Ghost
wogma rating: Switch channels if it's on cable (?)
Gore hidden behind special effects. So, no horror. And no comedy either. Tch, what a waste!
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Ghost - Preview
Shiney Ahuja, the name, comes with a snicker and more. And just when I thought that the last joke on his personal laugh was dead, and thus his career, I saw a trailer of a film called Ghost and...well, I snickered.
Interestingly, the giggle turned into the kind reserved for the on-the-face horror films. I admit, the gore in the trailer is pretty gross and it does unnerve you. But, somehow, the treatment to the subject seems to be as run-of-the-mill for the genre as can be.
And yet, I know I get spooked very easily, so there is a good chance that Ghost will give me that creepy, under-the-skin crawl that any decent horror film ought to. That besides though, there isn't much to look forward to. The songs sound like any other genre from the Vikram Bhatt camp. And these views are echoed in the few music reviews for Ghost.
It really doesn't feel like a movie that I'll enjoy watching, but might just end up being one which does what it sets out to do - chill the spine.
Music Reviews:
Milliblog - "Functional music for the ghost"
Music Aloud - "6.25/10"
Happy Sing - "Somehow Sharib-Toshi are still able to maintain interest in their songs even with their repetitive style."
- meeta, a part of the audience
One of the first few lines in Ghost go, "I'm a doctor. I have to behave responsibly, right?" And this along with the typical texture that goes with a B-grade horror film, seal the deal as far as how good the film is going to be. And the case gives itself little chance to be re-opened.
The little chance is afforded by the way in which spooks are created the first couple of times. Slimy insects and hardcore gore begin to do the do only to be rudely interrupted by special effects that make the images look like they are shot with a thermographic camera of some sort. I'm all game for filmmakers experimenting with techniques, but unfortunately this looked like a cop-out - a method in which they could avoid showing the implied gore. Or use of this technology was more feasible than the refined prosthetics skills that would be needed to pull it off.
That could've made the film better in terms of number of genuine creeps provided. Unfortunately, the creeps come from cheesy dialogues in romantic situations like, "Why are you so beautiful, Suhani?" or "I'll not forget you till I forget myself." Incidentally, this is supposed to be a break from the 'intense' horror situations and thus the love affair is rhythmically interspersed with the core of the Ghost story.
Usually this genre leave enough opportunities for the actors to scream, squeal and thus show their acting prowess. But Ghost's story doesn't have room for that because the lead pair barely every faces the spirit that's causing terror. Our man Shiney Ahuja has one break-down but that's about it. Sayali Bhagat has a few sequences to give a moderately scared expression and she quite firmly holds that one through most scenes - including the romance. Speaking of jokes, usually horror movies are associated with two kinds of laughter from the audience. One is kind that is at the film for trying to scare and the other is nervous laughter that comes right after a stand-alone spine-chilling scene. Ghost gives neither. It tries its bit of Christian symbolism with a character named Mary and frogs and locust-like insects, but the pace is so slow in many of the non-horror sequences that I could hardly be bothered to make sense of them. The only silver lining in this entire gamut of things that go wrong with Ghost is that it is directed by a woman. I don't think there are too many women have directed horror films. For what it's worth that needs to be applauded. And yet, I cannot recommend you to watch it even if you had nothing better to do.
- meeta, a part of the audience
Thumbs down, by Bobby Sing, Bobby Talks Cinema.com : ...also has few un-required songs (with a fairly good one too), which are not only interrupting but also quite annoying with their childish choreography.... full review
Thumbs down, by Prateeksha Khot, Bolly Spice : ...I seriously wanted to give this movie the benefit of doubt and checked if it was a canned movie released ages later. Apparently not... full review
Thumbs down, by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama : ...GHOST boasts of a couple of spine-tingling scary scenes, but a few spooky scenes does not a horror film make.... full review
Thumbs down, Daily Bhaskar : ...The director fails to spot that the movie suffers from continuity issues and unrealistic situations... full review
Thumbs down, by Rony D'Costa, Desi Martini : ...At regular intervals in the movie I was with a bhaad mein gaya bhoot expression on my face... full review
Thumbs down, by Mehul Suri, Desi Martini : ...The film borrows a lot from the Christian belief of the Devil and the Lord but is just about as interesting as a 3 am sermon on God TV. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Ameetbhuvan, Desi Martini : ...Ghost is a horror film that definitely can't scare even a kindergarten kid, yet can scar one for life and put one off cinema for ever.... full review
Thumbs down, by Blessy Chettiar, DNA : ...Ghost is so effective, it left this reviewer mentally scarred.... full review
Thumbs down, by Shubhra Gupta, Express India : ...The only way to get through it is to see the funny side of it all, and laugh the ghastliness away. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Nupur Barua, fullhyd.com : ...Costumes, designed by the director herself, are largely inspired by Fashion Street and Hill Road in Mumbai... full review
Thumbs down, by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com : ...What he does know is to keep the lighting low and make scary background sounds. Apart from that he just scratches the surface. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Rajeev Masand, IBN Live : ...Ghost isn't even one of those films that's so bad, it's fun to watch... full review
Thumbs down, by Fatema H Kagalwala, India Entertainment : ...Friday, the 13th is probably a suitable date for releasing a film called Ghost. This forced connection of spook however, does little for the audience.... full review
Thumbs down, by Gaurav Malani, indiatimes : ...This one is a slasher flick with (in-your-)face horror of the variety that could put Ramsays to shame.... full review
Thumbs down, by Komal Nahta, koimoi : ...Shiney Ahuja does a fair job but his performance seems laidback, probably because of the lacklustre script.... full review
Thumbs down, by Shubha Shetty Saha, MiD DAY : ...Stop it guys, we can't laugh any more.... full review
Thumbs down, Movie Talkies : ...The unintentional hilarity of it all will have you rolling in the aisles... full review
Thumbs down, by Mansha Rastogi, Now Running.com : ...The gory scenes, specially the Passion of the Christ type climax are shot aesthetically but in the scenario where the audience has already had a hearty laugh at the unintentional humour, even the gory scenes fail to make an impact... full review
Thumbs down, by Ruchi Mehta, Roochster : ...worst wanna-be-scary movie... full review
Thumbs down, by Sonia Chopra, Sify Movies : ...perhaps inspired by old-school Bollywood horror films that didn’t require anything except a grotesque monstrous thing on a killing spree.... full review
Thumbs down, by K N Gupta, SmasHits.com : ...The cast's performance doesn't reach the mark. Both the heroine and the hero look dud. Julia Bliss, a Russian actor, is good for nothing. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India : ...Once you realise there's nothing much in store in terms of the hebbie jebbies, you turn to the story. Equally unpromising. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Kunal Guha, yahoo! India : ...Step out of the screen and you will find your brain cells ready to be zipped up like a carcass in a body bag. ... full review
Twitter reviews for this movie are not available.
This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.
Parental Guidance:
- Violence: Loads and loads of gore.
- Language: Mostly clean. Religious bias shown in a few scenes.
- Nudity & Sexual content: Skimpily clad women. A kiss. A making out scene.
- Concept: A spirit is out to kill.
- General Look and Feel: Typical B-grade horror movie stuff
Comments (4)
Don't mind it meetu but u sound like favouring the film because it is made by a woman.
Hos did you manage to sit through it, it sounds like pure torture!
Absolutely unrecommended ! What a torture! Brutal murders, and more brutal murders.no story on gore and extremely brutal scenes. The director appears to be sick.
@Guddu "Favoring the film"? I gave it a 'switch channels if it's on cable' rating! I wish I could have given it a better rating because it was a horror film made by a woman, but that was not possible :D
@Sunil ha ha ha. that's how much i love my cinema :D
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