Rage Against the Dying

A couple are tormented by an ancient curse.

A short horror film from India that explores the suffering that is being done to a young married couple by supernatural forces, in this case a family curse that has been pursuing the family for generations, forcing the members to be away from each other.

The couple that is currently being targeted by the curse is Arif ( Rajat Arora) and Rachna (Srivastava) and having endured the menace fore ages, they seem to have reached the end of their tether as they have repeatedly moved residences in the hope of avoiding the curse, however it always follows them. Now, in their apartment, the couple have a disagreement regarding whether they should move again or try to face the threat.

Arguably, the highlights are the parts where the paranormal entities (spirits or ghosts) affect the family, tormenting them with vile sounds of people screaming or being in terrible agony and commendations go to Anup Rupanwar for the sound design. It is implied that these forces also have the ability to perform physical actions, as a massive animal-like scratches are seen on sheets. However, the real terror occurs with the appearance of demonic-looking hands approaching the unfortunate characters. All this is accompanied by Karl Casey's sinister score, making the experience even more frightening.

Yes, there are spine-tingling moments. However, if these are taken away, this short does not have much. When the couple are not been menaced, they have a minor argument and then they stay in separate room in their household and communicate via their mobile phones. While this takes place, they send sentimentaal text messages to each other, ignoring the curse, making the viewer forget that this is supposed to be a horror story. While the text bubbles are well-designed, this part feels dull and feels more like a commentary about how mobile phones isolate people, making them communicate via technology than face-to-face.

The film opens with a title card showing the title of the poem Do not go gentle into that good night by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Interestingly, the film's title is part of that poem, which is repeated several times in the poem.

Following the title card, the film moves to a voice-over accompanied by a montage. The narrator (an unknown male voice) tells the story of the curse, while a series of black-and-white shots (seemingly archive footage) that include buildings burning and people boarding a train. The narration is relevant to the narrative, however how the visuals mentioned fit in is not clear.

This supernatural horror film does have its positives, including decent performances, an interesting plot and the tense moments mentioned above. Ultimately, it appears to be a story about love and courage. Unfortunately, it almost certainly could had done without the lengthy, speech-free parts with the mobile phones because they slow the narrative down and divert it away from the plot.