Ever since I can remember, I’ve had an obsessive inclination towards the Frankestiens, the Count Draculas, all versions of Friday the 13ths (strictly for the birds) and off late, towards the desi Raats, Bhoots, and of course Phoonk.
Ram Gopal Verma (RGV) had impressed me slightly with Raat (1992), where we had a young Revathi getting possessed at the drop of a hat, sending a chill down any ready spine. Bhoot (2003) was even better, apart from the occasional overdose of completely demented sound effects. But Phoonk? What was this guy thinking?
We have a rich young couple (they almost always are, living in a duplex and driving a CR-V), two saccharine-sweet kids, and a nervous mother with a shaking head, to start with. The man in the family is a confirmed atheist until everything in his life turns topsy-turvy, and his daughter, one of the two kids, becomes possessed by some random spirit. Our brave man becomes a believer, gets hold of a thoroughly obtuse quack, and cures his daughter. End of story.
Would you pay good money to watch this? Well, until recently, I would, being oblivious of the total lack of control on the part of RGV. To begin with, it’s bad logic to transform the atheist of the plot into a believer. This is an open invitation to primitivism in a country which is already smitten by Senas and Parishads, and Vedikes of every possible kind.
Back to the rich couple. The man throws out a criminal couple in the middle of some celebration. The couple swears revenge. Unfortunately for the rich couple, the criminal couple knows black magic. Sad.
What follows is a ridiculous blend of The Omen (both 1976 & 2006), The Exorcist (1973) and every other cult horror flick possible. There is a crow that watches everything from a vague treetop, a delirious black magician who wreaks havoc on the kid, and by the end of it all, you wish the sound system of the theatre was non-functional.
For someone who has tolerated absurd horror flicks like Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter (1966) and I Eat Your Skin (1971), I would have soaked in the absurdity of Phoonk too, had a few things been set right. However, the RGV factory decided to spoil my party with a misplaced storyline, bad ideology and demented background score once more. As a result, my horror-hunger continues…
Ram Gopal Verma (RGV) had impressed me slightly with Raat (1992), where we had a young Revathi getting possessed at the drop of a hat, sending a chill down any ready spine. Bhoot (2003) was even better, apart from the occasional overdose of completely demented sound effects. But Phoonk? What was this guy thinking?
We have a rich young couple (they almost always are, living in a duplex and driving a CR-V), two saccharine-sweet kids, and a nervous mother with a shaking head, to start with. The man in the family is a confirmed atheist until everything in his life turns topsy-turvy, and his daughter, one of the two kids, becomes possessed by some random spirit. Our brave man becomes a believer, gets hold of a thoroughly obtuse quack, and cures his daughter. End of story.
Would you pay good money to watch this? Well, until recently, I would, being oblivious of the total lack of control on the part of RGV. To begin with, it’s bad logic to transform the atheist of the plot into a believer. This is an open invitation to primitivism in a country which is already smitten by Senas and Parishads, and Vedikes of every possible kind.
Back to the rich couple. The man throws out a criminal couple in the middle of some celebration. The couple swears revenge. Unfortunately for the rich couple, the criminal couple knows black magic. Sad.
What follows is a ridiculous blend of The Omen (both 1976 & 2006), The Exorcist (1973) and every other cult horror flick possible. There is a crow that watches everything from a vague treetop, a delirious black magician who wreaks havoc on the kid, and by the end of it all, you wish the sound system of the theatre was non-functional.
For someone who has tolerated absurd horror flicks like Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter (1966) and I Eat Your Skin (1971), I would have soaked in the absurdity of Phoonk too, had a few things been set right. However, the RGV factory decided to spoil my party with a misplaced storyline, bad ideology and demented background score once more. As a result, my horror-hunger continues…
5 comments:
You are absolutely right... Pathetic man !!! The real punishment for RGV would be to tie him to a pole and get some huge air blowers and start them all together and continue till all his hair is blown away with his mustache and clothes. They he would understand what a biiig "Phoonk" is. LOL... :)
Haloween totally rocks for me!
Jannie
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totally agree. Raat was far far faaaaaaaaaaar better than today's RGV comedy !! now we have get used to focuses on onions and capsicums in horror movies !!!!
Rightly said! This movie is a poor portrayal of RGVs antics - trying to 'scare' the audience using the antiques in the backdrop.
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