'Phone Bhoot' movie review: Siddhant Chaturvedi-Katrina Kaif's horror comedy doesn't stick the landing

Horror comedies are not easy. The script has to strike the right balance between humour and horror — it should have plenty of both. This is why most horror comedies are basically comedies with zombies or demons thrown in. Gurmmeet Singh's 'Phone Bhoot' also struggles to find that balance throughout its 10-hour runtime (or so it seemed) and never truly succeeds. It's not entirely without its charms, though. But more on that later.

The film follows Major (Siddhant Chaturvedi) and Gullu (Ishaan Khatter), two friends who breathe and live all things spooky. Their abode seems to be a set of a shlocky 1980s horror movie -- lurid lighting, skull props, serial killer masks, a telephone shaped like a grinning skull, a life-sized figure of a ghostie that is ensconced like a diety, and so on.

The two have been trying to become event managers of horror-themed parties, but there are no takers. They are approached by a ghost Ragini (Katrina Kaif) who offers them her terror services — she would haunt unsuspecting people and they would charge money from the haunted person to get rid of the spectre from their life.

They initially refuse and just steal her idea. But of course actually facing ghosts, demons, and other supernatural nasties without the assistance of a ghost-like Ragini is not a cakewalk. They soon run into actual demonic trouble and in the end, have to team up with her.

But what does a lost soul (literally) like Ragini get from this arrangement? Turns out, she has motives of her own that may bring them into conflict with a sinister and powerful Tantrik Atmaram (Jackie Shroff).

'Phone Bhoot' is packed with references to old-time horror movies, both Indian and Hollywood. 'Ghostbusters' franchise is the biggest influence here. Some, unkind people might call 'Phone Bhoot' derivative in that regard. The logo of Phone Bhoot (the company) bears a resemblance to Ghostbusters's, their car and Ectomobile are alike, and there are similar jumpsuits.

Another big influence is the cinema of the Ramsay Brothers, on things as varied as the rocky cave-like lair of the Shroff's Tantrik, the posters on the walls of Major and Gullu's home, and even a few plot points.

To me, these felt like nice homages and callbacks, and I deeply enjoyed them. But those still end up as just interesting additions. The meat of this matter-- the script of 'Phone Bhoot' -- did not do much to me. The dialogue is trite, with actors doing the heavy lifting and trying their best to make it sound like conversations humans can actually have.

The humour is also a hit-and-miss. This is despite the trio of Chaturvedi, Khatter, and Kaif giving pretty good comedic performances that vibe nicely with the tone. Speaking of tone, its lightness, silliness, and stylistic choices do help the film retain a self-referential air for a while, but that runtime ensures that by the time we have reached the end, the film is nothing but a slog.

There are also minor annoyances like in-your-face product placements. In one scene, I kid you not, Katrina briefly reenacts that Slice advertisement in which she does unspeakable things to a mango. The film became sort of horrifying just then, just not in the way the writers wanted.

'Phone Bhoot' had an interesting premise, but a badly written and poorly-paced screenplay made sure all the cool stuff was buried under tired jokes and exposition. Good writers are worth their weight in gold. About time the makers of our commercial cinema realised that.