Pari

”Scary as hell and heaven and every imaginable eerie space in between.”

Rating: 3 stars | Full review

”Its foundation derives a density rooted across so many sources – from Middle Eastern supernatural mythology to Bengali children folktales, from Swedish romantic vampire movies to Hollywood alien franchises, from genocidal rape subversions and the Bangladesh refugee crisis to menstrual cramps and campy black-magic cults – that its crowded newness feels somewhat shackled within the stylistic confines of moving images.”

Rating: 3 stars | Full review

“I’m a real sucker for horror films, but in Bollywood it’s a genre that hasn’t produced anything particularly memorable since Ramgopal Varma’s Bhoot came out 15 years ago.”

Rating: 2 stars | Full review

”Darkness, evil, blood, Satanists, satanic verses, bruised women in chains and men with hacksaws. It’s all drummed in. That’s your supernatural part. The horror part of it unspools right alongside. Thunder, lightning, rain, women in black robes with rotten skulls for faces, noises off, creaking doors. What you don’t get, in all this blood-and-gore and groan-and-moan and slash-and-burn, is a film.”

Rating: 1 star | Full review

“Anushka Sharma’s Rukhsana is an attempt to humanise the idea of the Satan living inside all of us. Her enthusiasm makes it bearable. You’re willing to give her the benefit of doubt, but a messed-up screenplay snatches away her chance to rise and shine.”

Rating: 1 star | Full review

“The movie takes a whole lot of time to establish a morbid mood, with most of the thrills expended in the first hour.”

| Full review

“This is not a movie made by a romantic or a natural wit, but by someone who has visualised its netherworld and who believes un-cynically in its codes, myths, and echoes. Despite its many failings — primary among which is a mouldy first half — Pari’s finally an effective motion picture because it brings to life one of our central folklore figures; turning in the process, one of our primal childhood fears inside out.”

Rating: 3 stars | Full review

“A horror flick that does not transport us to a universe of angels. The film may not be outright horrid in terms of quality. However, in seeking to deliver an unending supply of heavy-handed chills and thrills, it goes all out without a safety net… Pari isn’t exactly the sort of supernatural thriller that Bollywood fans are accustomed to watching, yet it abounds in several of the obvious tropes of the genre. Its flights into fear and foreboding are frequent. It leaves nothing to the imagination and yet feels exasperatingly fudgy.”

Rating: 2 stars | Full review

“Odd film… Horror, romance, emotional drama and even a female bonding saga all rolled into one. There are jinns, a devil-worshipping cult, women in chains, references to events in Bangladesh and several murdered animals. There are echoes of horror classics like Rosemary’s Baby, Let the Right One In and the full 180 degree head turn from The Exorcist. The influences are lofty but director and co-writer Prosit Roy creates an undercooked and confusing film… Through most of it, you’ll be scratching your head and saying, what just happened?”

Rating: 2 stars | Full review

“As in Rosemary’s Baby, you could read the happenings in a number of ways. For instance: Is the once-a-month pain a witch faces while her body gets infected with poison a reference to menstrual cramps? Is Pari really about the horrors women undergo — from rape to being expected to carry on bloodlines to being abandoned by their partners during pregnancy to even being chained by men when they don’t conform to feminine stereotypes?”

| Full review