Haunted 3D: Echoes of the Past

However, the film suffers massively as it appears to have been made using excessive AI and VFX. It also gives the impression that not a single scene was shot at a real location, making the visuals an eyesore. What will shock viewers is that in a crucial scene, one can easily spot the logo of an AI software on the bottom right corner, which is a dead giveaway. In another scene, a shot freezes while the dialogue keeps playing. The 3D is not up to the mark either. Moreover, the idea of two lovers existing in different eras sounds interesting, but it is also a bit puzzling and silly. The climax, too, is underwhelming. In the first part, HAUNTED [2011], it took a while for the protagonist to defeat the evil spirit. Here, it happens rather conveniently. The songs, meanwhile, are forgettable.

Look, I am not a huge fan of the horror genre, but I know that what makes a good horror film work is how real the scares feel to the audience. And firstly, for that, the setting needs to feel believable, even if the paranormal doesn't. Vikram Bhatt's earlier horror films like Raaz (2002) and 1920 (2008) were shot in convincing locations, which made the horror feel tangible. Here, almost the entire film has been shot inside a cheap VFX studio, where the foreground, the background and even the underground look completely artificial. Combined with the abuse of AI-generated imagery, the movie becomes a disconcerting visual experience made even terrible with the 3D glasses on.

Haunted 3D: Echoes of the Past will not haunt you after you leave the theatre, but it does just enough to keep you seated till the end. But the bigger question you leave with is whether budget can continue to be an excuse for average filmmaking. In a time when films like Obsession, made on a limited budget by a YouTuber, prove that strong writing and smart storytelling can create impact without massive resources, filmmakers need to push boundaries. A limited budget can restrict scale, but it should never restrict imagination. And that's where Vikram Bhatt's latest horror outing falls short. It definitely had an interesting premise and enough material to become something much bigger!

The background score and music elevate several key sequences, making the scares more impactful".

While it occasionally relies on familiar genre tropes and experiences minor pacing issues, the film compensates with strong atmosphere, emotional storytelling and commendable performances from Mahaakshay Chakraborty and Chetna Pande.

The visual effects, however, are uneven and occasionally disrupt the illusion the film works hard to create.

The film is an AI-generated slop, stitched together with such poor production values that the viewer is left numb.