Dybbuk is a 2021 horror film about a young married woman who acquires an antique Jewish box that contains an evil spirit. Also known as Dybbuk: The Curse Is Real
Directed by Jay Krishnan [as Jay. K] (Aanum Pennum) from a screenplay co-written with Manu Warrier with additional dialogue by Chintan Gandhi. Produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Abhishek Pathak and Kumar Mangat Pathak. Based on the 2017 Malayalam film Ezra also directed by Jay Krishnan.
The Indian T-Series/ Panorama Studios production stars Emraan Hashmi (Raaz Reboot; Raaz 3; Raaz: The Mystery Continues), Nikita Dutta, Manav Kaul and Imaaduddin Shah.
Plot:
Mahi (Nikita Dutta), a newly married young woman, brings an antique Jewish box into her home. When Mahi and her husband Sam begin to have paranormal experiences, they soon learn that the box is a dybbuk containing an evil spirit.
The couple then seeks the help of a rabbi to unravel its mystery. Will they survive this ordeal before their child is born?
Reviews:
“Emotional depth isn’t possible in a story where Mahi is hardly a character in her own right. She exists to trigger the supernatural crisis and to give Sam someone to worry about. With a better script (and better direction of the mostly expressionless actors), Dybbuk could have been about something. Shame that it isn’t.” Access Bollywood
“Dybbuk starts very well. The murder of Masood is chilling and the way the build-up happens sets the mood. The opening credits are intriguing […] Sadly, the second half gets lengthy and the horror quotient goes out of the window, except in the scene of the dog. The finale is intended to be horrifying but it’s not.” Bollywood Hungama
“Dybbuk’s pace is slow and the story moves in a straight line. There is neither novelty nor thrill in the story of Ezra (Imad Shah), a soul locked in a Dybbuk. When the film suddenly changes track in the last minutes, the fun fades away as the questions you are looking for answers to go out of focus.” Filmy Hype
“Ideas are simply tossed without creating a point – be it the connection of the interfaith marriage or the nuclear waste disposal plant, which are tied up to serve the narrative only […] Suffice to say, Dybbuk is a glorious mess of a film that does nothing ‘out of the box’ for its second outing or for the horror genre. Unfortunately, the only aspect that ticks in is the amount of time wasted.” High on Films
“I was not startled by the ghost faces, or the jump scares, unfortunately. The locations kept often changing as if one could just jump from one place to another easily. Due to the average VFX, the scary/gruesome scenes failed to leave a frightening effect.” Leisure Byte
Release:
Dybbuk is now streaming on Prime Video as an Amazon Original Movie.
Technical details:
110 minutes
Trailer:
