13B

one of scary movie i have seen in recent time in bolywood history, film story is superb nd they maintained suspence till climax and really hollywood standard movie

Horror finally has arrived in Bollywood. It’s one of the most captivating horror suspense thrillers I have seen in recent time. I won’t say, it’s one of the most original story or script, director Vikram has borrowed or maybe inspired by some of his Western counterparts, but he has beautifully wave it around his finger making it delightful horror experience for the average moviegoers.  Director Virkam (virtually unknown in Bollywood) comes up with a vibrant and pulsating horror story, though in places it’s reminiscent of Ram Gopal Varma’s Bhoot. Dramatically it has its surprises and suspense. But thankfully it didn’t lapse into a typical Bollywood horror potboiler of a revenge and tantrik baba drama. The screenplay gripping and full of suspense to the last frame makes saves it from becoming another horror thrillers that we have seen in recent times. In the past we have witnessed several mindless horror thrillers, but 13B stands out of the motley crowd of horror thrillers for its unusual treatment. The director shows great aptitude for handling a complex horror thriller. First half of the film is gripping, crisp and cutting edge, while the second half falters a little, but the climax is electrifying. My prediction is that both the Tamil and the Hindi version of the film will be a monster hit.

Madhavan, aka Maddy holds centre stage with an outstanding powerhouse performance, Neetu is simply fabulous as a housewife and it was delight to see Poonam Dillon after many years. Must say she hasn’t lost any of her charm.13B has its flaws, and it’s not a masterpiece, but it was a thrilling experience to watch this movie. 13B has it all- a perfect script, excellent performance and a horrifying moviegoer experience. What more one requires. Go and experience fear at your nearest cinema hall.

Vikram K Kumar's 13B did what a horror movie needs to do – gave goosebumps at every turn in the first half. It is shot in monochrome and the background score puts a chill into the mundane.

But as it moves into flashback mode and an agitated Madhavan tries to save his family, there are too many twists and the story starts losing credibility.  The story is all over the place and the eerie quality created right at the start is soon forgotten.

An abnormally happy joint family (do they even exist these days?), move into a posh apartment numbered 13B.  The milk curdles daily; Manu’s (Madhavan) pics taken on his camphone inside the apartment are always distorted; they can’t drive a nail in the puja room; the elevator never works only for Manu forcing him to take the stairs (terrifying indeed!!!); the neighbour’s dog refuses to enter their apartment and the television automatically switches to channel 13 at 13:00 hours to a program that is exclusively aired for their family.

Though the women in the house are ga-ga over the show Sab Khairiyat Hai, it is only Manu who realizes that their life is dictated by that show.  He drags into this supernatural mess, his police officer friend Shiva and starts putting together the pieces. A gory massacre of a family; a murderer still out free while the family’s mentally ill brother (Deepak Dobriyal) is accused of the crime; a spurned lover and the television’s part in the crime is what they uncover.

The blindman and the rest of the cast’s roles were trivial while Madhavan was the only one with something to do in the movie.

Give it a miss. Doesn’t captivate.