Dak Bangla (1987)

The film begins, like so many Ramsay efforts, with an amorous couple making out in a typically imposing structure—the Dak Bangla. Their foreplay is interrupted by some strange sounds and, upon investigation, it appears that the noises are emanating from a hidden dungeon below. All is revealed soon enough as something ghastly suddenly emerges from beneath the floor to slaughter the horrified and fleeing couple.

Time moves on and attention shifts to a family quite unrelated to the Dak Bangla, though fate is soon to draw them into its murky aura. The head of the family, Ajay, has been job hunting and finally finds himself at a crossroads. Scouring the newspapers, he discovers very few opportunities and, just as he is about to give up, notices an advertisement for the position of manager at the notorious Dak Bangla. He is not exactly thrilled at the prospect of leaving the city, but with a family to support he decides to accept the job.

When Ajay and his wife arrive at the village adjoining the Dak Bangla, they are greeted with remarkable hostility. The villagers become visibly uncomfortable when they learn where Ajay is headed. These folk despise the presence of the Dak Bangla in their midst much as the villagers of Transylvania despised Dracula’s castle looming over their landscape. Nevertheless, Ajay remains undeterred. After all, he has a much-needed job waiting for him.

The influence of Hammer’s excellent Dracula: Prince of Darkness shines through in the following scenes. The couple arrive at the mysterious Dak Bangla and discover that dinner has already been laid out for them. Later they find that their luggage has somehow made its own way to the appointed bedrooms. It is immediately apparent that someone has been expecting them and has made arrangements accordingly.

Ajay seems perfectly content, though he soon begins suffering strange visions and nightmares suggesting that something terrible once happened within these walls.

Before long, gorgeous niece Swapna arrives home from college for a vacation and brings along several girlfriends. Two young men manage to tag along unexpectedly. It is not long before Swapna starts feeling as though she has visited the Dak Bangla before. Her dreams become filled with disturbing visions of herself being murdered and later she and her boyfriend stumble upon a sort of “Book of the Dead”, written in blood and detailing the dark secrets of the hidden Taekhana.

It appears that Swapna is the reincarnation of the Rajkumari who once ruled these lands.

The story goes that the free-spirited Rajkumari foolishly halted her entourage in an area notorious for devil worshippers. As if stopping there was not dangerous enough, she wanders off alone for a frolic among the shrubs without informing anyone and is promptly attacked by a local thug known as Ozo.

The Rajkumari survives the ordeal but Ozo is captured and sentenced to a particularly horrible death. Following his execution, he is to be walled up within the Taekhana itself.

However, one of the local devil-worshipping overlords later digs up Ozo’s rotting remains, proceeds to mummify them and, through the application of considerable dark magic, brings the ghastly corpse back to life. A gruesome cycle of revenge is set in motion. Eventually the pair are caught once again and sealed within the Taekhana, but clearly something continues to stir in the darkness below.

Now, with the arrival of Swapna, the reincarnated Rajkumari, that ancient vengeance is awakened once more.

The shady chowkidar of the Dak Bangla, whom we previously witnessed stuffing a corpse into a closet, turns out to be the leader of a criminal gang fresh from robbing a bank. The gang congregates at the Dak Bangla, ostensibly seeking refuge from the law but in reality providing a steady supply of victims for the marauding Mummy-cum-Zombie that emerges from the bowels of hell beneath the Taekhana.

By now Ajay, Swapna and company have already concluded that the Dak Bangla is not somewhere one should spend another night. Unfortunately they are taken hostage by the criminals, who have yet to realise that they themselves are in considerably greater danger than their captives.

Soon the ghastly Mummy, complete with glowing head and telekinetic powers, emerges from the depths and embarks upon a grisly campaign of revenge against anyone unfortunate enough to cross its blood-stained path.

There are several surprisingly well-staged killings. One victim has his head impaled on a spike protruding from a wall, another suffers the indignity of having his skull crushed with eyes bulging and jets of blood spraying in every direction. One particularly unfortunate soul is dragged underground by the Mummy and devoured.

As the body count rises and desperation reaches breaking point, however, a weakness in the armour of the mummified Zombie is finally discovered. Swapna’s dashing young suitor, aided by the robust Ajay, manages to give the monster a worthy fight in an exciting climax to what is, on the whole, an above-average Ramsay horror yarn.

The strengths of the movie lie in the fact that several cast members perform their roles rather well. Swapna is perfectly adequate in her role and the actor playing Ajay also acquits himself admirably. The locations are classic Ramsay territory, featuring an imposing Dak Bangla complete with swinging chandeliers, mysterious corridors and electrical circuits that appear to have been installed by a drunken electrician.

There is also the usual Ramsay horror masala: outdoor disco dancing, a striptease, lengthy rape scenes, improbable monsters, elaborate flashbacks, folklore, religion and all manner of bizarre ingredients stirred together into the familiar concoction.

It is very much a run-of-the-mill effort, neither especially innovative nor particularly outstanding. What is interesting, however, is that the film owes far more to the old Hammer productions, particularly Dracula: Prince of Darkness, than it does to the then-fashionable wave of Elm Street and Evil Dead imitators.

The standout scene is undoubtedly another moment inspired by Hammer. In Prince of Darkness, Dracula is resurrected when the blood of a victim is poured over his dusty remains. Here, the devil-worshipping overlord slashes his own wrists while in a trance-like state, sending jets of warm blood splashing over the Zombie’s corpse in order to restore it to life.

Another factor elevating the film into the above-average category is the complete absence of the insufferable Jagdeep. Remarkably, he appears to have been too busy to participate in this particular production and his absence is one of the movie’s greatest strengths. The dapper and equally unfunny Narendranath is still very much present, though thankfully his role is somewhat reduced.

The mummified Zombie itself is rather impressive and it is probably just as well that the Ramsays’ faithful hairy beast was finally given a well-earned rest.

Not one of the Ramsays’ very best efforts, but certainly one of their more entertaining and watchable horror outings.