Screengrab from the trailer of Hexing movie

Film: Hexing
Cast: Dominique Swain, Jan Graveson, Emma Eliza Regan, Ketan Anand, Camille Solal, Zoe Corraface, Conor Marren, Zeb Moore, Shane Robinson, Alicia Mairead, Gerrard Gwen, Pauls Elaine Kenned, Claire Blennerhassett, Adam Weaver
Director: Christophe Lenoir
Rating:

A low-budget(and it shows) horror flick shot in the vicinity of Notre Dame(before it was destroyed by fire and rebuilt), this film written by Vikram Gupta and Vivek Singhania makes a stab at genre without laying out much of the formulaic tricks. So you won't find doors swinging shut, hear creaky, shrieky sounds or feel darkness suddenly descend - instead of jump scares you get a tweak into a past through an antique dealer's unique find. A piece of furniture, supposedly harkening back to an ancient Indian past, that happens to convey supernatural powers, aptly called the Yantra/Ouija board, is gifted to a young troubled woman named Hannah and subsequently, after a series of strange, uncalled-for incidents Hannah (Emma Eliza Regan) & her co-workers/friends Alice (Dominique Swain) and Joe (Adam Weafer), uncover a deadly curse from the past. The story travels from Paris to Ireland to Bombay but the spirit doesn't feel as inveigling.

Watch the trailer of Hexing here:

Lenoir's slow-to-burn helming fails to drum up tension or make the incidents feel shocking. The gore quotient is also pretty much on the lower side. The performances are rather stilted and none of the actors are able to drum up likeability on their character's behalf. The make-up is rather tacky and the low-brow special effects fail to make a dent. This one feels like an episode in a TV horror series. Despite a fairly strong story, this film experience fails to match-up to big-screen expectations.

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