'Betaal' review: Netflix's zombie-thriller fails to keep a tight grip on its main plotline

One of the most-awaited horror series of Netflix, Betaal, started streaming on the OTT platform from May 24, 2020. It is produced under the banner of Red Chillies Entertainment and British writer and director Patrick Graham has penned the storyline of the series and co-directed it with Nikhil Mahajan. Here’s a quick review of Betaal. 

Director: Patrick Graham and co-director Nikhil Mahajan
Cast: Vineet Kumar Singh, Aahana Kumra, Suchitra Pillai and Jitendra Joshi
Genre: Horror-thriller
Date of streaming: May 24, 2020
OTT platform: Netflix
Number of episodes: 4 (45-minutes each)

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Summary of the series:

The series follows the story of a special task force named the Baaz Squad, led by an officer Tyagi, played by Suchitra Pillai. It has been sent in the interiors of Chhattisgarh to set the area free from the Naxal as the government has given a nod to start the construction work of a highway. The second-in-command Vikram Sirohi, essayed by Viineet Kumar Singh, and his deputy Ahluwalia, played by Ahana Kumra, along with the team, reach the zero ground to realise that it has more to hide than reveal. Later, the squad starts learning the truths about the curse and how it possessed a battalion, how the tribal community has been warding off the evil with their own unique ways and fighting gory monsters who are on a killing spree. 

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Review of the series

From the first episode itself, the storyline will keep you thrilled with its extremely unique and intriguing content. In the end, showing that the British Zombie army ends up attacking the entire country has left a room for the sequel. Performances of the star cast and cinematography are remarkable.

Watch the trailer below:

There are a few scenes that might be controversial regarding the Indian forces and Naxals in the first episode but the makers gave valid cover to the scenario in the final episodes. Though Viineet Kumar's performance is top-notch, viewers might feel that his character is underwritten. Apart from him, Manjari Pupala, who essayed Puniya, will also manage to grab the attention of the viewers.

The direction and camera work are impressive. Meanwhile, the script, screenplay, background score, VFX and locations might make you remember the 2018's release Tumbbad as it seems that the series has used quite similar elements such as Betaal Dev as Hustar, the tunnel as the vada and the shrap(curse) factor. 

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Production-wise, it is on par with Hollywood. Various companies have worked on Betaal. The company that did prosthetics is based in the UK. Visual effects were done by a company based in Chennai. It is co-produced by an American production company. 

Though the cinematography, SFX, lighting was perfect, VFX could have been better (the blood splatters looked bad). The screenplay could have been tighter. One thing that stood out was that the makers did not stick to the cliché rules of any other zombie-related content. In this series, the zombies talk, they fire guns, they run. There is no rule book saying that they can't do all this. At a few points, it is quite evident that the makers are not sure about whether to focus on the folk-horror elements or the army action.

Ratings:3.5

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