Horror films | Return of the fear factory

Download AppNewsMoviesHorror films | Return of the fear factory Horror is seeing a revival in the Hindi film industry, with studios bolstered to greenlight audacious new voices and distributors seeing commercial viability in a genre that has been neglected in India for decades A curious phenomenon unfolded on the night of Thursday, May 28. Cinephiles in metros came in droves to watch Obsession, a Hollywood horror flick about a boy who uses a magic wish to get his friend to fall in love with him. There were nervous laughs, gasps and, eventually, goosebumps of thrill across the Hindi film industry. This film, directed by a 25-year-old and starring two unknown leads, had single-handedly faced down the notion that horror films don’t make any money in India. With Rs 100 crore in domestic collections in just one month, it had become India’s highest-grossing Hollywood film this year. Studios responded by announcing four horror films in June alone, including Rooh, a ‘musical horror’ with Emraan Hashmi, and Odiyan, Dharma Productions’ first Malayalam film, to be directed by Rahul Sadasivan (Bhoothakaalam, Brahmayugam), the most talented voice in the genre for many.