Surprisingly incoherent and boring
Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.
View MoreIt was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.
View MoreOne of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
View MoreI saw it with minimal expectations and after I saw the film, I googled it thoroughly to make sure that it was not an "unofficial Hollywood remake". And to my surprise, not only is it an original screenplay, they are making a potential big budget Hollwyood movie on this plot.Madhavan said in his interviews that the film is more in the thriller genre than horror. I would say that it is in the rarely employed "refreshingly original" genre of Bollywood movies.The background score gels with the pacing of the film, the cinematography is just right for the mood and content, it is definitely very well-written and the director has done a good job of not just thrilling or scaring us but adding human dimensions to his characters so that we care about their outcome in the climax. And the ensemble cast - Madhavan does a good job of carrying the film on his shoulders as the main protagonist; Poonam Dhillon is a welcome addition to the group of screen moms; Sachin Khedekar, Murali Sharma and Dhritiman Chaterjee are all effective; the 2 standouts for me were Deepak Dobriyal and Neetu Chandra. If she had a yesteryear superstar for a parent, Neetu Chandra would have had a lot of opportunities to display what I believe is tremendous potential. Deepak Dobriyal is one of the most dedicated, passionate and talented actors out there and he shows it in this film. The direction that Bollywood is headed in gives me reason for optimism that they both will be doing a lot of amazing work in the years to come. So, I hail it as a landmark film and then give it an 8. Why oh why? Well, what's this obsession with stuffing songs when totally unwarranted? Waste of time, effort and money. Take those 15-20 minutes worth of songs out, flesh out some parts of the screenplay better and edit it a little more precisely - you have a landmark film. But nevertheless, an extremely entertaining film.
View MoreHorror genre over recent years has undergone a massive transformation. No longer it is a straight forward plot meant to scare the living daylights. These days one gets to witness the horror neatly blended with suspense to generate that extra twist and keep the audience in nail- biting mode. Hey, the genre manages to stay alive innit?Clearly the director has taken inspiration from Poltergiest (ghost- directed by Steven Spielberg) and blends in Japanese horror flick formula's into it. Indeed the effort and the execution deserves a standing ovation and it wouldn't be exaggeration to state that 13B would put RGV to shame. Seriously, Phoonk seems to be child's play in comparison. The mid-80's era is portrayed brilliantly. The settings are perfect and do take note of the Doordarshan's B&W intro. Nostalgia indeed!Ж Madhavan:: "BOLLYWOOD!" - this guy is screaming on the top of voice and can somebody at least take notice this time around? He is a consistent and a brilliant performer. 13B has two lead actors - Madhavan and the telly, rest everyone goes out of focus. Ж Deepak Dobriayl: Now this guy is to watch out for. Every time I see him he doesn't cease to surprise me. Be it Omkara, Shaurya, Dilli-6 or 13B - he manages to successfully pull-off a range of roles/ characters with nothing short of perfection.Ж Neetu Chandra & Sachin Khedekar:: Neatly compliments to the plot.Ж Poonam Dhillon:: She needed a better comeback vehicle. Her counterpart in the plot, Suhasini Mulay seemed elegant in comparison. Ж Dritiman Chatterjee:: Why was he there? Beats me!Ж Others do their parts as per the demands of the storyline.What deserves a special mention, even though the telly leads the storyline by a few minutes, it still manages to create an edge-of-seat excitement. And yes, the shock value is immense. A few holes in the plot can be safely ignored.Verdict:: Go for it!
View MoreThere are a very few thrillers in Bollywood which have a good concept and also manage to utilize it well. 13B is one of them. One of the best Horror films I've seen in a long time in Bollywood, which not only had a good plot but was also very well written. It was something different than the usual Horror movies where there is a good attempt as far as background sound, cinematography & art direction are concerned but unfortunately they don't have a story to support all that. 13B sure is an exception. The acting was all brilliant, very convincing, and didn't have the cheezy touch to it. The story grips you till the end, it keeps getting tense and intriguing. One of the things lacking in the films was it's publicity which was very poor, the promotion song used was the very thing that was keeping me to watch the films, thankfully I got over it.
View MoreAll I can say about this lovely movie is that it is more a thriller than a horror...it can't be called a horror movie because no scene in this movie can really freak anybody out... but the thrill in this movie is top class... the story, the direction, the events in this movie that happen one after another... all are mind-blowing.. viewers will be kept in suspense and ultimately the end of the movie is amazingly set and directed...A never watched before Thriller/Horror movie with very good acting/ performance by the lead character. Deserves more than a 9 on 10....Hats off!!!
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