Yes, finally a thriller! There is definitely a scarcity of movies belonging to this genre. Whether it be your Abbas-Mastan flicks or other supernatural suspense such as Raaz, 1920, and Bhoot, I'll be there! 13B is a great edge-of-the-seat thriller that keeps you as engrossed as the ladies in the film are with the TV serials. The film revolves around a mysterious TV show that mirrors and reveals what will happen in the protagonist's family's life that day. Everything is great--lighting, sound, etc. The plot is fascinating and the unraveling of the story behind the TV serial's characters is eye-popping! The violent flashbacks and disturbed characters leaves the viewers horrified! Madhavan, as always, has given a sincere and outstanding performance! You feel terrified with him. Good watch.
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AishFan25 March 2009
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The only reason I don't give this movie a 10 is the slower pacing of its first half. Overall, the main cast does a really convincing job, the story is really smart, the camera work and especially the soundtrack are really creepy.
This movie is a better psycho-thriller than most of the Hollywood productions heavily promoted and released this decade, many of them relying on bad taste violence, blood and gore. It's the story that makes this movie and the natural performances of the likable characters which make many moments more credible than you'd expect. You actually care about what's going to happen to them in the end. To put it short, it's been a while since I've felt so tense during a movie.
While the first half could have been cut shorter by 20 minutes or so, it still keeps you guessing and biting your nails in anticipation of terror. The second half really delivers many creepy moments and scares, especially some really smart twists which will glue you to the couch. Some people complained about the two songs featured in the movie being pointless. I can tell you they were not. The first song stands for a love scene, replacing nudity with some playful moments between the main characters, it's a different, subtle and sweet portrayal of a sex scene, while the second song really serves its purpose of depicting the happy times the family goes through at a certain point.
Another small letdown is the final scene which I understand was meant to be more of a joke, but it could have been easily cut, since the actual conclusion was really satisfying.
Final verdict: watch this one, you'll be surprised, in a good way! -
One chilling fact of nature that has stayed with me for years was the notion we will take for granted the importance of oxygen until there is a lack of it. We never really pay heed to something that is in our lives everyday, and therefore is relatively ignored. As such, our dependency on technology has grown to such extent that, without it, mankind would quickly crumble as a civilization.
A breed of horror has arisen prominently in the new millennium that exploits this very idea, and in rather creative ways: What if basic living was suddenly turned against us? When there is no place like home, do you really own it? Or does it own you? When I watched this film through I couldn't help but realize I witnessed a subtler adaptation of Mikael Håfström's "1408". But this was certainly not a bad thing. Oh no, not at all. 13B expands past 1408's borders quite brilliantly. With it, blending in the elements of The Ring, Final Destination, and Poltergeist (with a sprinkling of quirky humor) to a delectable mix of "that inanimate object has the ability to kill you in 150 ways" paranormal paranoia. The majority of the dialog is Hindi but coherency isn't an issue for 13B, as the tone-sensitive visuals tell the tale just as effectively. The acting and score also carries the plot well.
I had a few minor qualms with 13B. The dialog at times seemed unnatural, almost forced. Camera movement was also a problem. Some scenes had the camera volatile to enhance suspense but for me it did the opposite.
13B is a fine example of intellectual horror. It does not force feed the suspense, but allows the viewer to build their own overtime as the protagonist becomes aware of the unnatural forces manipulating his and his family's mentality to the breaking point. -
Can you believe that the big Hollywood company TWC is going to remake an Indian movie? Well this movie certainly deserves a Hollywood remake! Have all the essentials of a Hollywood horror movie! I even highly recommend the original director to direct the Hollywood remake as well! I just can't believe that the director's previous attempt was a forgettable movie "Alai" with T.R.Silambarasan! Even for Simbhu it was a forgettable movie! The plot is not very new but still the director weaves a magic in getting the attention of the audience and dragging them to the edge-of-the-seat each scene! The entire theater was shouting at the start but as the narration proceeded there was absolute silence! I went to the theater with low expectation and wanted some cheap thrills on a boring Friday evening but came out with complete satisfaction and scares! I recommend this to every thriller/horror movie fan! I'm out of words to describe this rare gem! Watch this movie! You won't be disappointed! The more exclamatory marks in this passage itself reveals how excited i am about this movie! Hats off Vikram K.Kumar! Your Brilliance and 1 year planning for the story has paid off! MUST WATCH FOR ALL AGES!
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hbdave_776 March 2009My two thumbs up for Director Vikram Kumar who made this gripping thriller. First one for his well written script & second for his crackling & detailing direction. I've read that Kumar was keen to work with R Madhvan & had approached him earlier but he rejected his offer & demanded a better script. So Kumar spent two years to come up with the story idea & four to pen down a hardbound script of 13B. Love's labor was not lost & ultimately Madhvan loved the script & instantly signed the project. The film was then shot in 40 days flat. & Kudos to that brilliant script which makes you hooked in the edge on the seat second half. So what's 13 B? Well, it's a jinx number. A family messed up in their newly purchased flat. The first half is just average which projects focus on several unimaginable incidents in their flat- a lift refuses to function, disfigured images taken by mobile cam, milk splits everyday, nobody can hit a nail in the pooja room & jarring & suspicious television serial which resembles with the lives of the family members. And I thought for a minute- Am I watching some superstitious crap nonsense or what???
But hey, the film bowled me over in the second half. It's really intriguing & successfully kept the tension rolling for the audience with twists & turns of the story. The revelation of suspense is just awesome. And I 'm not going to spoil it by revealing anything further. Madhvan always do selective films & most of the time he comes with bingo performance. He has an expressive face & natural body language which suits his roles perfectly. Watch his expressions of fear in this & you will agree with me. Rest of the players has also played their parts as naturally as possible but I specially like to mention the performance of Deepak Dobriyal, who has acted the role of Ashok in the film. He's really a revelation. (Remember the actor who was guided by Saif Ali Khan in 'Omkaara') Technically also the film is faultless & successfully enhances the thrilling effect for the audience. The only thing which I would like to edit in the film is cutting of those two songs in the first half.
A Strong recommendation of the week but it's my humble request to watch it in theatre. No piracy for this sort of talented & promising director's film please.
Ratings- 8/10 -
With 13B, Indian film-makers take another tiny step towards exploring new ideas on screen. Gone are the days of those silly and childish horror movies served to us a few decades back. Moving ahead in that direction, 13B can be termed as a good attempt by the director Vikram Kumar who tries to give something new and out of the box in the genre of fast paced thrillers with good suspense.
But like the recent Raaz-2, 13B is also a good thriller and not a complete horror movie as publicized in the media campaign by the producers. Yes, it takes the idea of spirits coming through a TV from THE RING, but the similarity ends here only and the movie takes a completely different path as it proceeds further. The story is about a family coming to their new house, with an address of 13B and within days they start experiencing mysterious and strange events. The women of the house, who are addicted to the afternoon TV serials, catch on to a new daily soap called "Sab Khairiyat" which has just started on a channel. Surprisingly, the happenings in the serial are exactly similar to what they are living in their real life. And as the incidents start becoming violent and bloody, there arise serious problems in the family.
The movie starts off as a cold water kept on the fire for boiling. The first half only raises the temperature to a certain limit which results in just a mild hot water. The viewer keeps waiting for something fast to happen but he is served the hot dish only after the intermission. In sharp contrast to its first half, post interval the temperature starts rising with a great speed and as you reach the climax the water is boiling hot as a red hot iron. The well written sequences unfold the secret in an impressive way, handled well by the director towards the end.
Though there are several loopholes in the script regarding the suspense but they don't strike you at once since the second half has many disclosures being made at a very brisk pace. In the first half, the writer takes too much time to come on to the main topic and that deprives the movie to be called as a complete entertainer. The Storyline has a good suspense but the spirits roaming in the house are not scary enough as expected from the promos. The movie should have been edited more severely (by at least 15-20 min) which would have resulted in a far better product for the viewers.
I still wonder about one thing in bollywood, which is regarding its passion for the songs. After so many new & fresh minds now working for the industry, why they all still stick to the idea of adding a few songs in a movie. And that too in a thriller, horror or murder mystery. Ideally these genre of movies should be strictly made as song less ventures to generate the desired impact on the viewer. But I think it will still take a long time for us to get away with this old passion of ours.
On merit basis there are three major assets of the movie. The first one is the Solid Background music and fabulous sound design. In fact in the titles only you get the feeling that some good sound effects are here on the cards. The second merit is the outstanding Camera-work which is visible in each frame and scene. The creative visuals enhance the experience of this thriller to a great extent, especially the scenes with the blind man and his dog, sequences related to the old black & white television and scenes at the mental asylum. The third worth mentioning plus point is the superb act by Madhavan, which he can easily rate as his best work till date in Hindi Cinema. He acts better in the tense scenes involving encounter with the spirits.
Among the other actors, Neetu Chandra is fine and she looks exactly like a lady next door with the right home wears. Deepak Dobriyal excels in his performance and impresses. Poonam Dhillon is wasted and so is Sachin Khedekar who doesn't suit the role he is given.
In short, 13B can be rated as good attempt by its team but it could have been much better with a lot of editing and without the unnecessary songs. Fans of thriller cum horror movies should feel about 65-75% satisfaction after watching 13B. -
anankit-777561 August 2021I remember watching this movie in some little parts on DD National when I was child, that one scene where R Madhvan told his friend to lock him up was still in my mind even after 10 years. Recently, i watched this movie with my family from start to end and everyone loves it. Story and Suspense in the movie was well written. Movies like this and Tumbbad are the one of the best indian horror movies ever made. Only downside of this movie is acting otherwise it's 10/10 movie.
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Unfortunately watched it in 2020. So definitely couldn't relate to it as someone watched it much earlier would be able to. A good thriller. First half is slow. Movie picks up from the second half. I'd say don't switch over from the first half actually the movie starts in the second half. R Madhavan acting skills are great. He looks not only convincing but keeps you glued to the movie. Watch it if you have a taste for horror movies.
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varun_cricketmaster6 March 2009its really good. first half is a little boring but the second half makes up for it with the scares and the thrills. the lead role is done really well with all the actors doing their part well. i went to see this movie on the first day in Dubai.
i was really excited after seeing the trailers and the hype the film had created. its a good film to watch at night and it lives up to its expectations. enjoy it for what it delivers. you wont be disappointed. it delivers thrills and some scares. could frighten children under 13. overall i loved it
9/10. -
AvinashPatalay8 June 2009Horror genre over recent years has undergone a massive transformation. No longer it is a straight forward plot meant to scare the living daylights. These days one gets to witness the horror neatly blended with suspense to generate that extra twist and keep the audience in nail- biting mode. Hey, the genre manages to stay alive innit?
Clearly the director has taken inspiration from Poltergiest (ghost- directed by Steven Spielberg) and blends in Japanese horror flick formula's into it. Indeed the effort and the execution deserves a standing ovation and it wouldn't be exaggeration to state that 13B would put RGV to shame. Seriously, Phoonk seems to be child's play in comparison.
The mid-80's era is portrayed brilliantly. The settings are perfect and do take note of the Doordarshan's B&W intro. Nostalgia indeed!
Ж Madhavan:: "BOLLYWOOD!" - this guy is screaming on the top of voice and can somebody at least take notice this time around? He is a consistent and a brilliant performer. 13B has two lead actors - Madhavan and the telly, rest everyone goes out of focus.
Ж Deepak Dobriayl: Now this guy is to watch out for. Every time I see him he doesn't cease to surprise me. Be it Omkara, Shaurya, Dilli-6 or 13B - he manages to successfully pull-off a range of roles/ characters with nothing short of perfection.
Ж Neetu Chandra & Sachin Khedekar:: Neatly compliments to the plot.
Ж Poonam Dhillon:: She needed a better comeback vehicle. Her counterpart in the plot, Suhasini Mulay seemed elegant in comparison.
Ж Dritiman Chatterjee:: Why was he there? Beats me!
Ж Others do their parts as per the demands of the storyline.
What deserves a special mention, even though the telly leads the storyline by a few minutes, it still manages to create an edge-of-seat excitement. And yes, the shock value is immense. A few holes in the plot can be safely ignored.
Verdict:: Go for it! -
cool-bhargava2 May 2009There are a very few thrillers in Bollywood which have a good concept and also manage to utilize it well. 13B is one of them. One of the best Horror films I've seen in a long time in Bollywood, which not only had a good plot but was also very well written. It was something different than the usual Horror movies where there is a good attempt as far as background sound, cinematography & art direction are concerned but unfortunately they don't have a story to support all that. 13B sure is an exception. The acting was all brilliant, very convincing, and didn't have the cheezy touch to it. The story grips you till the end, it keeps getting tense and intriguing. One of the things lacking in the films was it's publicity which was very poor, the promotion song used was the very thing that was keeping me to watch the films, thankfully I got over it.
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sushantambuj13 September 2020Best Indian horror movie ever seen. Ultimate. R madhavan rocks. Story is chilling and gripping till end. Must watch.
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manja200528 March 2009Thrillers are my favorite genre of movies.2009-there were already 2 of them.Raaz 2 and 13B.I liked Raaz 2,but I was not so sure that 13B would be good.I watched this movie in a theater(which I rarely do for Hindi movies) and the verdict-13B Rocks.Initially,the first half of the movie had nothing to offer,but guys have patience till the interval.Then begins the real story.I am not going to say anything about the movie here,but TV is the real hero of the film.Climax is excellent and Madhavan,as usual is cool.1st half could have been much much better.Overall,I loved the movie.I hope to see many more thrillers in 2009.
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jamesopt25 February 2023This movie copied Twilight Zone episode called "What's in the box" and the filmmakers did not even acknowledge it as an inspiration.
Had the filmmakers made an attempt to pay homage to the original Twilight Zone episode or maybe just list down the episode as one of the insiprations for the final script, it would have been good. But they blatantly copied without giving credits to the original episode, Twilight Zone makers should sue this film and its producers for copying a work of art, it makes me sad that such things happen.
Link to the Twilight Zone episode: Just Search: What's in the Box, The Twilight Zone, Season 5 episode 24. -
abhi_d_kool16 March 2009A low budget movie made a solid impact with its direction acting and screenplay. Storyline is awesomee...Hats off to Vikram.k.kumar.. He's one of the finest film maker.. though long way to go ..his future is bright..! Madhavan has done a fantabulous job..a neat and solid acting by him.
got goosebumps after watching..!!
First half of movie makes the base for the entire movie .. the later half will never make you to even slide an inch from ur seat .. A class suspense in end ... finishing of movie is awesome.. leaving some clues for its sequel..
GO WATCH THIS MOVIE..WILL NEVER LET UR EXPECTATIONS DOWN! -
ashkumar-131 March 2009No Goddess killing the evil at the end or Any girl walking in white sari singing a love song, but it is hard to believe that it is a ghost thriller movie. Expectations were quite high even before it was released. The simple reason was because of the National award winning technicians such as PC Sriram, Srikarprasad, AS Lakshmi Narayanan, Shankar Ehsaan Loy and last but not the least Maddy. The Technical Part is quite outstanding. The colours used in the movie is not at all for a thriller movie but PC has taken us to another level. The Editing and the BG score is brilliant. The apartment set and the costumes give the viewer a perfect upper middle class effect. The Apt Artists makes it even better one. Maddy dominates the entire movie but his family members have done a controlled performance which is a add-on. The accolades should go to the director for congregating the greats in the industry.
On whole a refreshing thriller for all Hindi fans and a Brand new great experience for the Tamil fans.
I thank the movie crew for giving such a wonderful movie as it is long since i got my money worth watching a movie.
PS: Lifts,TV's and Mobile phones becoming demons is inevitable. -
raghavramaiah-16 March 200913B, produced by Big Pictures and directed by Vikram Kumar is more of a thriller with a slight hint of horror, is an average movie. 13B lacks the energy that a thriller movie needs to carry right till the end. Again this movie is engaging and makes you cling on to your seats only in parts. The script is let loose on most of the occasions. However 13B doesn't disappoint once you're done watching it.
13B's protagonist Manohar(Madhavan)an civil engineer moves in to a new flat 13B with his family. Strange events follow, after their entrance into the building. Every event makes Manohar aware of the presence of something that's very unusual like the camera in his phone or the lift in the building. Till one day when he finds out that a daily soap on TV which starts siring at exactly 13:00 p.m resembles the story of his own family and how the family's future is dependent on the Daily Soap. A series of unpleasant incidents follow, making Manohar desperate to solve the mystery about the Soap and characters in it. He goes on to find out, how a family was brutally murdered in 1977 in their home which marked the same house number and address as his own apartment. The uncanny events that follow are something to seriously watch out for.
13B is an sincere attempt by the débutant director Vikram Kumar to give the audience a good movie but he just manages to make it a average watch. 13B's main highlight are the actors, who have done a stupendous job. Madhavan is absolutely spot on with a very good performance supported well by the rest of the cast. Not impressive but certainly good are the old creepy sound scares. 13B could have been better had there been no songs.
Music of 13B is by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and is nothing to be talked about. The music is ordinary and totally unnecessary provided the theme of the movie. Background Scores by Tubby and Parik are definitely good.
At the end of the day, 13B is an average movie. Go with no expectations and you may well like it.
I will go with 7 out of 10 for Vikram Kumar's 13B.
Raghav Movie Critic, Writer's Lounge.
For more reviews: www.raghavthecritic.blogspot.com -
muddam6 March 2009Manohar (Madhavan) is a civil engineer and he lives in a joint family. They buy an expensive apartment 13B in a plush locality and start living in it. Spooky things start happening to Manohar. The lift doesn't work whenever he gets into it. He is unable to fix the portraits of Gods in pooja room. His family members are obsessed with viewing TV serials. He finds out that there is one TV serial called 'Sab Khairiyat' that is played at 1 am/pm everyday. And whatever happens in that TV serial comes true in the lives of his family members. Spooked by it, he starts investigating and realizes that some spirits are trying to a make a contact with him through TV.
Story of the film is interesting and this kind of horror flick was never made in India so far. The spirits communicate with the protagonist through electronic appliances about their presence and in turn they make him do the job for them. It is a pretty good story with an interesting premise.
Screenplay of the film is bad in the first half and interesting in the second half. Direction is adequate in parts. The director could not convert an interesting story into a gripping movie because of lack of emotional impact in the film. The movie is marred by repetitive scenes and uninteresting narration. The runtime of the film appears lengthy for a story like this.
Cinematography by PC Sreeram is exceptionally good. He experimented a lot with the photography in the film and it's superb. There is color grading to the film and they maintained sepia tone for most of the film. Background music is also good. But at times, it appears over the board. The two songs in this film are completely unwarranted for. Editing is adequate. Dialogues are natural.
ANALYSIS: First half of the film is little boring. The way story unfolds in the second half is good. But the flashback episode and the climax is not shot in a gripping manner. The plus points of the film are story, cinematography and Madhavan. The negative points are inconsistent screenplay and runtime. Though it has an interesting plot point, 13B fails due to lack of gripping narration. -
bekarthieee15 March 2009This is a very good thriller and must watch one for cold blooded thriller fans. P.C.Sriram plays a vital role in the movie. His camera work is extraordinary frankly to say he deserve Oscar for Cinematography for this film.I can't believe it is Vikram K Kumar's First Film.His Directing style is very good.Maddy did a nice job and all other actors also did a good job.If you want to Feel the Fear means watch it in Theater don't watch in CD's. First of all thanks to the production team for giving us such a different thriller in Tamil.Little mistakes are there but i won't mention it because your work is really fantastic. A Must Watch Thriller Film with FAMILY.
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Don't expect the movie to be frightening or scary in any way. One of the best aspect of the movie is that the story line keeps you apprehension level high and makes you expect a scary scene, but there are hardly any. A thriller that can be watched as a time-pass movie but don't expect anything extraordinary. I also did not expect romantic songs in between.. totally unasked for! There are some scenes which are usually shown in psycho thrillers, but not enough to entice the audience to think it is. The suspense is maintained until the end - one more good point, but is revealed in a typical Bollywood style.
In conclusion, the movie is successful at grasping the audience's attention, but never gives them anything extraordinary. Hope people living on 13th floor don't get nightmares though! -
aadrijadey29 September 2021Why am I only learning about this ONLY NOW? This gem is so underrated that it actually hurts. It has dented the horror/thriller genre without so much so showing any gory face or those cheap jumpscares. This movie deserves more hype. The plot itself is so unique, original an POWERFUL. This is THE BEST horror movie of the BOLLYWOOD, and I ain't gonna take back my words. This is a movie which will keep you at the edge of the seat throughout the entire time. Brilliant execution and twists. I was literally biting my nails towards the end. Just one word, BRILLIANT.
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kenny-boy517 October 2010Can't for the life of me figure out why the language is 90% Indian and then you hear English words in it like 'Thank You' or 'Complicated' or once in a while its a little sentence in English. If you're gonna do it in one language then do it. Does have a kind of cheesy plot. Subtitles would have been great. Just throwing this out there for the Canucks that want to download this and watch because it has a good rating. I guess I need to have 10 lines of text so I'm going to write a lot about nothing in order for this post to post. Giggity giggity goo. Oh I need 2 more lines so please ignore these last 5 lines as I get ready to post this stuff.
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A great horror thriller movie in Tamil after a long long time.... An awesome script executed to near perfection. The cinematography by PC Sreeram is world class. The background music by the first timers is absolutely outstanding and complements a brilliant script beautifully. I was completely overwhelmed by the movie when i saw it the first time.. Twist after twist in the second half leaves you no time to think and is absolutely breathtaking... Acting by Madhavan is again brilliant.. Editing by Sreekar Prasad definitely needs a special mention. A duet song could have been avoided... The acting by the person who comes as the police inspector is first rate and provides comic relief at certain places. This movie can challenge any Hollywood movie... Kudos to Director and Madhavan for making such a wonderful movie. 2009 is yours.
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sauravjoshi8520 July 202113B: Fear Has a New Address is a horror mystery movie directed by Vikram Kumar and stars R. Madhavan, Neetu Chandra, Poonam Dhillon, Sachin Khedekar, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Deepak Dobriyal and Sanjaih Bokaria.
The movie is based on the life of a family who moves to a new apartment which is disturbed by spirit who uses a television to connect with them.
Although the movie is horror mystery but the movie should be termed as mystery thriller as horror element is missing and the lovers of Horror genre lovers might get disappointed.
The plot of the movie is good and the execution is intresting. The movie doesn't wastes much time for character introduction and straight forwardly comes to the point. The director had tried to capture the weakness of Indian females for daily soaps and somehow is been successful in his attempt however sometimes it looks over exaggerated.
Acting is superb to average as on the one hand R. Madhavan was superb but Neetu Chandra was average, Murali Sharma was impressive but Poonam Dhilon despite of a veteran talent over acted in some of the scenes. Deepak Dobriyal was very much impressive in his limited screen space but rest of the cast was average. Dhritiman Chatterjee is a super talented actor but why he was cast is still a mystery.
Screenplay is fast faced and the credit should be given to the screenplay writer for keeping the screenplay fast paced although the movie gets slow by the time it reaches it's climax. Climax of the movie is good.
Overall a nice entertaining mystery movie. -
rahul_does5 February 2012I finished this movie in 28 minutes. That was too long, I guess.
If you have the ability to totally suspend your disbelief in slightest common sense and ignore pathetic over/under acting, you may appreciate this effort. (What kind of an English is this? Showing off?)
I am too stumped to see how so much money can be poured in such a ludicrous project. (Once again, what kind of English is this?)
I guess that is the effect of watching a Civil Engineer use the hammer and a DOCTOR do the things that the doctor does in this movie(?).
I had hopes from this, considering the cast. They were dashed by the time the elder Bhabhi feeds breakfast to her kids. (EXACTLY One Nibble each from two sandwiches.)