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Mahakaal – Massacre Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: India, 1994
Directors: Shyam Ramsay, Tulsi Ramsay
Writers: Kafil Azar, Sayed Sultan, Y.V. Tyagi
Cast: Karan Shah, Archana Puran Singh, Johny Lever, Mayur Verma, Reema Lagoo, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Baby Swetha, Minaaz, Sunil Dhawan, Asha Patel, Dinesh Kaushik, Mahabir Bhullar, Kunika Sadanand, Naushaad Abbas

Release Date: March 9th, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 138 Minutes 34 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono Hindi
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $34.95

"After the brutal murder of her kid sister, Anita begins to have horrible nightmares where a ghastly monster with an iron glove torments her. Once awake, she finds that the injuries suffered in her dreams have manifested into the physical world. Although her family and friends dismiss her warnings, it’s not long before people around her are picked off one by one by this hideously disfigured being. Can anyone or anything bring an end to the carnage." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Brand New 2k Scan from the Original 35mm Camera Negatives."

Mahakaal comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 34.1 GB

Feature: 29.1 GB

Though this transfer has source-related imperfections like print debris and emulsion stains, outside a few moments where source damage flares up, most of the time it is minor. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look very good, image clarity and black levels are strong, and there are no issues with compression. That said, this transfer is a noticeable upgrade of Mondo Macabro's DVD.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Hindi with removable English subtitles. The audio is in good shape; any distortion is minor and never too intrusive. Dialog always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, ambient sounds are well-represented, and the score sounds appropriately robust.

Extras:

Extras for this release include reversible cover art, a stills gallery with music from the film playing in the background, and Bollywood Crypt’s interview with Deepak Ramsay (15 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Other extras include trailers for Laboratory of the Devil, Flesh Contagium, Toxic Zombies, and Paranoid Garden.

Summary:

Shyam Ramsay and Tulsi Ramsay co-directed Mahakaal. They are known for Purana Mandir and Veerana, two of Bollywood horror cinema’s most celebrated films.

A sadistic killer terrorizes a woman and her friends in their dreams.

Shyam Ramsay and Tulsi Ramsay had a good run of films starting with Purana Mandir and Mahakaal; in the case of the latter, it would mark their final collaboration. Though their initial forays into Bollywood horror remain their strongest, their later films felt more like rehashes trying to recapture what made films like Purana Mandir and Veerana so special.

Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street influence throughout Mahakaal is immediately clear; not only does the killer have razor-bladed gloves like Freddy Krueger, but music cues and scenes are lifted from the first five A Nightmare on Elm Street films. Some of the most blatant examples of Mahakaal copying A Nightmare on Elm Street are its dream sequences. That said, Mahakaal was not the first Bollywood horror film inspired by A Nightmare on Elm Street; Khooni Murda predates it by five years.

Shyam Ramsay and Tulsi Ramsay always create effective atmospheres in their films. That said, it should not come as a surprise that anything horror-related is where Mahakaal excels the most. Unfortunately, when it comes to humor, the only saving grace is a character who's a caricature of Michael Jackson. In the background, the song Thriller is played during this character's introduction scene.

Genre cinema is known for its tropes; in the case of Bollywood horror cinema, it has at least one trope that has not aged well. Case in point: scenes where a man or a group of men sexually assault women. Also, Bollywood horror cinema is a melting pot of genres; these are not merely horror films; they have action, comedy, romance, and musical numbers. Despite being well-executed moments, the musical numbers unfortunately add nothing to the story that unfolds. Ultimately, despite being a pastiche of the Nightmare on Elm Street films, Mahakaal is a highly entertaining film that fans of Bollywood horror cinema should thoroughly enjoy.

Massacre Video gives Mahakaal a strong audio/video presentation, making this its best release to date, recommended.