CREEPY FOREST

VEERANA, d. Shyam Ramsay and Tulsi Ramsay (1988)

At heart, Veerana (Creepy Woods) is a florid but effective, occasionally scary, sometimes psychedelic, slightly hysterical hour long fantasy horror film with a garish colour palette and some very expressive eyebrows. But this is Bollywood, so we also get another hour and a quarter of songs and comic relief, neither of which are particularly earth shattering, but most certainly provide the mad entertainment and value for money that Indian audiences demand from their motion pictures.

The film works best when it gets semi-serious, as in the scenes set in a satanic cult cave populated by stone headed monsters and a hairy wizard, or when a child possessed by a vampire makes a fish tank explode just with the power of her evil mind. It’s a film where a cheerful dance routine is followed by a man having his eyes bloodily blown out by flying glass, and although all the component parts don’t quite fit together, it’s good stuff and full of fun, you just need to make sure you set most of the evening aside to watch it. 

Thanks to Hellfire Video Club for the heads up on this one. You know your onions.