'Phone Bhoot' review: Exhausting horror-comedy devoid of scares or laughs
What's the story
Katrina Kaif-Ishaan Khatter-Siddhant Chaturvedi's Phone Bhoot was released theatrically on Friday. Directed by Gurmmeet Singh, it's bankrolled by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's Excel Entertainment. Despite having an unconventional concept at its premise, the movie is a lackluster affair from start to end. It tests your patience throughout its runtime, and you walk back home with no takeaways, only a headache. Here's our review.
Plot
Film follows two professional ghostbusters, a gorgeous ghost
The story follows two young friends—Gullu (Khatter) and Major (Chaturvedi)—who are obsessed with all things gore and horror and aspire to become trailblazers in the field of "professional ghostbusting." They run into a "gorgeous" ghost one day, Ragini (Kaif), who teams up with them to help various spirits stuck in limbo in acquiring moksha (salvation). The film, thus, captures the trio's adventures.
Negative #1
Film doesn't take itself seriously, sure, but where's the fun?
There is a certain atmosphere, even a sub-genre that defines Phone Bhoot. It can be correlated to films such as Aabra Ka Dabra and Bhoot Uncle, tailor-made for certain audiences alone. These movies don't take themselves seriously and we aren't expected to, either, but this idea can only thrive and survive if there is some entertainment quotient. There is hardly any here.
Negative #2
Soporific affair where lack of laughs triggers one's sleep
Keeping aside the pop culture references, Phone Bhoot is a cumbersome snoozefest that refuses to get better. It may feel like it will take a right turn at some point, but it keeps hitting speedbumps repeatedly. Your facial muscles may not pull themselves to evoke a smile, but your eyes will droop out of drowsiness, and your head will ache for about two hours.
Negative #3
Film scores low on the comic front
The movie props itself up as something experimental, but these hopes fall flat and the frequency of yawns multiplies. Its ingenuity is mutilated by unfunny dialogues, and like a broken record, similar sequences play one after the other, forcing the film to find itself amidst this hogwash. Lack of laughter cannot be (over) compensated by shoving the few jokes that work in our faces.
What works?
Spot several Bollywood references, popular memes in the film
Coming to the bearable aspects, the makers deserve credit for embedding a LOT of meta and meme references into the narrative. There's a shoutout to Vicky Kaushal, allusions to Gully Boy, a hark back to a forgotten Ishaan Khatter film—they provide a certain spunk to the screenplay. There's also a special segment that briefly features some actors from Fukrey!
Performances
Cast acts well, particularly Chaturvedi and Jackie Shroff
In a film so overtly dependent on Kaif's charisma and star-power, everything else simply becomes peripheral. She does act well and is an exuberant presence onscreen. She receives able support from Chaturvedi and Khatter, and the former's effortless charm and high-spirited performance is like a livewire. Jackie Shroff's presence lends some gravitas and it's incredible how he can single-handedly nourish the film within minutes.
Verdict
Give it a miss in theaters, even on OTT
An obvious, evident cinematic pastiche, Phone Bhoot has an interesting concept at its core, but the lack of sharp writing and hysterical instances stab it repeatedly. It tries, but it tries a little too hard. Forget about the extravagant popcorn, simply order a Disprin tablet, perhaps. Verdict: 1/5 stars (the end credits brought me much more relief than the film itself).