Phoonk 2
wogma rating: Add to 'must watch' list (?) - Only for filmy-freaks who enjoy horror
Not that it was very difficult to make anything better than the first in this series, yet, this one came as a pleasant shock. Because I actually jittered and for once, could identify with the nervous laughter and shrieks from the audience. Yet, loose writing doesn't make it a satisfying horror.
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I don't remember the last time I walked out of a theater and felt like I've left a different world behind. Not a world that I want to go back into any time soon, but that's not because of the quality of what I saw in there, it's the shocked and the fright my insides felt. It might have accentuated because somewhere, deep down I was expecting to watch an unintentional comedy. To my credit it was absolutely justified. But this one turned out to be a chiller. So, what if there was zero-thought in its story. Oh, by the way, the film is not directed by Ram Gopal Varma. Just saying.
Phoonk 2 creates a lot of shrieks, if not out loud from the audience, at least a jerk or a shudder every once in a while. And this is all on the basis of the camerawork, sound design (though almost always, it's on the louder side), make-up and taking the suspense to an almost intolerable high. Though in a large chunk of the first half, the thrill peaks got very annoying. Later, as you get used to it and the movie moves forward inch by inch you get sucked into the drama.
The writing, characterisations, and worse of all - continuity are all way beyond comprehension. The first half is used to establish that each of the characters is scared to the last nerve by an unknown and they sense something spooky doing the rounds. The second half has all these characters either getting beaten up or killed brutally by this unknown.
Yes, it scares you. Not because you care for the protagonist and his family. But more because the unknown creates a completely suffocating environment. And maybe that is the film's success.
But there are way too many things left loose. And here I'm not complaining about stuff that remains unexplained. I didn't let the 'why's bother me. For example, I very forcefully ignored the omnipresent, evil spirit's graciousness in allowing characters to mourn the dead for the longest time.
It's the 'how's that became too distracting. Like, can the said unknown scary unknown, with the said powers be at the same place twice? There are jerks in continuity like day turning into night and vice versa with no logical flow. And I'm one of those who didn't have a problem with the dark climax. In fact, it was very Harry Potterish.
Of course, the movie wouldn't have had half the impact had the performances not been to the mark. Except for the overacting exorcists, the rest of the cast did a decent enough job of getting scared and thus scaring us.
A lot of what worked for the film is because of the make-up department and the cinematographer doing an awesome job. Phoonk 2 had me in a 'job to get done' mode before it started. That turned into cynicism, in the first half hour, with every scene that moved slowly with music reaching its climax every five minutes. And absolutely unexpectedly, it started creating jitters. And that kind of anxiety doesn't give me a kick, which is why horror is by far my least-liked genre. Even so, usually super-natural horror stories don't scare me easily. This one did. I wanted the spirit to go away, because at some level I could identify with the family it was causing such agony to.
If you really like that kind of horror, you could go for it. I doubt a DVD watch will do justice to the cinematography. If like me, getting terrorized - by the dead or alive - is not your idea of cinema, the IPL is still on, not only on the sports channels but on the news channels too!
- meeta, a part of the audience
Thumbs up, by Mehul Satish Thakkar, IBN Live : ...actually given a lot of attention to visuals as well that makes it even more interesting.... full review
Thumbs up, by Mehul Satish Thakkar, IBN Live : ...actually given a lot of attention to visuals as well that makes it even more interesting.... full review
Thumbs up, by Darshit, Movies Music and Me : ...hen why do critics think that shutting doors, scary toys and noise making swings are a cliche?!! Those are mere basic elements for a horror movie. And Phoonk 2 succeeds in using them so effectively that scares. ... full review
So-So, by Anmol Singh Diddan, AOL INDIA : ...The film has some great camera work with innovative angles and dark shots that capture the mood of the film quite nicely. ... full review
So-So, by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com : ...Its sequel, though having an interesting angle, falls short of expectations. ... full review
So-So, by Divya Solgama, Gomolo.in : ...Story has some shades of Hollywood film “Childs Play” and our own Feroz Khan starrer “Jadu Tona”.... full review
So-So, Movie Talkies : ...The entire first half is only used in creating the ambience. Some of the effects are really trivial, like a black crow, or a lizard on the wall. ... full review
So-So, by Elvis D'Silva, Rediff : ...This movie does 'creeping dread' pretty effectively. ... full review
So-So, by Sonia Chopra, Sify Movies : ...The film moves swiftly and doesn't shy away from showcasing the ruthlessness of the avenging spirit. ... full review
So-So, by Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India : ...So, what's really new? Neither the heebie-jeebies nor the storyline.... full review
Thumbs down, by Nikhil Kumar, Apun Ka Choice : ...Much blood is spilled and the body count keeps rising as Madhu’s ghost spooks the family;... full review
Thumbs down, by Nikhil Kumar, Apun Ka Choice : ...Much blood is spilled and the body count keeps rising as Madhu’s ghost spooks the family;... full review
Thumbs down, by Bobby Sing, Bobby Talks Cinema.com : ...As a straight remark Phoonk 2 has been made only for the sake of trying a sequel.... full review
Thumbs down, by Bobby Sing, Bobby Talks Cinema.com : ...As a straight remark Phoonk 2 has been made only for the sake of trying a sequel.... full review
Thumbs down, by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama : ...PHOONK 2 lacks the grip of PHOONK. A complete letdown!... full review
Thumbs down, by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama : ...PHOONK 2 lacks the grip of PHOONK. A complete letdown!... full review
Thumbs down, by Fatema, Cinemaa Online : ...But then he did warn us, watch at your own risk.... full review
Thumbs down, by Fatema, Cinemaa Online : ...But then he did warn us, watch at your own risk.... full review
Thumbs down, by Deepa Garimella, fullhyd.com : ...the joke's mostly on you.... full review
Thumbs down, by Mayank Shekhar, Hindustan Times : ...Too much raw-stock remains. Bouts of nothingness follow. Even visual jolts aren’t attempted... full review
Thumbs down, by Rajeev Masand, IBN Live : ...But compared to this dumb family that moves into another large spooky house -- this one in the middle of a jungle, by the way -- give me the crazy lady any day! ... full review
Thumbs down, by Mihir Fadnavis, india.com : ...RGV employs a simple philosophy behind a movie like this - add more squishing, add more screaming, and it'll be better, or at least it'll make more money... full review
Thumbs down, by Shubhra Gupta, indian express : ...Phoonk 2’ works as a creep-out, gross-out horror flick, especially in the second half, when the gloves come off, and the `bhoot’ races about a deserted bungalow, impaling and dismembering. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Gaurav Malani, indiatimes : ... focus is merely on resorting to as much technical gimmickry as possible from standard sound effects, shocking shot-takings and gyrating camera movements. ... full review
Thumbs down, Indicine : ...The actors do a pretty decent job, especially Sudeep and Amruta Khanvilkar... full review
Thumbs down, by Bryan Durham, MiD DAY : ...Only Ahsaas Channa is more confident this time around. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Partha Pratim, Mixed Bag : ...Ramu didn't copy anyone, you sneaky dimwit! 'Inspiration' is the word! Good old habits die hard.... full review
Thumbs down, by Indu Mirani, Mumbai Mirror : ... And where is the need to have such an obvious background score. More than anything else, that gave away the suspense each time you built up any.... full review
Thumbs down, by Anupama Chopra, NDTV : ...The first half of the film is all atmospherics and the family making stilted conversation. ... full review
Thumbs down, by IANS, Now Running.com : .... We remain tragically detached from the trauma of Kannada star Sudeep's family.... full review
Thumbs down, by Sudhir Nair, Passion for Cinema : ...It seems as though the writer/director Milind Gadagkar has decided that this movie will have not thrills, chills and defiantly no titillation. Ergo, it has no fun either.... full review
Thumbs down, by Rahul Singh, Passion for Cinema : ...This movie is plagued by mediocrity and plethora of errors. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Khalid Mohamed, Passion for Cinema : ...a world cinema record is set for the highest number of times, “Relax…relaaax…reeelax, rrrrelax, rilaksh,” is uttered ... full review
Thumbs down, by Sampurn, real bollywoood : ...the sequel manages to pack in more chills and thrills and keeps you terrified most of the time than the first one. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Reuters : ...Milind Gadagkar’s sequel to “Phoonk”, imaginatively titled “Phoonk 2″, is however less about the thrills and chills and more about unnecessarily loud background music, badly made- up ghosts and an inane storyline that has no beginning and no end.... full review
Thumbs down, by K N Gupta, SmasHits.com : ...First, the story isn't cohesive. Two, editing is weak and thirdly, the movement is too slow. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Janhvi Patel, StarBoxOffice : ...There are a few scenes which will make you scream (after which you laugh) and fear-evoking Ashwini Kalsekar (the ghost) is responsible for most of them. ... full review
Thumbs down, by K K Rai, STARDUST : .... The pain and anguish expressed on his face looks very real and can be passed nearing natural.... full review
Thumbs down, The Telegraph : ...Someone even screams on spying a bald man! The audience merely yawns.... full review
Thumbs down, by Mr Care, Upper Stall : ...The biggest grouses against it are the unbelievable logical gaffes in the film. Really, this stuff is Film 101. ... full review
Thumbs down, by SpiceZee Bureau, Zee News : .... He has used different camera angles, false alarms and unsettling close-ups of unattractive faces for the horror effect. ... full review
Twitter reviews for this movie are not available.
This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.
Plot Summary
Rajeev's (Sudeep) family goes to a stand-alone bungalow in Alibaug for the vacation. Fun is elusive as a spirit of a person they had wronged in an earlier film is back to take some nasty revenge.
What did not
- Parents leave their kids alone in such a scary environment? When they've just had nightmares!! Was the evil spirit was mistaken in thinking Rajeev loved his family deeply.
- What kind of responsible, good people from Mumbai don't wear seat-belts! Big no-no!!
- Lizard, crow were such avoidables!
Parental Guidance:
- Violence: Loads of murders
- Language: Clean
- Nudity & Sexual content: None
- Concept: That of a spirit possessing a human and exorcism
- General Look and Feel: Very grim and dark
![[Sudeep twitter account]](/static/images/icons/twitter_small.png){kind=icon}
Comments (3)
Ok finally can you compare it with the part 1? as I saw part 1 and believe me it was so much funny to me than scary. In part one the main hero of the movie was a craw! hehe!
@Hindi Radio It is better than Phoonk. Phoonk was comedy, this is at least scary. The crow makes a one-shot guest appearance :)
I saw both parts, the second part is scarier then Phonk 1. surely its a good entertainer!
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