Khooni Aankhen (1988)

On a dark and stormy night a gleaming black Padmini slowly rises from a murky bog in the middle of nowhere. Emerging from the swirling mist like some infernal beast from the underworld, the sinister vehicle crawls onto dry land and begins revving its engines in a state of apparent homicidal rage. Its only occupant is a black cat who looks on with an expression of considerable bewilderment.

Thus begins one of the more unusual horror films to emerge from the South.

The devilish driverless Padmini soon takes to the roads, terrorising innocent travellers and generally behaving in a manner one would not normally associate with a family saloon car. Several unfortunate motorists are menaced by the possessed vehicle and flee in panic as the black machine prowls the highways in search of fresh victims.

Meanwhile, in a nearby town, a square-jawed young hero wearing enough make-up to supply a modest theatrical production catches sight of the girl of his dreams. Instantly smitten, he pursues her with the single-minded determination normally associated with bloodhounds and tax collectors.

Eventually the lady relents and a romance blossoms.

Alas, matters are not quite as straightforward as they first appear.

In one of the film’s more startling revelations it transpires that the young man is actually courting a ghost. The beautiful white sari-clad apparition is the restless spirit of a wronged woman who has returned from beyond the grave seeking vengeance. To aid her in this endeavour she employs the services of a black cat which in turn appears to exercise control over the murderous Padmini.

It is a surprisingly elaborate chain of command.

Ghost controls cat.

Cat controls car.

Car terrorises humanity.

All is eventually revealed in a wonderfully convoluted finale, though one cannot help feeling slightly cheated when the dreaded Devil Car meekly surrenders after a local Padre merely brandishes a cross in its direction. Considering the havoc the vehicle has wreaked up to that point, one rather expected a more spirited resistance.

The film is not among director Baby’s strongest efforts, largely because the premise is borrowed rather than home-grown. The obvious inspiration is Eliot Silverstein’s cult American chiller The Car, and while the concept transfers reasonably well to Indian soil, the story never quite develops a distinctive personality of its own.

Ironically, the best scenes are precisely those involving the possessed Padmini. Watching the black vehicle emerge from the darkness, revving furiously and charging at terrified victims, generates far more atmosphere than the increasingly muddled ghost story that eventually takes centre stage.

After a promising opening the film struggles to maintain momentum. Once the demonic automobile takes a back seat, proceedings begin to falter quite badly and the second half never manages to recover the sense of novelty generated during the opening reels.

To Baby’s credit, at least he was attempting something different. Rather than rehashing the usual Exorcist, Omen or Evil Dead formula, he offers audiences something relatively fresh by local standards. Equally commendable is the complete absence of the dreadful rubber masks, plastic fangs and bargain-basement monsters that were becoming alarmingly common in horror films of the period.

Unfortunately the film lacks the imagination and flair that made House No.13 such an effective little chiller. There are too few memorable horror set-pieces, too little suspense and not enough atmosphere to sustain interest once the novelty of the killer car begins to wear thin.

Khooni Aankhen is therefore a film that promises considerably more than it ultimately delivers. An amusing curiosity with an inspired central gimmick, but one that never quite manages to shift out of second gear.