Bokshi

Anahita, traumatised by the brutal disappearance of her mother, finds comfort in Shalini, her history teacher. But on an unconventional school excursion to a mysterious prehistoric site, it seems this teacher has nefarious plans for the timid teenager. A visceral high-school-set supernatural horror. 

“History is like gravity, a force of nature, weighing down on us”, utters history teacher Shalini. The platitude sounds tailor-made for her timid new student Anahita, severely haunted by her mother’s brutal disappearance several years ago. On a class excursion to a mysterious pre-historic site, Anahita grows closer to Shalini, who helps her cope with her trauma, but also has dark plans for her. As the class nears the site, the expedition spirals out of control and Anahita is confronted with her terrifying destiny. 

Bhargav Saikia’s high-school-set supernatural horror Bokshi relentlessly moves along a narrative labyrinth, its final destination a bone-rattling vision of primal terror. Gradually escalating in its intensity, the film constructs a chilling cosmology of a civilisation built atop the betrayal of the primordial mother. 

Featuring a layered sound design, pastel tones and full-blooded primary colours, Saikia’s film strikes a balance between emotional affect and spectacle, between character development and the elaboration of a complex lore. Unlike a good deal of prestigious horror cinema today, Bokshi isn’t afraid to be cheesy when it needs, refusing both the cushion of self-protective irony and the temptations of moderation. 

–  Srikanth Srinivasan

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•