A Flat Hindi Movie
This certainly is a year for horror films. We already have had quite a few and A Flat adds to it. Thankfully it is not as badly made as most of the others. A Flat is Hemant Madhukar's first film as a director and he shows good capability in handling the genre.
But then the film ends up as an average fare due to loopholes in the script and lack of newness. While the screenplay is well done, especially in the first half the second half is replete of any scare-factor. Also it ends up being a regular revenge drama.
A Flat is about an apartment where things go very wrong. Rahul (Jimmy Sheirgill) returns to India to find his father killed in his own flat. He visits the flat to see what may have gone wrong. He discovers there is some supernatural presence in the house, which does not let him leave the house. Rahul discovers that while he was away his house was not put to best use by people he had trusted. An innocent girl died and she haunts the house now and seeks revenge.
The back-story is revealed through a diary that the girl kept. And that's where something goes wrong. How does a girl write down about her death?
On the good part, the director tries to treat the subject intelligently and does not go about explaining everything. One good thing about the writing is the characters. There is a good contrast in the primary characters; and how they react in similar circumstances. The film has been shot very effectively and also edited very sharply. The transitions used to cut between the present and past is good. The background music is good too.
The actors are a mixed bag. While Jimmy Sheirgill and Sanjay Suri are good Hazel need to improve. Her portrayal of the naïve village girl is irritating. Kaveri Jha is fine.
Overall, A Flat is not really as much a horror as a thriller. There is no suspense though as the first scene post interval clears all doubts. So in case you are looking to get scared this is not for you. A Flat is also not for the ones who like to laugh at horror scenes as the scenes created aren't funny in anyway. It is just a decent effort from the director who is failed by an average script.
