Khauf review: Monika Panwar steals the show in slow-burn horror where patriarchy haunts, men are scarier than monsters | Web Series

What is Khauf about

Madhuri (Monika Panwar) moves into Room 333 of a working women’s hostel on the outskirts of Delhi, close to Sanjay Van. She is battling a trauma that she has tried to leave behind in her hometown of Gwalior, but it follows her, like a spectre. To make matters worse, the other women in the hostel warn her about the ‘sinister’ room. The last occupant had died, and Madhuri soon discovers she may be the target of some spirit. Parallelly, a hakim in Old Delhi (Rajat Kapoor) is trying to prey on vulnerable women to extract their life essence to save his own life. When his paths cross with Madhuri, he devises a scheme, using the pain of an alcoholic cop (Geetanjali Kulkarni) looking for her missing son.

What works and doesn’t

Khauf is one of the slowest slow-burn thrillers I have seen. With eight episodes and a combined runtime of nearly six hours, it is thrice as long as the ‘traditional’ Indian horror film. Yet, it is not painfully slow. For non-connoisseurs of the genre, it will come as an acquired taste, one that will take some effort to stick to. But the USP of Khauf is that once it gets going, it holds your attention.

Khauf is as much about possession and haunting as it is about the other monsters around us – men who prey on women. The show sees the protagonist Madhuri juggling with both these monsters. And often she finds that the real-world non-supernatural men are scarier. Through her, the show establishes this constant ‘haunting’ of all modern-day women. Writer-creator Smita Singh has done a decent job in setting up Delhi as the scene of action. A city that his its own shameful scars when it comes to atrocities on women. The reason why it all happens in Delhi grounds this show in reality, making the horror even more chilling.

The show does make use of the jump scare every now and then but it hasn’t been overdone to the extent Indian horror shows and films are guilty of. What it does effectively is use the eerines of Delhi and combine it with some effective score and cinematography to create a chilling environment.

Monika Panwar carries much of the show on her shoulders. The anxiety, disempowerment, and rage she brings as a victim are right there for everyone to see. But she also transforms into something more confident after her ‘possession’. Rajat Kapoor also delivers a memorable performance as a man with no conscience. Veteran Geetanjali Kulkarni shows off her range as a problematic cop who oscillates between tough-as-nails policewoman and worried mother of an erratic boy. Among the support cast, Chum Darang, Priyanka Setia, and Aasheema Vardaan stand out. They play three of the girls in the hostel, and each brings an important facet of what women face every day in this modern society.

Khauf falters in places, giving the victim the agency she needs only through trauma, a trope that is perhaps as problematic as anything else horror genre has done to women. The resolution – in the climax – is also not at par with the rest of the show. It undoes some of the narrative-building done in the build up, and renders the protagonist rather inconsistent.

But regardless of its faults, Khauf holds up well. It is an important show, and more importantly, a well-made one, which expertly introduces real-world issues in the world of horror, without sermonising or preaching, or compromising on the spooks and thrills.

Khauf is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.