Another day of wondering why Bollywood gifts us comedy movies in the name of horror. The Bhatt family is back with a 1920 ‘horror’ movie that makes you laugh, has unwanted intimate scenes, and has a plot that is hollower than a termite-ridden door. The only differences this time are that it’s Krishna Bhatt, the daughter of Vikram Bhatt directing the movie, and the ghost is surprisingly a male one, but with the same old-fashioned horror tropes. With ghostly giggles and scares so dumb that even your younger sibling won’t approve, 1920: Horrors Of The Heart is just another failed attempt at the horror genre.
The story is about Meghna, played by Avika Gor, who decides to spill the beans about her love affair to her father on her 21st birthday. However, she is greeted by a party pooper when she finds her father’s body hanging from the ceiling. In a quest to find out the real truth about his death, she finds his secret diary. Waha se humein tea-worthy gossip milti hai ki it was her mother who killed him because he was a poor and unsucessful writer. Bass phir kya, she decides to take revenge on her mother, Radhika (Barkha Bisht). How? By teaming up with her father’s aatma. Yes, I can hear the chuckles.
The movie, in its first half, jumps from one scene to another without any correlation. Aisa lagta hai ki a kid is finishing his school assignments a day before submission. The entire screenplay feels like an episode of Takeshi’s Castle, with the creators jumping from one plotline to another, hoping they don’t fall and somehow cross over to the other end. The uneven pacing worsens things, with the most unwanted intimate scenes stretching for a lifetime but the spine-chilling ones ending in a flash. Thoda tension aur suspense toh build karo!
The poor writing ensures the characters seem like cardboard cut-outs in this horror flick
The cast performances too, are pretty mehh. While Avika Gor and Barkha Bisht try to invest you into the story, the poor writing limits their capabilities. Danish Pandor as Meghna’s boyfriend Arjun and Rahul Dev as the stepfather Shantanu are… just there. Nothing more, nothing less. None of the characters have the required depth, that makes you connect with them. Also, there’s this small group of characters meant to induce the spooky effect. The problem is, none of them have a backstory even though they are important. You get a man with the same look Gus Fring had at the end of season 4 of Breaking Bad (but badly CGIed) who magically appears to ruin things. And there’s a gardener with one eye who knows it all, but has no role to play in the climax. Kya point hua phir inko introduce karne ka?
Another heartbreak is the songs. The movie fails to have a captivating soundtrack apart from ‘Lori’ sung beautifully by Shreya Ghoshal. I mean if not the chills, we all know these horror films for their bangers and spooky tunes. Are we not gonna get those too anymore? Sad Emraan Hashmi noises. On top of it, the visual effects and make-up are so amateurish, that most parts of the movie feel like a green-screen video. The looks created for the ghosts meant to be scary and disgusting come off as comical, ruining the eerie vibe of the movie. Aahat aur CID mein isse better VFX hoti thi yaar.
Krishna Bhatt has nothing new to offer, follows her father’s footsteps of utilizing the tired Bollywood stunts to evoke horror
Simple is Baat ye hai ki the film lacking the innovation and fresh ideas needed to stand out in the crowded horror genre. However, the worst part is the climax of the movie. It’s supposed to scare you to death right? Well, all the ghost does is, speed-crawls along the walls while giggling. Tumhare bhai behen isse better scare kar sakte hai smh. It makes for a painful watch to go through the same old blanket pulls, leg grabs from under the bed, and candle band karte hi jumpscare aana all over again, and yet expecting something out of the box to take away from the movie.
In conclusion, 1920: Horrors of the Heart fails to deliver the genuine scares and fresh ideas that modern horror films demand. Despite the decent performances by Avika Gor and Barkha Bisht, the film succumbs to clichéd tropes, a weak plot, and lackluster execution. With its uninspiring music and comical visual effects, it ultimately fails to leave a lasting impression. I’d rather watch Tummbad and Conjuring for the nth time than give this movie my time. Tum bhi left swipe kardo.
