises to be a lot of fun and fans are busy speculating about the secrets that the film will unearth as it takes us on a journey like no other.
2. Phone Bhoot
Tons of meta humor and inside jokes garnish this laughter fest headlined by Katrina Kaif. The story of ghostbusters, Sherdil Shergill aka ‘Major’ (Siddhant Chaturvedi), Galileo Parthasarathy aka ‘Gullu’ (Ishaan Khattar), and Raagini (Kaif), a glamorous ghost on a mission is gathering much appreciation for its unusual take on the horror genre. With Jackie Shroff reliving the glory days of ‘Hero,’ Kaif teaching Sheeba Chaddha how to pronounce ‘Moksh’ and throwbacks to Ramsay films, what is not to like? ‘Phone Booth’ is directed by Gurmeet Singh and produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani.
3. Bhediya
If you have not had enough films about good-looking werewolves, here comes ‘Bhediya’. Directed and produced by Amar Kaushik and Dinesh Vijan, the film stars Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon and its trailer has already garnered around 46 million views in two weeks. The idea of an ordinary young man transforming into an ‘ichchadhari bhediya’ (mythical werewolf)’, with ‘Rampuri chaaku’ nails and Dracula teeth at night is both funny and intriguing. Entirely shot in Arunachal Pradesh, ‘Bhediya’ will release in theatres on November 25th.
4. The Watcher
This Netflix mini-series co-created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan revolves around a couple, Nora (Naomi Watts) and Dean Brannock (Bobby Cannavale), and their two kids. When they move to a house in the suburbs of Westfield in New Jersey, they encounter unfriendly neighbors and nightmarish incidents. They start to receive mysterious letters from someone addressing himself as ‘The Watcher’. The seven-episode edge-of-the-seat drama is said to be inspired by a true story published in the New York Magazine in 2018, titled, ‘The Haunting of a Dream House. The series was released on October 13, of this year.
