This month, I’ve been taking part in the Letterboxd Hooptober challenge. The goal is to watch 31 horror films in October, including films that meet specific criteria such as “directed by Wes Craven” or starring a black woman.
I’m posting my thoughts on each of the movies here, as and when I get time. If you want to follow along in real time, my Hooptober list is available here.
One of the requirements for the challenge is to watch two Indian horror films. I’ve watched a handful of Indian films in the past, but never horror, so, I jumped onto Netflix and started digging.
Every culture has it’s own flavour of horror film. Hollywood horror is very different to UK horror which is different to Italian which is different to Japanese. And of course, India also has its own distinctive take on the genre. I wanted my first experience of Indian horror to be a positive one, but that proved harder than expected.
A lot of the films in the top Indian horror movie lists aren’t available to stream, and Letterboxd ratings of Indian horror films seem to all land around the 3 stars mark. And without any previous experiences to draw from, it was tough to pick based on the terrible Netflix descriptions alone.
Eventually, I found one that looked and sounded promising, Bulbbul.
Bulbbul
A fairy tale like no other
A child bride grows up to be an enigmatic woman presiding over her household, harboring a painful past as supernatural murders of men plague her village.
First up, a warning. Bulbbul deals with some disturbing topics – starting with child brides and moving into domestic violence and sexual assault. Avoid if you’re not comfortable with movies that are centered around those topics.
I’m glad I picked Bulbbul for my first Indian horror, although I do think horror is pushing it a bit. It’s disturbing and there are supernatural elements, but it felt more like a thriller (with a bit of romance) thrown in. But either way, it was distinctly different to other horror films I’ve seen and a refreshing change from the Hollywood horror that dominates streaming services.
Bulbbul adds a new country and gets me halfway to the Indian horror requirement.
[Hooptober 11 – Bulbbul by Philip Harris first appeared on Solitary Mindset on 28th October 2024]