Bhoot Part One: The Haunted Ship
Ratings: 2.5/5
Duration: 2 Hrs 10 Mins
Director: Bhanu Pratap Singh
Genre: Horror
Release Date: 21st February 2020 (India)
Star Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar, Ashutosh Rana, Meher Vij, Akash Dhar
Plot: A young shipping officer Prithvi (Vicky Kaushal) struggling with a massive personal loss, post the accidental death of his wife (Bhumi Pednekar) and daughter takes it upon himself to investigate the paranormal activity occurring in a ship. Is it his hallucination, or is the ship haunted - are the two questions on which the film is based.
Review: Dharma production's Bhoot Part One: The haunted ship is the first horror film of the year 2020 and also one of the most watchable one among the handful of bollywood films in the horror genre.
The film's director Bhanu Pratap Singh has successfully managed to blur the lines between the psychological disorder and supernatural power. However, the important backstory isn’t interesting enough to make your wait worth it.
When it comes to performances Vicky Kaushal has done an outstanding job. Be it his internal turmoil, quiet vulnerability and outward terror, he has conveyed both with equal ease. But there are parts where he drops it a notch, though it isn’t entirely the actor’s fault since the screenplay has overused similar scenes.
Bhumi Pednekar as Prithvi’s wife puts in a brief special appearance but had an important portion to play. It was Ashutosh Rana’s character (Joshi), which was written too casually, to be taken seriously. His screen time was less and the character played by him entirely resembled his character from his movie raaz. The script didn't know what to do with him, hence did no justice to his caliber.
Generally, horror films have a few hallmarks to effectively scare its audience, and this one had it too. As far as the technical part of the story is concerned, ‘Bhoot Part One - The Haunted Ship’ manages to throw in a few terrifying moments with well-timed jumpscares, while keeping the background score subtle. Even the cinematography is dark and consistently good. But what made it unintentionally funny, rather than scary was the make-up.
Overall for a horror film, ‘Bhoot Part One: The Haunted Ship’ can give you a few spooks. Recommended for Vicky Kaushal's fans and those who are crazy about horror films!
