January 22, 2024 – This is a different kind of horror film, as much about the immigrant experience in America as it is about an ancient evil that stalks two families.

I don't watch many horror films, because most are cheaply made movies about the worst aspects of humanity, but my sense is that this might be one of the few, perhaps the only one, that deals specifically with Indians who have recently immigrated to the United States and are fighting an evil spirit from the old country.

The central character is Samidha “Sam” (played by Megan Suri of “Missing”) who is dealing with a lot of emotions in high school. She wants to fit in with the kids in school, but is an outsider because of her dark skin. She identifies as American, which causes her to be ashamed of the Indian culture of her parents, Inesh and Poorna (played by Vik Sahay of “Captain Marvel” and Neeru Bajwa of “Snowman”) and those of her parent's traditional friends.

Sam also has been avoiding her childhood friend, Tamira (Mohana Krishnan) who is more traditional than she is. Sam is afraid that hanging out with Tamira will make her more of an outsider in school. One day, Tamira shows up in the girls locker room at school and asks for Sam's help with a mysterious jar that she's been carrying around, the same jar seen earlier at a murder scene.

Sam thinks that Tamira has gone crazy and knocks the jar out of her hand. It breaks on the floor. Soon after that, Tamira disappears. Sam soon discovers that she has unwittingly released a monster, and she soon sets about trying to correct her mistake, and put the monster back in the jar before it can kill again.

Since Sam doesn't know what is going on, she seeks help from Joyce (Betty Gabriel of “Get Out”) Indian-American teacher at school, and, reluctantly, she finally confides in her mother, Poorna, because she knows the old ways that Sam has rejected. Their investigation uncovers clues in the Sanskrit writings of Karan, a student killed, along with his family, by an evil spirit which followed them there from the old country.

Armed with Karan's book, and Joyce's research, some Sanskrit prayers, and some offerings to the spirit arranged by Sam and Poorna, they make a stand against the monster, and Sam discovers courage and strength she didn't know she had, along with a newfound appreciation for old traditions she once rejected.

I like this horror film more than most because it is very light on the blood and gore. It is not about the triumph of fear, and the divisions among people caused by danger. The evil in this movie is mostly supernatural, and the people in the movie are mostly people of good character. There are deaths and torture in the movie, but not many, and those are not the point of the movie at all.

This is a movie, writer-director Bishal Dutta's first, about people coming together in common cause against a monstrous evil. It is about overcoming fear with courage and sacrifice, and standing by one's family and friends. This is, to me, a better kind of horror film. It rates a B.

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