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Dobaara: See Your Evil movie review: Hyper in acting, low in scares

Dobaara: See Your Evil is a long drawn out horror flick with scanty moments of goose-pimple fear.

As the official remake of the Hollywood horror flick Oculus, Dobaara: See Your Evil has an interesting sub-text. It is about the evil that normal 'good' human beings are capable of, and the premise that what happens once can/will happen again.
But we are talking Bollywood, so while the white saris and gore-fest might have been given a skip, there is little to prove that Dobaara pushes the envelope in horror film-making in Hindi cinema.  It hardly explores the possibilities of the story that Mike Flanagan so compellingly created in the original.
Instead, it takes the superficial 'horror plot' - of a mirror possessed - and super-imposes it on two actors, who seem to take such joy in over-acting. We are talking about the talented Huma Qureshi and her real-life brother Saqib Saleem, playing siblings in the movie too, taking over-emoting to the next level, backed by some terrible dialogue delivery.
To their defence, they have challenging roles to play. Natasha (Huma) is the only person who believes that the mirror in the studio of her artist father Alex Merchant (Adil Hussain) is possessed. She is set out to prove that 'it' caused him to kill her mother (Lisa Ray), and in turn, took hold of her brother Kabir (Saqib) to kill their dad.
The film starts with Kabir released from confinement for the juvenile crime, and Natasha taking him over to prove the world that the mirror is the culprit. For the next two hours, we see Natasha and Kabir's lives unfold through flash-backs, jump-cuts, and eventually, to the present, where reality, surrealism and fantasy, all intertwine to become one.
It is not easy for the viewer to keep track nor is it easy to watch Adil Hussein transform from a loving father and husband to a possessed man, chasing his family in a bid to kill them.
The best moments in the film come from Adil, especially as he does a masquerade act that is brilliantly executed, as is the gravitas that comes with the back-story of 'the mirror' - possessed by the spirit of woman, who was burned at the stake for practising witchcraft.
But the moment Adil starts singing 'I want to break your bones and make it into bread,' as he chases down his kids, good lord, the film also becomes unintentionally hilarious.
The trouble with Dobaara is that nothing really happens. Much after we are told about what happened and who causes it all, the film recreates each detail of the story, with very little add-ons. So when an occasional 'fright' moment happens, you just shrug it off, and continue to watch the not-so-compelling proceedings unfold with nonchalance.
There is no audience-apathy with the lead pair, and with the cast all on loud-acting mode (with the exception of Adil and a few fleeting moments when Huma, the performer, comes to the fore), the film offers neither enough scares to keep you gripping to the seat nor a narrative that promises anything new.
For those who dislike the goofy innocence of the 'white sari' ghosts, Dobaara might appear to be 'game-changing.' But for horror aficionados, it is just another lame Bollywood exercise, pretending to be the master of the game.
Dobaara: See Your Evil
Starring: Huma Qureshi, Saqib Saleem, Adil Hussein
Directed by Prawaal Raman
Now playing at theatres in the UAE
Rating: 2/5