'Bhoot' movie review: This Vicky Kaushal starrer is an unbearable mess

Cast: Vicky Kaushal and Ashutosh Rana

Director: Bhanu Pratap Singh

Rating: 1/5

The much-hyped Vicky Kaushal starrer Bhoot, which hit screens on Friday (February 21), is an underwhelming attempt at storytelling that misses the proverbial mark by a few light-years and disappoints one and all. The film revolves around how a young man, who is haunted by a past tragedy, gets involved in a 'spooky' mystery surrounding a ship.

The basic plot itself is quite unappealing and this proves to be the first major drawback of the Karan Johar-backed biggie. The lousy execution further dilutes the impact of the mundane storyline, killing Bhoot's prospects.

The screenplay relies on 'telling' as opposed to 'showing' and this proves to be its downfall. The first half begins with a cliched sequence that makes no impact whatsoever. Things go from bad to worse because of the slow and uninteresting narrative, which makes Bhoot a snoozefest.

Movies generally tend to pick up in the second half. This one, however, manages to buck the trend as it falls apart after the interval. The horror scenes, which were supposed to be the 'X factor' of the magnum opus, do not register as the characters lack depth. Similarly, the 'captain' track that forms the basis of the second half feels rushed and this robs the climax of its mojo.

Coming to performances, Kaushal is sincere and proves that he has the potential to emerge as a big star in the near future. Sadly, his character comes across as nothing but 'bare bones', which stunts his competent act. Veteran actor Ashutosh Rama is underutilised and burdened with a templated role that might remind fans of the one played by him in Raaz.

The rest of the cast is strictly okay.

As Bhoot is a horror-thriller there is virtually no scope for music. Luckily the makers, stay faithful to the genre and avoid stuffing the film with song/dance sequences. The sound design is top-notch and might have worked wonders for Bhanu Pratap Singh-helmed movie had the makers bothered to come up with a decent script. Similarly, the production values too are better than expected. The same, however, can't be said about the editing as the film drags at several points in the first half.

To cut a long story short, Bhoot is the most disappointing movie of Kaushal's career. The powerhouse performer deserved a better film. Enough said!