Darr @The Mall Review

One Line Review: This one fulfills its promise to creep you out.

Positive Points: Impressively shot and directed horror sequences; plot with an unexpected twist; scores high on the paranormal factor.

Negative Points: Some unnecessary scenes; doesn't satisfy your thirst for ultimate horror; supporting characters fall a bit short of delivering the right performance.

Plot: Amity Mall is like any other mall except for the nine deaths that have occurred in the past few years. When rumors say that the place is haunted, Vishnu (Jimmy Shergill) is hired as the chief security guard at the place after the last security guard is mysteriously murdered. At a time when the mall is riddled with a bad reputation due to the unexplained killings, the management and the owners are in total denial of a possibility of any paranormal force behind the unfortunate incidents.

No sooner than Vishnu joins the place, he immediately starts experiencing the paranormal events himself. Now to dispel these events as false and rebuild the reputation of the mall, the owners host a big bash where the management people Javed Khan (Asif Basra) and two others (Arif Zakaria and Nivedita Bhattacharya) are present along with all the guests.

However, finally the time comes, when the entity wants to settle it all finally and the mall is left with only six survivors. Now begins a reign of horror and creeps when the entity unleashes itself on the survivors and makes their lives living hell.

Direction And Other Technical Aspects: It would be apt to say that the film is directed and cinematographed with impressive perfection (as per Bollywood standards), that it sticks to its initial impressions from the promos, to present you with the creeps and goose bumps it promises. The scenes are well placed and shot in a way that will surely bring at least some chill down your spine. The direction succeeds to keep the audience hanging in uncertainty for the horror that is heading their way.

Though many would feel that it could have been better, the film is certainly much better than its counterparts from the industry.

Performances: Jimmy Shergill is impressive in the lead role, where he fits himself well into the overall atmosphere of horror and uncertainty in the film. Asif Basra and Arif Zakaria and other supporting actors have done their roles well, but one is left feeling that they could have shown more emotions.

Music: The film doesn't have much music in it given that the director wanted to maintain its genre intact without digressing. 'Pinacolada' is an item number that you will want to groove on. There are a couple of others but they don't register much into your mind's music list.

Final verdict: For sure with no further doubt, 'Darr @The Mall' genuinely succeeds in scaring and creeping out the audiences through its horror centric direction, camera angles and to almost to say, the accurate portrayal of paranormal entities in the film. It goes deep into your mind that stimulates that primitive instinct of uncertainty and fear of the unknown. Though there are some minor glitches and imperfections in the film, it still does well as compared to its counterparts in Bollywood. If you think there hasn't been a good chill down your spine from the industry, you should certainly try this one out. Though, with all its impressiveness, it's still a one time watch.