Ghost Stories (2020) User Reviews

Fast forward the first 2 stories, enjoy the third one which is creepy, surreal, gory n well shot n finish off the last one with a pinch of salt.

[Fella_shibby · 3/10 · 4 June 2020]

I didnt like the first one - it is about a nurse who has to take care of an elderly bed-ridden woman. The lead actress Jhanvi cannot act for sure n in fact the old woman gave a better performance than her. This one is not at all scary but a sad story.

I hated the second one - about a pregnant lady who takes care of her nephew aft her sis' death.

She also feeds birds to ward off a curse.

It is painstakingly boring n ther is nothing horror about this one n the ambiguous ending looks too far fetched.

I enjoyed the third one - about a man who arrives in a small rural town which is desolated as everyone except two kids turned into flesh eating creatures. This one is creepy, surreal, gory, tension filled with an amazing cinematography.

The creatures r scary n a mix between vampires n big foot.

I laughed a lil at the twist of the last one - about a man's obsession with his dead grandma. Of course, the lead actor ain't no Norman Bates but the twist is funny, considering the granny using the f word.

The Henley tshirts werent looking good on the lead actor but the lead actress looked hot in those chemise.

5 stars only for dibakers story

[pranay_misra · 5/10 · 1 January 2020]

3rd story from Dibaker banerjee was good, gripping and intense,rest 3 stories were total crap, didnt look like made from such big names. Mrunal was beautiful as always in karan johars story but it didnt quite scare or haunt me at all. Do fast forward and watch the 3rd story and leave. Its an indian version of werewolf(sort of).

Only 3rd story is good

[nikhildhkr · 5/10 · 1 January 2020]

Yes, only 3rd story is interesting, others are just a waste of time. Story by Anurag kashyap was the most boring one, Karan johar's story had very stereotypical scenes and again boring story, zoya's story could not maintain the interest till end, But the exception is the Dibakar banergee's story, its interesting, gripping, good cinematography and set design, lights and camera work is really good!

Scary (Not the movie but Bollywood's future)

[nevermind_87 · 1/10 · 2 January 2020]

The only scary part of Ghost Stories is how these 4 are supposed to be amongst Bollywood's top film directors. Serious rubbish and scary thought about the future of Bollywood. Dibakars segment is relatively better but Anurag Kashyap needs to retire. He is going the RGV route. Except that Anurags peak has been much lesser than RGV.

Made an account to derate this movie

[abhijit0711 · 1/10 · 4 January 2020]

Horrendous! This is my first review. 4 directors take a huge dump on the horror genre. Ridiculous and laughable plot lines. Total nonsense. Karan Johar has shown that he's capable of producing the worst ever movies across genres. Film school freshmen could have done a better job than him on a similar budget.

Total crap.

[sansdeep · 1/10 · 2 January 2020]

I had huge expectation but it turns out to be blunder. While watching I was hoping the next one will be a good one but all 3 were B grade horror without hot scenes. I still havent understood the first one. Anurag second and dibakar third were more like look away challange. The make up was hilarious. I got to know that Zombies have decision making abilities whom to eat. Directors There is fine line between gross and horror. Fourth one I didnt watch coz its Karan Johar making horror. I hope my review will save someone 2 and half hr time. Our generation watch movies like The Wailing, 4bia. Dont make these craps.

Zoya - okay, Anurag - complicated, dibakar - Awesome, Karan - cringy

[sajid-42905 · 6/10 · 1 January 2020]

Was expecting better! Do not miss the one by Dibakar. It's crazy 👌🏻

Good ideas but too rushed and too many ambiguous endings

[Kimsy1724 · 5/10 · 1 March 2022]

I was quietly confident about this film being good as I have found, being a horror fanatic, some of the best ones I have watched have been low-budget, foreign horror films. Without the overinflated budget which means that the films are full of cheap scares and CGI, smaller budget films rely more on creating good atmosphere and good acting so I was quietly confident.

The film is actually 4 separate "ghost" stories in an anthology so the best way to review them is to do so individually...

1. So this one didn't really feel like a horror film to me. The beginning of the film had remanence of the start of "the grudge" with a carer looking after an elderly person in a home that seems haunted. Most horror films will gradually grow until they reach a crescendo or they have peaks and troughs but this film lacked both. It stayed lukewarm throughout and I found myself losing interest... So much so that I actually missed the twist right at the end and it wasn't until I read the reviews I realise I had missed something. I think it was a good premise but ultimately it just lacked a good storyline and presentation.

2. This segment was filmed in almost completely monochromatic fashion which does lend towards the desolate, aged appearance of the film. Ultimately this one was very confusing and there was not enough backstory or background to the characters to really understand the point of the film. Towards the end it became quite surreal and it was hard to tell what was real and what wasn't but without knowing the characters backstory, I had trouble feeling sadness and sympathy for the main character and her dilemma. Even though she was played very well, this film just lacked substance.

3. This was the best one of the four for me. The setting of the film was very good and I liked the base storyline. Having children involved as well, also lends towards the dire situation of the film. It still was low budget so it relied heavily on sound effects, of my camera screeches and howls and set to create the tension and it started off really well. However as it progressed once again there seems to be any lack of definition towards the ending or what indeed actually had happened and once again I was left really disappointed after previously being captivated. That being said this one definitely have the most promise.

4. Although the setting of this film was not as good as the one before, I found the storyline the easiest to follow and most "ghost story" like. The story premise was easy to follow and understand, there was no ambiguity and what you see, was what you got. The sons obsession with his dead grandma was suitably creepy and helped build the storyline but the acting did feel a little wooden and unfortunately this is made worse by the poor quality dubbing. However I did enjoy the story and found this one had a satisfying, understandable ending.

Overall I have to say that I was a little bit disappointed and I did expect more from this anthology. Quite a lot of stories just felt rushed and felt like they were filmed in a day without much thought. A lot of them are quite ambiguous endings and there was really no clarity towards what happened in a lot of them. Because 4 had squeezed into the space of a standard film, there was no time to build background or have any kind of understanding and therefore compassion for the characters you are watching and I feel in a horror film that is necessary to help you feel the tension that they feel.

Only dibakar shines..

[dengalesuraj · 6/10 · 31 December 2019]

Zoya's short :- well performances were good, setup was good but horror element was missing. Unfortunately this zoya's story is forgettable comparing with her lust story short. I think zoya could have done a better job.

Anurag's short :- creepy as hell. I understand 25 mins of it but after that I had tons of questions and this short didn't gave me anything. I think anurag is only best at showing human horror like he did in ugly. this is anurags worst. forgettable movie.

Dibakar's short :- The best amongst all. Dibakars truly understands the horror. It was intriguing, funny and thrilling, I wish it was longer and I don't know since inception everyone wants to leave their ending incomplete. I love this short wish I could see this in a movie with runtime of 2 hours atleast.

Karan's short :- Predictable story. Performances were good, setup was nicely done but I think karan is still an immature director. There were many bollywood cliches and ending was illogial

What a colossal waste of talent

[rukminibasu · 1/10 · 3 January 2020]

Terrible is an understatement. Very disturbing, illogical & pathetic stories. Except the one directed by Zoya Akhtar, the rest are extremely ameuterish . Wonder what Netflix was thinking when they allowed this kind of content to go on air!

I liked them a lot!

[eundas · 9/10 · 23 August 2020]

Four stories, all about ghosts in one way or another. In the third one the concept is subtle and it seems to entail a social critique, which I liked. The first one could have been even better with a somewhat different twist (e.g. the old lady being a future self of the nurse would have been cool). The second one gave my gf nightmares and I found it the most disturbing one, partly because of the imagery. The fourth one was a slow burn and the ending was ok for this type of tale.

Anurag and Dibakar Saved it!

[SoumikBanerjee1996 · 7/10 · 27 March 2020]

As the title suggests, this is a combination of four different stories told by four different directors! And The most important thing is they haven't indulge in the proper Horror Genre before. Although Anurag & Dibakar had some stints in relation to horror elements but it was never really wholesome! Zoya Akhtar and Karan Johar; for them it's a brand new territory that they failed horribly on. I think I should give reviews individually to each story here. That would make sense more! Let's start.

Zoya Akhtar : Anthology starts with Zoya's Story. It's a simple generic storyline that never impresses. It's not written properly and the execution falls short. The performances were just Okayish. The setups and The ambient feel was there and I really felt pity for Zoya as she should have used the ambient elements more to develop the story gradually. The sound score too was fitting well enough and A little bit polishing could have made this story better for sure! Not Too bad for a Debutant in Horror Genre. 5/10

Anurag Kashyap : Man oh Man! I just loved his story. The favourite from the lot. Many people are getting it wrong because they haven't seen such dark disturbing horror before. Although it's a norm in Hollywood films; especially the indie ones. I'm so glad Anurag decided to introduce the same formula here. Sobhita Dhulipala as the lead just nailed her performance! The little kid was intriguing too. As a whole it's a psychological take on Horror. It wants you to tell much deeper things than the surface! That; I absolutely loved! 10/10

Dibakar Banerjee : My second favorite from this Anthology! He chose a proper take on horror genre! Combination of some Zombie Slashers and Gore Violence! Dibakar Banerjee shined through his execution on the tale! Performances were noteworthy. As well as the environment suited perfectly for the concept. There is a scene in the classroom that should be the highlight of this story! You will know when you watch it. But my only complaint would be the Socio Political take at the end. It wasn't that necessary in my opinion. 9/10

Karan Johar : I never thought I would see a Horror Film by Karan Johar ever. And after watching his Debut effort; I really hope he won't choose to do so next time! In this story there wasn't really any horror. Or even jumpscares. The art direction was good. Visuallly it was eye catching as it has always been with Karan Johar's films. His trademark take on film making has been presented here. But other than that there's nothing to see. The performances though convincing enough for the Story but never matched my expectations. Worst from the lot. 4/10

As a whole; I must say without Anurag and Dibakar's Contribution, This would have been a garbage in the name of Horror. But thanks to both of them for saving the sinking ship.

Worst one in Netflix that I have ever watched

[narakibis · 1/10 · 1 January 2020]

I have watched lots of series and movies in Netflix. I guess this is the worst among all. Not even a single story is interesting. So dull and bore.

Waste of time

[shishir_dahal · 1/10 · 1 January 2020]

There are 4 stories. The first with Jahnavi is okay, rest is all waste of time.

Fast forward to 3rd story and save your time.........

[ali-79-997033 · 3/10 · 3 January 2020]

As usual, indian industry is selling all its cr*P to Netflix or may be they are getting it for free because all recent releases are utter rubbish.....i will not go deep into this but just save your time and jump to third story which is a bit watchable otherwise simply pass it..........

Mediocre Stories

[ricksarkar666 · 3/10 · 1 January 2020]

Cliche !! only thing that came into my mind while watching this Horror Anthology. Indian literature is enriched with bone chilling horror stories yet filmmakers relies on western crap. And watching Karan Johar trying his hands on horror is just pathetic. Anurag Kashyap's Story was dull and boring so is Zoya Akhtar's. Only saving point of this Anthology is Dibakar's take on Warewolves who actually looked more like Big Foot, was interesting and had bit of gore which is new for Indian movies. Avoiding this one won't be a loss. Rather watch Ghost Stories 2017, which is actually a good Brit Anthology horror.

Dibakar: Good,. Anurag : Total garbage.

[pushu4390 · 7/10 · 4 January 2020]

If this is the cream of bollywood, then we should be worried.

Ghost Story needs to be Scary

[kaulanand · 1/10 · 5 January 2020]

A ghost story is supposed to be scary, it's supposed to be something that gives you goosebumps, something that you close your eyes to and still watch with a corner of your eye. Story 1: Zoya Akhtar: It starts slow, builds a moment to give you a shiver in the spine but as soon as you are just about to get scared it ends the story. Story 2: Anurag Kashyap: It was a physco story seemed something with a hidden meaning of sorts made me feel vomitty rather than having goosebumps. Story 3: I got so bored didn't feel like watching it. Absolute waste

A Good Series - 6/10

[abhididdigi · 6/10 · 9 January 2020]

This is going to be an unpopular opinion amongst my fellow countrymen and women, but this is an excellent set of short stories. I've a theory that over the last couple of years, Indian cinema particularly Bollywood and Tollywood is undergoing an unfortunate string of bad movies and has skewed the expectations of the audience. I'm confident that in the coming years, this is going to change, and these short stories are the step in the right direction.

Another theory of mine is that this film will help the audience move away from the idea that horror movies need to "scary" to be called one. Midsomer, Vitch, Dr. Sleep, and even Stanley's The Shining are some of the films that don't use jump scares, but IMHO, some of the best Horror films that started a new genre of movies. I'm not comparing these short stories to the above masterpieces, but merely pointing out horror movies doesn't have to be scary to be successful.

With all of that said, these short stories are great. If you are watching these expecting jump-scares, stay away -- this movie is not for you. If you on the other-hand like slow churn horror movies and shows, which are open to interpretation, and *very* unsettling scenes, the short stories are great!

The first short story is good, straight-forward and NOT open to interpretation. The ending is good, tho. Cinematography and the atmosphere are not very well built. But I think the climax makes it a worth one time watch. (3/5)

The third story is best of all. Fantastic cinematography, great atmosphere, and very unsettling -- also open to interpretation. (4/5)

The fourth story is OK -- there is nothing that stands out not that it's as bad as the rating makes it to be. The interpretation felt more like a statement on society than anything else. (2.5/5)

The only problem I've is with the second story. Colors are great, Anurag decided to shot it in greys, making it look like a noir, which is a strange choice since it's anything but. Anurag does a great job of making the story very claustrophobic and the use of colors makes it more intense, but I hated the excessive use of gore when it wasn't necessary. Without the gore scene, especially the goriest one, I'd still think the story wouldn't have lost any of its meaning or the feel it was trying to elicit. (3/5)

That makes my rating a 6.25/10.

Worst dont waste your time

[ashu-rulez · 1/10 · 2 January 2020]

Its a boredom of 2 and half hours. stop making movies that no one wants to see. Waste of time.

Great Star Cast - Fresh & Innovative approach

[karan-gupta985 · 8/10 · 2 January 2020]

This is almost a new genre and a proof that old fashioned horror isnt scary anymore (except for kids may be).. well written story which has some thrills, chills and scary moments. From the best directors in Indian movie industry (bollywood) comes ghost stories.. 4 short stories which are scary even though they have no real apparitions.. This is a testimony to the fact that bollywood which is known for song and dance sequences can create quality stuff. Worth watching.

Bold and Experimental except Karan Johar's one.

[trerror · 7/10 · 1 January 2020]

First of all, I appreciate the bold and experimental look of the movie. I always look forward to a good anthology film. Now there are 4 stories in it, let's look at each Director's work -

Zoya Akhtar - 7/10 - Tried to capture an eery feeling but couldn't because of the actors and pacing.

Anurag Kashyap - 9/10 - Wow, This is Kashyap's version of 'The Witch'. Bold and experimental. Didn't hold back to tell an abstract film with a creepy subtext and strange direction choices in a good way.

Dibakar Banerjee - 8.5/10 - Most experimental story of all. The metaphorical comparison of urban-rural connection was handled well. I also liked the political statement presented by the director.

Hmm, Good and great stories by far so why the low rating. That's because - Karan Johar - 5/10 - Just leave it, man. This is not your genre. Such a cheap attempt to approach the story like those short horror stories I used to watch on television when I was a kid.

Convoluted, boring, waste of time

[vineetguptamay · 1/10 · 31 December 2019]

Stories are complicated enough, thrills are too few. Dibakar and Zoya gave it a good shot but Karan and Anurag showed that horror is not their cup of tea.

Many questions unanswered, character motives absent, audiences made to assume background and context. This is how these directors are trying to eye a prestigious international award.

Dibakar Banerjee segment lacked background explanation properly. Zoya's story was more tragic than thrilling Anurag's segment was for the hyper intellects Karan Johar's movie was a joke at best.

I would suggest these guys to watch: The conjuring (clap scene) Thummbad Paranormal activity (leg pulling scene)

Enough talk. Watch only if you have abundant time in life to waste....

Total waste of time!

[dagarwal-20995 · 2/10 · 1 January 2020]

Very disappointing esp given the directors. The stories are uninteresting. The first one by Zoya Akhtar lacked a plot; the 2nd one by Anurag Kashyap was so unreal, the 3rd one had some silly man eaters and I have no appetite to get to the last one.

Nowhere a horror film, occasionally interesting, but overall just not worth it

[Peter_Young · 4/10 · 20 January 2023]

Let's go one by one:

Zoya Akhtar: Okay, it was quite a watchable chapter, and to me doubtlessly the main reason to watch is the stupendous performance of Surekha Sikri, who gives it the tension and mystery it needs. Jahnvi Kapoor is quite effective, too. Her presence here made me wonder how this role would have been played by her late mother Sridevi, who fitted such genres perfectly. The conclusion is not very surprising, but it's quite a nice chapter.

Anurag Kashyap: This one for some reason reminded me of Kashyap's film No Smoking, and it was one hell of a mess. Actually the chapter was more amusing than chilling, and it was not very good for someone as good as Kashyap.

Dibakar Banerjee: Indeed, this one is perhaps the most effective of the four segments. The entire zombie track was derivative obviously but it had a very nice political message which worked out well. Some of the portions were indeed disgusting, but the climactic portions of this chapters were perhaps the most interesting in the entire film.

Karan Johar: As one can expect from Johar, this one is set in a luxurious mansion, and in this regard the visuals make it more than it would have been otherwise. The setting is stunning, but the story is nothing to write home about. It actually gave me some 'Get Out' vibes (that great 2017 film), but obviously much less efficient. Again, much of it is almost comical in tone, and the conclusion is most predictable, making for a rather forgettable chapter overall.

--- In many ways, Ghost Stories is exactly what happens when filmmakers fall in love with ideas than substance. A few good moments here and there do not really save this forgettable anthology film.