Ramgopal
Varma's
love
for
horror
and
supernatural
continues.
This
time,
in
Phoonk
2,
the
team
behind
Phoonk
promise
more
chills,
more
thrills
and
more
screams.
But
what
you
get
to
hear
at
the
end
of
the
screening
is
a
moan,
since
Phoonk
2
lacks
the
chills,
thrills
and
screams
that
were
the
mainstay
of
its
first
part.
A
sequel
works
if
it
goes
one
step
ahead
of
the
first
part,
in
terms
of
content
mainly.
But
Phoonk
2
doesn't
take
a
step
forward,
but
a
step
backwards.
So
what's
the
problem?
Let's
get
into
the
introspection
mode...
The
problem
is,
what
does
the
viewer
expect
from
Phoonk
2?
More
terrifying
and
scary
moments,
right?
But
Phoonk
2
comes
across
as
one
of
those
usual
revenge
films,
which
tries
so
hard
to
create
an
eerie
atmosphere,
but
never
succeeds.
It's
more
of
a
slasher
film
actually!
The
problem
is,
the
pace
of
Phoonk
2
is
excruciatingly
slow,
which
just
doesn't
work
or
a
horror
film.
The
story
unravels
at
a
snail's
pace
and
with
hardly
any
terrifying/eerie
moments
in
those
two
hours,
the
film
falls
flat
on
its
face.
The
problem
is,
Phoonk
2
fails
in
its
writing.
The
idea
is
a
master
stroke
and
had
writer
turned
director
Milind
Gadagkar
handled
it
right,
Phoonk
2
would've
scared
the
daylights
out
of
you.
But
the
film
looks
incomplete
and
the
viewer
keeps
wondering,
where
did
the
spirit
disappear?
Final
word?
Phoonk
2
lacks
the
grip
of
Phoonk.
A
complete
letdown!
Phoonk
ends
with
the
killing
of
Madhu
[Ashwini
Kalsekar],
the
woman
who
casts
a
black
magic
spell
on
Rajiv's
[Sudeep]
daughter
Raksha
[Ahsaas
Channa].
PHOONK
2
begins
with
Madhu's
ghost
returning
from
the
grave
to
seek
revenge
on
the
family.
Rajiv
moves
with
his
family
to
a
new
place.
Raksha
and
her
brother
Rohan
begin
exploring
the
new
place
and
the
surroundings
--
the
lonely
beach
and
then
the
woods
behind
the
house.
The
terror
begins
with
Raksha
and
Rohan
finding
a
doll
in
the
woods
and
then
it
progresses
to
a
series
of
highly
traumatizing
experiences
for
the
whole
family.
Manja
[Zakir
Hussain],
the
only
man
whom
Rajiv
could
turn
to,
meets
a
gruesome
death
at
the
hands
of
Madhu's
ghost.
Madhu
seeks
revenge
on
Rajiv
by
torturing
his
loved
ones
--
his
wife
Aarti
[Amruta
Khanvilkar]
and
their
children,
Raksha
and
Rohan
--
in
unimaginably
cruel
ways.
Debutante
director
Milind
Gadagkar
uses
every
trick
in
the
book
to
make
Phoonk
2
work
-
night
shots,
secluded
bungalow,
eerie
silence,
captivating
sound
design
and
zany
camera
angles.
Gadagkar
does
everything
right,
but
conveniently
forgets
that
any
film,
irrespective
of
its
genre,
works
if
the
story
is
captivating
and
moves
constantly.
In
this
case,
the
story
just
doesn't
move
in
the
first
hour,
except
towards
the
interval
point.
The
post-interval
portions
show
some
movement,
but
a
number
of
questions
remain
unanswered.
What
do
Amit
Sadh
and
Neeru
see
in
the
jungles
that
they
start
running
helter-skelter?
Also,
if
the
spirit
could
enter
a
body
[in
this
case,
the
wife's],
where
does
it
disappear
when
the
wife
falls
off
the
terrace
towards
the
end?
Ideally,
you
expect
the
spirit
to
come
face
to
face
and
battle
it
out
with
the
already
cornered
Sudeep
and
his
two
kids.
But
the
spirit
doesn't!
Gadagkar
had
a
brilliant
idea,
but
he
fails
to
translate
it
well
on
celluloid.
To
make
matters
worse,
the
film
just
doesn't
scare
you
one
bit.
The
sound
design
is
right,
while
the
movement
of
the
camera
reminds
you
so
much
of
RGV-directed
movies.
Sudeep
does
a
fairly
okay
job.
Amruta
Khanvilkar
is
expressive
enough.
The
kids,
Ahsaas
and
the
kid
playing
her
brother
-
are
efficient.
Neeru
and
Amit
Sadh
don't
get
much
scope.
Ashwini
Kalsekar
is
hardly
there.
Ganesh
Yadav,
Zakir
Hussain
and
Jeeva
make
brief
appearances.
Anu
Ansari
is
okay.
On
the
whole,
Phoonk
2
is
a
good
idea
gone
horribly
wrong.
Disappointing!