Bloody Ishq Review: Vikram Bhatt Sets New Lows in Indian Horror Cinema

Horror is not a strong medium for Indian filmmakers, with dramatic camera angles, cheap scares, and loose writing dominating the genre, but Vikram Bhatt's latest thriller, Bloody Ishq, somehow manages to pull ahead. This film has all the trademarks of gore and horror, as well as sloppy CGI that is overused for no reason. Bhatt used visual effects not only to portray the ghosts and the people they are with, but even shots that seem simple and ordinary. Bloody Ishq's lackluster VFX ends up working against the film, killing all possible tension and taking the fun out of the horror game.

Although I didn't have high hopes for the film to deliver in a satisfying way, I didn't expect it to be the unbearable nightmare that it turned out to be, especially since Bhatt has in the past delivered decent films from the horror genre.

Bloody Ishq's pacing is excruciating, with lengthy exposition boring

Bloody Ishq begins with Avika Gor's character drowning in the ocean, her fate left unclear. In the next scene, however, we find her in the hospital – complete with a doll – many months erased from her memory. Soon, she is whisked away to a secluded, luxurious Scottish estate by a man (Vardhaan Puri) who claims to be her husband.

In the first ten minutes, Gor's Neha wonders why she can't feel this man's love (umm… because she has amnesia and doesn't remember anything about him?), suspicious of him, only to start trusting him soon after spending the night with him. All right, Mr. Bhatt, please stop spouting ridiculous ideas about how you piss off women?

This is just the beginning of a very problematic story, full of nonsensical dialogue and unedited scenes. There's a sequence where the elf takes over the ghost hunter, and his partner continues to film, instead of helping him. We also see the husband trying to comfort his wife who is almost mad by suggesting that they take the matter to the bedroom. To make matters worse, almost every character in the movie slips in English words forcefully in their dialogues, which seems to establish the movie as a modern story, unlike Bhatt's seminal work of the 1920s.

Even the scenes in the film seem to be sloppily edited

We see Neha entertaining a woman who keeps appearing mysteriously in her house, instead of beefing up security. One can't help but wonder if amnesia not only removes one's memories, but also one's mind. Throughout the film's 140-minute duration, you will see him trust all the suspicious characters he meets.

The warped version of reality he's embraced is more volatile than a merry-go-round every ten minutes. The only rational decision he makes is in the final scene of the film.

The film fails to deliver any real shock

Rushing to capture the urgency and restlessness that grips the protagonist, Bhatt is too lethargic in tone, starting the film on a negative note. What could easily be slipped into the story later to flow naturally, forms the core of the story from the beginning. Gor's daily soap-style performance doesn't help, even in a film that suffers from overuse.

Bhatt's direction fails to establish tension, making the scares predictable and ineffective. The CGI is ridiculous, with poorly rendered ghosts and human beings. Bloody Ishq is hard to recommend to the casual watcher, and perhaps even harder to recommend to fans of the horror genre. The only horrors about Bloody Ishq are its torturous pace, pathetic CGI, and dramatic acting that are nightmares in themselves. Avoid Bloody Ishq at all costs; your mind will thank you.

Rating: 1/5

Bloody Ishq is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar