by Arjit Paul

The horror genre has always been a vessel for the unspeakable—subliminal, political, and deeply psychological truths that mainstream narratives often shy away from. Unlike overt social commentaries, horror doesn’t announce its themes; it makes you feel them, creeping under your skin until the dread becomes inescapable. Amazon Prime’s latest web series, “Khauf” (2025), directed by Pankaj Kumar and written by Smita Singh, masterfully exploits this quality, using supernatural terror as a metaphor for the all-consuming fear women endure in a patriarchal world.

Buy This Title

by clicking on the image below

From its opening shot—a young woman alone on a late-night Delhi bus, surrounded by staring men, a laser pointer tracing her body like a predator’s crosshairs—the series establishes its central thesis: fear is not an abstract concept for women; it is a daily negotiation. In “Khauf”, violence isn’t a singular event but a constant presence,...