CAST:  Emran Hashmi, Nikita Dutta, Manav Kaul, Denzil Smith, Yuri Suri

DIRECTOR: Jay K

BLUF

A troubled couple from Mumbai movie to Mauritius. While setting up their home, the lady of the house buys an intricately carved wooden box for their stately colonial house.

Little did she know that the box would completely change their lives. Then start the loud creaks, the whispers, ghostly shadows, and the weird behavior of the wife, leading both Sam (Emraan Hashmi) and Mahi (Nikita Dutta) into a trip down their pasts and the connection of the box, the story of which appears rooted in the Jewish history of the island.

THE MEAT AND THE POTATOES

Denzil Smith has been in this plot before. In the most Halloween-ish avatars possible, he is here to announce the presence of a spirit. In a diversion from run-off-the-mill plots, the Christian priest is now assisted by a Jewish Rabbi because the spirit’s back story seeps in the Jewish arts of Kabbalah and mysticism.

Manav Kaul is the Rabbi who brings the knowledge of Kabbalistic Judaism and figures out the mystery. In a mix of Torah, tantra, and an evil spirit, the story hits differently than any other story ever told. This movie is a remake of the Malayalam movie Ezra and keeps the frames close to the OG,

IN THE KNOW

Emran Hashmi movies are known for their music. This one efficiently uses the notes for the background to the spooky events.

The spook checklist checks out.

There are dogs that bark There are dead people hiding in closets. The shadows, people getting thrown at the walls, the spirit entering the body of the vulnerable, jump scares, contorted bloody bodies, pale white women in robes(what’s with that, btw), and people levitating as they are possessed.

All the elements work in order of importance to the script.

WHAT WE LOVED

EMRAAN, MANAV

WHAT WE MISSED

THE REAL SPOOK