Roohi
2021 · Directed by Hardik Mehta
Original language: Hindi
- horror
- comedy
The story
In a fictional North Indian town, two boys Bhaura and Kattanni are stuck in a forest with Roohi. But there’s an insidious spirit following them with feet turned backwards.
What it’s like
Bright, saturated street colours give way to the dusty greens and murky dusk of a small North Indian town, where the frames lean on everyday clutter: tin roofs, fluorescent-lit shop fronts, cramped rooms and the grey-brown haze of heavy monsoon air. The horror is mostly played through cramped handheld close-ups and sudden, jittery cuts, with the forest feeling claustrophobic rather than vast. Sound design does a lot of the work, with rattling ceiling fans, distant dogs, dhol-tinged score bursts and sudden silences that make the jump scares land. Its vibe is scrappy, goofy and eerie in turns, closer to a late-night comedy-horror than to anything bleak. Pacing is brisk and chatty, with banter between the leads cutting in between scares, and the emotional register stays light even when the frights get loud. Violence is minimal and mostly implied; the scares are about dread and surprise rather than gore, and there is no sexual content. It suits a Friday night with friends or a laugh-while-you-hide-behind-the-cushion watch, and it is for people who want spooky fun with a sense of humour rather than something grim.
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