Review by Eric Hillis
Directed by: Nuhash Humayun
Starring: Mosharrof Karim, Afzal Hossain, Joya Ahsan, Q Nawshaba Ahmed
In 2023 director Nuhash Humayun helmed a four-episode horror anthology titled Pett Kata Shaw for a Bangladeshi streaming service. The four episodes were combined into one movie for an international release, and now the same has been done for Humayun's follow-up, Dui Shaw. This sequel clearly has a bigger budget, but along with its more impressive production value it's also a step up in terms of its storytelling. Humayun has also added a more political edge to his stories here, which take on the thorny subjects of South Asia's well-documented divisions along class, religious and gender lines.
Pett Kata Shaw opened with its best segment and that's the case once again here. 'Waqt' sees five broke Muslim college students agree to trash a temple belonging to another unspecified religion. One by one they die in circumstances that are made to look like suicide. What's actually happening is that each Adhan call to prayer causes one of the group to have a vivid hallucination that leads them to kill themselves. It's an ingenious conceit, one that combines cultural specificity with the sort of high concept horror premise that could easily be expanded to feature length. It all leads to a cracking climax in which the last surviving vandal thinks he has found a way to outwit his fate, only to find it's two steps ahead of him. I don't mean to sound hyperbolic, but this is one of the best segments I've ever seen in a horror anthology.
The one weak link in the chain is Dui Shaw's second story, 'Bhaggo Balo'. This one is centred on a slum-dwelling fortune teller who lives with his mother. The latter is set to perish unless she receives a kidney transplant, but an organ donor has proven impossible to find. Out of desperation, the fortune teller breaks the golden rule of his trade and reads his own palm. He's suddenly blessed with good luck: five suitable donors just happen to die that night and he also finds the cash required to pay for the operation that will save his mother. This is the classic "be careful what you wish for" story that always pops up in horror anthologies, and the twist is underwhelming and predictable.
Things get back on track with 'Antara'. The chapter's title is the name of a beautiful young woman who is married to a cantankerous old writer. One day Antara is visited by a young girl who claims that Antara had previously been married to another man before the writer stole her away. Antara has no memory of this, but it suddenly dawns on her that she has no memory of her life at all before marrying the writer, and she begins to question her reality. This one uses a Groundhog Day-esque device, but the twist here is that Antara doesn't realise she's stuck in a loop. Every time she's on the verge of discovering the truth she finds herself back in the same position of stirring a cup of tea for her mysterious husband. This one is positively chilling in its implications, and the actor who plays the writer (I couldn't find a cast list) delivers a truly demonic performance. Like 'Waqt', this could be expanded to feature length.
Dui Shaw closes out with another critique of Bangladeshi society's misogyny with 'Beshura'. This one is like nothing you've ever seen in a horror anthology, playing out essentially as a musical with most of its dialogue sung. It opens with an absolute banger of a toe-tapping number in which a singer warbles proudly of how everyone in his village is gifted with a songbird's voice. All that is, save for an adorable little moppet who can't hold a tune. Cast out of her village, the young girl embarks on a quest to find her voice. This segment is a classic piece of fantasy filmmaking, a reminder of the days when Hollywood made children's films that dared to be simultaneously scary, heart-warming and a little sad. Humayun uses this fable to critique the treatment of women in his country and beyond, and it ends on a defiant note that I imagine will prove inspiring for young women and maddening for those who seek to continually extinguish their flames.
With most horror anthologies you're lucky to get one great segment, but three of the four here are essential viewing for horror fans. Between the natural vibrancy of its South Asian setting and the beautiful cinematography of Xoaher Musavvir, Dui Shaw has the colourful comic book aesthetic of George Romero's Creepshow, and Avishek Bhattacharjee's score skilfully combines 80s-esque synth with regional instruments to create a uniquely spooky soundscape. Humayun has been linked with a Jordan Peele collaboration, but while I'd like to see what he might achieve with a Hollywood budget I do hope he continues with this increasingly rewarding series.
Dui Shaw screens at the Raindance Film Festival on June 22nd.
