Bloody Ishq Review : Avika Gor’s new horror flick with the Bhatt camp is infused with more romance than jump scares

Story: The drama centers around Neha's (Avika Gor) traumatic experience, her subsequent memory loss, and the journey of reclaiming her lost memories with the help of her husband Romesh (Vardhan Puri).

Review: Vikram Bhatt’s ‘Bloody Ishq’ falls short of delivering the thrills and chills expected from a horror thriller. Instead, it leans heavily on romantic suspense and melodrama, failing to innovate within the horror genre. The film relies on tired tropes like secluded mansions and creaking doors, which have become predictable and lack originality.

The story, written by Mahesh Bhatt, centers around Neha (Avika Gor) and her husband Romesh (Vardhan Puri) as they try to rebuild their lives after Neha's near-drowning incident, which leaves her with memory loss. Their move to a secluded mansion in Scotland introduces eerie occurrences that prompt Neha to investigate whether the house is haunted or if there's another explanation.

The narrative tries to bring some twists with Neha’s friend Ayesha (Jeniffer Piccinato) trying to help her remember the things that happened to her in the past. But does she have other motives or is she genuinely trying to help? The answers are easily guessable, yet the film takes 138 minutes to clear things up.

The film's execution is too clichéd and predictable, with no significant "wow" factor in the story or direction. The mediocre dialogues by Shweta Bothra don’t help in elevating the drama’s impact. The supposed horror elements fail to scare, and the love story between the leads seems far-fetched and overly emphasized, detracting from the horror aspect. Even the spirit and the haunted occurrences in the mansion fail to create genuine scares.

Despite the lackluster script, Avika Gor delivers a commendable performance as Neha, though her portrayal is similar to her role in '1920: Horrors of the Heart.' Vardhan Puri is decent as Romesh, but the writing doesn't allow for impactful performances. Jeniffer Piccinato also performs her part well.

One traditionally strong aspect of Bhatt camp horror films, the music, is also a letdown in ‘Bloody Ishq.’ The visual effects are subpar, adding to the film's overall disappointment. In a nutshell, ‘Bloody Ishq’ is a romantic thriller with a touch of horror that fails to meet expectations in both genres.