Review: In order to give a heritage look to her new house, the wife goes shopping. At an antiques shop, he catches a glimpse of a 16th-century antique box. Impressed by its secret, she opens it, thus freeing a malicious spirit. The box is a dybbook (pronounced as dibuk). In Jewish folklore, dybbuk is an unconnected human spirit that wanders until it finds a host. The house begins experiencing supernatural phenomena and an exorcism is the only way out. Can the couple walk through?
Most of us are drawn to the discovery of ancient ruins, abandoned homes or someone else’s personal belongings. Call it our strange love for encroaching on someone else’s life but all these things give us a window into the past. Thus the task of people opening the archaic mystical boxes is always interesting. Add Jewish myths and the occult to the mix and we can have a thrilling thriller. Is this what happens here though?
Director Jay K has remade his first Malayalam film Ezra in Hindi as Diabbuk. Thankfully, women are not objectified here. There’s no running around in thin lingerie or shower scenes. Big relief! The story moves smoothly and at a fast pace. The jump scares are few and far between and while it’s no magic, the effort is honest. Emraan Hashmi, Nikita Dutta and all their co-stars are good actors. nothing is trivial.
What doesn’t work is the film’s mundane energy and failing to evoke mystery at every step. Over-simplified storytelling inspires your desire to be discovered. Even the wandering soul has a strategy and it is absurd. You don’t feel as intimidated as you would like. The film itself seems to be quite happy about the Jewish novelty. Christian priests are replaced by rabbis, who must perform exorcism. The name of various Jewish words is dropped over and over again. We Are Spoon-fed Things Like This Is A Beginner’s Guide To Jewish Folklore. It is believed that no one would know much about the religion.
The special effects are decent. Only if there were some surprising elements to this mundane horror drama. It’s okay to cast out an evil spirit with a backstory but whether it can create fear is the question.
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