It’s October. Time to talk horror. This year I’m reviewing a different horror movie each day of the month.
Do you know what Freddy films are missing? Singing and dancing, that’s what. Leave it to Bollywood to address this oversight. I haven’t watched a lot of Hindi reduxes because they can be much longer than their Hollywood counterparts. Awara Paagal Deewana, which remakes both The Whole Nine Yards and action sequences from The Matrix, is nearly three hours long. Mahakaal, despite condensing the kills from several Nightmare on Elm Street films into one movie, is mercifully only a little over two hours long.
The film is made by the Ramsay brothers, who I’m led to believe are a big deal in Bollywood. According to Wikipedia:
The Ramsey Brothers have made more than 30 horror films in India, which epitomize the lower depths of 1980s Bollywood sleaze and gore, but which have secured their place in Hindi cinema’s hall of fame as the pioneers of horror.
So it’s safe to say you can expect some dance numbers here. What you might not expect is a Michael Jackson impersonator who incorporates mime routines into his act. He’s not very good at it, either. Whether or not that’s the joke, I honestly don’t know. I’ll be the first to admit that Indian humor is a bit lost on me.
The first act of Mahakaal is almost a carbon copy of the original Freddy film. Instead of high school teens, the leading characters are college students who are played by full grown adults. The biggest deviation, other than the dancing, is the inclusion of a street gang which attempts to rape the main character. The crime is averted by a hilariously choreographed martial arts scene, which leaves the young woman understandably shaken. Don’t worry, though: the booger-picking Michael Jackson impersonator is quick to cheer her up with his silly antics, just as any woman would want following such an intense trauma.
Seconds later you can expect to see a gratuitous dance number set during a picnic on the beach. Somehow their pickup truck ends up in the water and then they wonder why it won’t start. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, they decide to check into a nearby hotel. That’s where their nightmare really begins. It turns out Shakaal, an evil magician with a familiar bladed glove, is killing these young adults to… well, I don’t know why, but it sure is entertaining.
Even when Mahakaal doesn’t jell with my American sensibilities, the movie is downright charming. Which isn’t to say it won’t be funny to Americans. Mahakaal can be a lot of fun with the right group, and not all of the laughter will come from the low production values and bizarre dance sequences. Even though this version of Freddy Kruger looks as if his makeup consists of oatmeal and shoe polish, there’s still something creepy about the way his scenes are shot.
So don’t call it a ripoff. Call it a tribute to Freddy’s greatest hits. Even the trademark nursery jingle is here, replicated just a few notes short of a lawsuit.
Come back at midnight Central Time for the next movie.
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