Darro!

So I've been a little bad, neglecting my little blog. But what can I say? Real life got in the way! Scheduling at work was a bit helter skelter with the summer starting...and any moment I had to myself was, well, to myself. But I digress, so let's get back to it.

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVELOVELOVE horror movies! I'm the loser who will go by himself to the theatre because none of his friends are daring enough to go to them. I will also stay up until 2 A.M. and watch them by myself in the dark. Sure, it may sound strange to some of you, but I love it. I love the thrill. I love the adrenaline. And who cares if I'm the only one brave enough to watch?

It's sad to say, though, that there really haven't been that many horror flicks that do what they're supposed to. I was, and am still am, a huge fan of The Exorcist. I absolutely loved The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (old and new). The Japanese really got it right, with the perfect amount of psychology mixed with ample gore. Ringu and Ju-on did something that their American remakes didn't. They actually scared. And don't get me started about Odishon. That movie really messed with the mind. I can still hear that girl saying "...kiri, kiri, kiri, kiri, kiri..." in my head as she got that that piano wire ready. Creepy.

India, however, has never been able to do it right. Which really pisses me off, mainly because there's such a HUGE chance to cash in on the horror market. Sure, there were attempts. Bhoot (yawn), Darna Mana Hai (should've been more like Darna Abbhi Baki Hai), Phoonk and Phoonk 2 (I didn't bother). Oh, and who could forget Bollywood's homage to Scream called Shhh! (hahaha). The problem with these films is that they tried too hard to scare, but just didn't.

So while I lament over these outright failures, let me say this: OMGOMGOMG! I honestly can't remember when or how, but I came across some really cheesy, campy Hindi horror flicks from the 80s. They're just so bad, they're good! Anyone who's seen Jaani Dushman will certainly appreciate any of these. For the record, it's the first time I've ever heard of the Ramsay brothers, who directed several "scary" films. They're all on YouTube, with subtitles, so if you have the patience and LOVE Bollywood and all its 80s camp, you'll definitely love these! The majority have some well known names too, so you're not getting stuck with some nobodies with no acting experience.

• Purana Mandir (1984) with Mohnish Behl, Puneet Issar (from the Mahabharata), and Sadashiv Amrapurkar
• Veerana (1988) with Kulbhushan Kharbanda
• Bandh Darwaza (1990) with Aruna Irani
• and of course Jaani Dushman (1979) with Sunil Dutt, Rekha, Neetu Singh, Rina Roy, Sanjeev Kumar

OMGOMGOMG! I'm so excited I can't wait to start watching these! My iPad will definitely be hooked up to the TV for the next few weekends!