Review: Give Raaz Reboot the boot this weekend

Film: Raaz Reboot

Rating: 2/5

In interviews before the release, Emraan Hashmi, Kriti Kharbanda and Gaurav Arora claimed that Raaz Reboot would take viewers back to the first Raaz film, while retaining its originality and upping the horror quotient. The Bhatts, admittedly going through a lean phase, were depending on Raaz Reboot to reignite the flames of success. Have they succeeded? Read on.

Safe to say that horror hasn't got the treatment and creative attention it deserves, especially in the Indian context. The Ramsay era is long gone, but perhaps one man who, over the years, has emerged as the quintessential grim reaper is Vikram Bhatt. The filmmaker has aligned with Vishesh Films to churn out many a spooky films, none more successful than the Raaz franchise. Trying to milk the popularity of its precedents, Raaz Reboot marches on.

A reluctant Rehan (Arora) gives into the request of his gorgeous wife Shaina’s (Kharbanda) to move to cold and lonely Romania. A palatial house comes as a perk with a bank manager’s job, apparently. Big homes have traditionally been AirBnb goals for ghosts and why would Raaz Reboot have us believe otherwise? An evil spirit popping out of say, an igloo, would be so original and boring, no? 

Ghosts have great screen presence when they're in the body of the prettiest person available, and so it is Shaina here. Spooky happenings become commonplace in the household, even as Rehan dismisses them all as Shaina's hyperactive imagination. Things get serious when Rehan responds to a distress call by Shaina, only to find her miles away from home, hiding in a telephone booth, scared and with bloodied hands. 

Reluctantly, Rehan seeks help from visually-challenged tantrik Trilok Shastri (Ashwath Bhatt). Show him some personal items, and this psychic can gauge your past by the energy your belongings emit. Just as he touches Shaina's hairbrush, a possessed Shaina makes way from a mall and into the house a la Spiderman. We can't say whether that's supposed to be scary or mocked.

Somewhere in flashback we learn Shaina's former boyfriend Aditya (Hashmi) has been dreaming about these antics even before they happened! Advanced telepathy or true love, anyone? Yes, we are laughing too and we still haven't got a clue. 

Raaz Reboot is one of those films that promises the world and delivers zilch. Minus cosmetic tweaks, the plot remains just as predictable and even laughable. More than Raaz, the fourth instalment brings to mind 1920 London, another alleged spook fest penned by Vikram. This one doesn't send a single shiver down the spine in a way only good horror movies can. At best, it's the quickest and most affordable tour of Romania you could get. 

While rookie actor Arora has miles to go before he can confidently helm a big budget project like Raaz Reboot, seasoned Hashmi seems in some hurry to deliver his dialogues and get on with life. A saving grace in this mess is debutant Kharbanda whose makeup and prosthetics look menacing, though her act is repetitive and devoid of any thrill. Count Dracula would be so disappointed.

A shoddy story and screenplay apart, the dialogue by Vikram and Girish Dhamij aren't memorable either. Even the music failed to salvage the film in any way. 

Is it time Vikram put the occult aside and rebooted other creative sensibilities? Yes. 

Is there anything worth spending 2.5 hours in a cold theatre for this? No.

Should you spend 300 bucks on Raaz Reboot? Hell no!

Director: Vikram Bhatt 

Producer: Vishesh Films, T-Series

Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Kriti Kharbanda, Gaurav Arora

Run time: 128 minutes