Destined to Doom Movies of 2021, which were Surprisingly Great or Decent or Just About Average

Despite claiming to be a reboot, it's better to watch Wrong Turn as a completely different film to its namesake franchise (I anyway didn't ever care much for the original series), because if you do, there's plenty of tense entertainment to be had here. Some plot contrivances and bland positive characters notwithstanding, there are more than a few seriously gruesome moments, a solid new group of antagonists, a mighty effective denouement, a strong final girl in Charlotte Vega, and an overall palpable tension that makes this horror film a pretty gripping slasher for me.

3.75/5 stars

Swedish film Red Dot is a gripping survivalist thriller on Netflix, made all the more effective by the locations chosen and how brilliantly they've been shot. The plot twists introduced in the second half are very well done, with a genuine oh-my-god factor, and the finale shrewdly steers away from a tried-and-tested path. All and all, a riveting ride for about 85 minutes with not much to complain about.

3.75/5 stars

I'll admit right off the bat that I'm a fan of Director Ben Wheatley and have loved most of his work from Kill List and Sightseers to A Field in England and High-Rise. I'll also admit that I completely disliked his last directorial outing, the Rebecca remake. And while In The Earth is an improvement from that, and boasts some great camerawork, a brilliant atmosphere, a terrific background score, a very good premise, and a handful of genuinely creepy moments, they never gel well together or just aren't enough to stand in stead with his aforementioned work. Worth checking out, but certainly not one that'll come remotely close to making my best horror movies list of the year.

2.5/5 stars

What hurts worse for true movie-buffs than a film that doesn't live up to its potential, is one that sporadically sparkles only for its sparks to soon fade away, especially one such as Disney+ Hotstar's Hum Bhi Akele Tum Bhi Akele, which has such noble intentions only for its pertinent message to get lost somewhere in translation.

2.45/5 stars

Roohi is pretty dull for long stretches, with a very uneven screenplay, which also has more than its share of confounding moments and plot points that would prove hard to follow even for the most attentive of viewers. What really drags this Rajkummar Rao, Varun Sharma, Janhvi Kapoor starrer down though is the evident lack of both horror and comedy for a horror-comedy , barring a smattering of scary and funny scenes far and wide. And that climax, coupled with it's clear agenda-driven writing, would leave you scratching your head over the sheer preposterousness of it all. This doesn't merit its inclusion in the same universe as Stree.

2/5 stars

The Girl on the Train is mostly a bumpy ride with very few smooth pit-stops. It would've worked brilliantly as a short film, comprising the final 20 minutes or so, which really help elevate the Netflix film from its doldrums. The rest of this Parineeti Chopra (who overacts quite a bit) starrer though largely fails to eke out any thrill or suspense, simply dragging till the good bits finally arrive.

2/5 stars

Brilliantly bringing Chinese folklore to life with state-of-the-art CGI, The Ying Yang Master (not to be confused with The Ying Yang Master: Dreams of Eternity, which had release last year and is a below average film at best), begs you to watch its magical story, sprawling world, and enchanting characters unfold on the big screen, but since we don't live in China and are under lockdown, Netflix is the next best option. Could've been trimmed a bit and appears slightly deravite on one or two occasions, but those are the only higgles in an otherwise wholesome fantasy for the entire family.

4/5 stars

Scary, creepy, profound, almost biblical in its depth, and all this without a single jump scare, achieving all its horror intensity through well-structured narrative arcs, character development, and a chilling background score – Son will easily go down as one of my favorite horror movies of this year – a true-blue indie gem that takes you totally by surprise and lingers in your mind long after. It almost plays like the sequel that the 1976 classic, The Omen, deserved, but never got (or what Rosemary's Baby should've been; sorry, but that's my least favorite horror movie of all time), and ends on such an arresting shot that you dearly wish it gets a sequel of its own. On a side note, this is another stellar role for Andi Matichak to showcase her talent after debuting with the smash box-office success that was 2018's Halloween (and as much as I liked that sequel, this is a far better original horror film). With Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends around the corner, she could well cement her place as a new Scream Queen. Plus, it's a good, solid role for Emile Hirsch after quite some time.

4.25/5 stars

The best Saw movie for me since part 2 – Spiral boasts some inventive kills, a crisp narrative and a storyline that could take a franchise that has "spiralled" (pun intended) into drudged chaos toward an interesting, engaging new direction. Despite the big twist being slightly predictable and Samuel L. Jackson being underutilized, it still held a few surprises upon revelation, and the climax was well set up. Oh, and Chris Rock is absolutely brilliant as the central protagonist, displaying a range I never thought possible of him, having hitherto only seen him in comedic roles, plus he still manages to offset the dark themes with his trademark humor.

3.75/5 stars

A thriller that gets the job done by being taut, relatively tense, using its frigid atmosphere to good effect, and introducing some neat twists toward the end. Till Death may not be a must-watch by any stretch, but it's certainly a damn entertaining one and a great way to spend about 90 minutes with the gorgeous Megan Fox.

3.25/5 stars

French horror film Meander doesn't waste time getting right into the thick of things and has a pretty smart premise and unique setting (no, this is not a Saw rip-off) that's also smartly executed for most of the way, with just enough tension and thrill. However, the denouement takes the stuffing out of a major chunk of the fun. I'm all for open endings, but this was too vague even for my liking, plus a bit of backstory to the unknown villain wouldn't have hurt.

3/5 stard

It doesn't have the same belly-aching laughs, Bollywood-styled romance, feel-good plot or organic flow of the first film (1988's Coming to America), but Amazon Prime's Coming 2 America, which arrives almost 33 years later, still does the job as a lighthearted comedy, with brownie points going for how organically it busts gender stereotypes. Plus, if you've been a lifelong Eddie Murphy fan like I, then this one is hard to not like at least to a certain amount.

3/5 stars

Though not as scary as a haunted house movie should be, the new Austrian Netflix horror film, The Strange House aka The Creepy House does have its genuinely spooky moments, but more than that it's the overall mystery and how the bunch of teenagers solve it that keeps you decently hooked. The climax and big reveal could've been better laid out, but the suspense and 80s Spielbergian vibe make this a relatively fun outing for the entire family.

3/5 stars

The best part of Disney+ Hotstar's Bhoot Police is Saif Ali Khan and how he, along with Arjun Kapoor, and the tropes used by Director Pawan Kripalani, make the horror-comedy almost seem like a desi, live version of Scooby Doo. Sure, the jokes and slapstick moments could've landed better, especially in the first half, and the entire movie could've done with more chills, but there's an overall spooky vibe and innocuous-fun feel to the proceedings that make it a decent one-time watch, largely helped by some good VFX.

3/5 stars

Sidharth Malhotra displays marked improvement, Kiara Advani again proves her versatility, jingoism is thankfully absent and when Shershaah isn't focuses on Captain Vikram Batra's college romance or family squabbles, it does make for a pretty engaging watch. That being said, there are too many distractions from the actual bravado and the important battle scenes, too, lack the fire and brimstone of a Lakshya or Uri.

2.5/5 stars

Mumbai Saga is riddled with more cliches than the bullet-holes pumped into people's bodies in the film. What's more, the narrative becomes so predictable in the second half that you can see what's going to happen ten scenes beforehand — the problem isn't so much the cliches, but Director Sanjay Gupta's unwillingness to at least try and package it as old wine in a new bottle. Unless you're a diehard John Abraham or Emraan Hashmi fan, or can ignore all the cliches and predictability solely for the brutally good action, this gangster film holds little appeal, especially for people who enjoy good crime movies.

2.5/5 stars

Though far from the most tense, innovative, or even fun creature feature assembled, horror film The Devil Below still manages to be decently engaging, with some solid kills, amusing creature action, and competent performances, helping mitigate its highly derivative setting and intermittently slipshod direction to a great extent.

2.75/5 stars

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings gets Marvel Studios' phase four off to an ideal start with a rip-roaring fantasy romp, gives the MCU a kickass, charming new superhero to root for, majorly due to how well Simu Liu plays him, and despite a few hiccups, is mostly everything one could wish for from an original story, with bonus points for balancing its grand scale with genuine humour. Oh, and yes, in case y'all forget to, stick around for the mid-credits and post-credits scenes.

3.5/5 stars

With a very interesting blend of supernatural and slasher (somewhat reminiscent of 1981's Hell Night approach) that has you guessing for some time as to which direction the movie will go toward; Seance is a tense, enjoyable horror film that keeps you hooked for the most part despite its slightly derivative plot devices, and is greatly buoyed by Suki Waterhouse's performance as a badass final girl.

3.75/5 stars

Despite a couple of superfluous sequences that could've been done away with and an unexpectedly rushed climax, Disney+ Hotstar's Shaadisthan rises way above expectations on the back of a fierce, fiery and fabulous Kirti Kulhari and some excellent writing that subtly yet strongly mows down patriarchal shackles on a beautiful road trip.

3.5/5 stars

A unique take on vampire tropes with a strong feminist undercurrent to boot; Jakob's Wife benefits greatly from horror icon Barbara Crampton doing what she does best and Larry Fessenden lending her solid support, plus a good grip on proceedings and a few exciting kills, which tide over some of the sloppier parts of the narrative.

3.5/5 stars

If you want a prime example of why the screenplay and how it's executed by the Director matter in cinema, and not the story or idea it emanates from, then look no further than the new Telugu film, Jathi Ratnalu. Despite featuring a threadbare plot, which is pretty derivate to boot, it's a laugh riot courtesy one rib-tickling sequence after another, backed by side-splitting dialogues (sounding as hilarious with English subtitles) and crackling performances by everyone from Naveen Polishetty, Rahul Ramakrishna, and Priyadarshi to Faria Abdullah, Naresh, and a crackerjack cameo by veteran comedian Brahmanandam. Regardless if you're adept at watching subtitled South movies or not, miss this truckload of laughs at your cast.

3.75/5 stars

With a combination of infuriating scenes, powerful performances, and dialogues that land a gut punch, Tamil film Kavalthurai Ungal Nanban srips the corruption and inflated egos of cops bare, acting as a mirror to law enforcement all across the country, and begs the question whether they're actually in place to help us. Despite some plot points left dangling, this small-budget indie gem is one of the best movies I've witnessed on police procedurals or rather, the abuse of those procedures, and how powerless that abuse can make you feel, especially when you're not privileged enough to source the adequate means to fight back.

4/5 stars

Some of the sharper bends are not quite as Hitchcockian as the first Drishyam was all the way through, but with 99% of its twists and turns certain to evoke repeated 'WOWS', Drishyam 2 is as wonderful a sequel as any Mohanlal fan could have wished for to his sublime 2013 classic. He and Director Jeethu Joseph play 'fool me once, fool me twice' with the cops, and you wish they'd fool us over and over again. The rug is pulled from beneath our feet at several key moments, and each time you enjoy it even more, all while keeping the essence of the first film intact, bringing back all the earlier tributaries and merging them again with the river of Georgekutty's family.

4.5/5 stars

Moody, atmospheric, creepy, deep, dark, disturbing, delicious – Censor is the best horror film as also hitherto the best movie of 2021, period! The topic of excessive censorship will hit close to home anywhere, especially here in India, and the way debutante writer-Director Prano Bailey-Bond thrusts her narrative into madness, unfolding profound layers as we go further, and delivering a one-two knockout punch in the finale is a sign of great things to come in her repertoire ahead, with my only miniscule gripe being that the beginning could have been a tad (and only a tad) crisper. The cherry on top is of course Niamh Algar's Oscar-worthy performance (though the stuckups at the Academy panel are hardly going to nominated an actress for horror). There hasn't been a horror movie like this British gem; missing it would be akin to “censoring” something brilliant for your senses.

4.5/5 stars

Sure, it neither breaks any new ground in the genre nor is it freshly packaged, but what Netflix's French/English action-comedy, The Last Mercenary, does get right is its blueprint of a perfectly nostalgic ride with Van Damme while also tapping into his comic potential, which most of his actions movies, even the many better ones, have royally ignored. A treat for JCVD fans and enjoyable pastime for others.

3/5 stars

After ages, we get a seriously engaging whodunnit murder mystery in Bollywood courtesy Silence...Can You Hear it? — almost as good as genre classics like Teesri Manzil, Ittefaq, Khamosh, Talvar...almost. Some of the dialogues are stilted and there are a few plot contrivances, but all said and done, this is a pretty addictive thriller that keeps you guessing and eager to uncover the clues, plus Manoj Bajpayee is in top form as always.

3.75/5 stars

Yes, there are plot holes the size of craters on the moon, and plenty of them at that, plus if you really want to nitpick, then the entire movie could fall apart (it's literally about vampires on a plane for crying out loud), but there's also no denying that if you go with the flow, then Netflix's new German horror film, Blood Red Sky, is exciting, gory, tense, and, most importantly, a gutsy, fresh take on vampire lore, just when you thought the sub-genre has nothing new to offer.

3/5 stars

Have seen werewolf movies leagues better than Werewolves Within, but it still managed to mildly hold me to the end despite a lack of horror, due to its underlying mystery, competent performances, and intermittent, offbeat humor. The big reveal at the end was also not bad, but the werewolf transformation sucked big time (can understand it's an indie horror film, but have seen way better makeup and effects on similar budgets) as did the action that followed it. Nothing much to write home about, but not that bad for a one-time watch either.

2.5/5 stars

While Salman Khan is still a blast to savor in such roles, Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai on ZEE5 is not the kind of massy, masala entertainer we've come to expect from him. This one is strictly for Bhai fans.

2.45/5 stars

Though the finer nuances of the plot would prove difficult to follow for non-Chinese folk and the film could have been trimmed by at least 15-20 minutes, the genre-bending presentation of New Gods: Nezha Reborn's ancient folklore itself with steampunk tropes, coupled with the out-of-this-world animation, offer enough of a visual delight to keep you entertained and expectant for the sequel.

3.5/5 stars

A thriller that gets the job done by being taut, relatively tense, using its frigid atmosphere to good effect, and introducing some neat twists toward the end. Till Death may not be a must-watch by any stretch, but it's certainly a damn entertaining one and a great way to spend about 90 minutes with the gorgeous Megan Fox.

3.25/5 stars