Sayan Basu Chowdhury’s Horror Stories becomes the first film to hit screens in West Bengal

The West Bengal government has allowed the reopening of cinema halls with 50 percent occupancy, subject to strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols. Sayan Basu Chowdhury’s horror anthology, titled ‘Horror Stories’, which was released on Friday, becomes the first Bengali film to hit the screens. The director, who has made short films like Parama and Aparajito before and made his directorial debut with Kichu Na Bola Kotha, seems to be excited about getting to know the feedback from the audience. 

Sayan has gone on record to say that the film is a comic-book style anthology, unfolding narratives threaded together by two narrators. He has also attributed the source of the stories to urban legends he listened to during his childhood. Horror Stories leaves an intriguing message to the viewers —‘what you decide now will decide your fate one day.’ While the first story ‘Chinese Box’ stars Ei Ami Renu actor Alivia Sarkar as the recluse middle-class girl Ananya who chances upon a magic box with three wishes, but with a price, Bhoy, the second story revolves around Amrita, played by Rupsha Mukhopadhyay, who finds a paranormal entity shadowing her since her childhood. Supratim Saha plays the love interest of Amrita in the story.

Watch the trailer here.

In an interview to The Telegraph recently, the director said that the creative decision to do an anthology stemmed from other anthologies like Creepshow, Goosebumps along with some other films, which piqued his curiosity about ‘how different stories are all tied through a single thread.’ He went on to add that his intention was not to scare the audience beyond wits, but to ‘tell good stories. To this end, if jumpscares fit into the narrative, they can be put in, but not otherwise. Because for him, the story is paramount and anything which diverges from the plotline is a no-no. Sayan also went on to share how he admires Mike Flanagan, who is well known for Oculus, Hush, Gerald’s Game, Before I Wake, and Doctor Sleep, and his brand of horror films that focus on characters and explore the horror elements in their histrionics, rather than relying on CGI and jumpscares.

ALSO READ: Gerald’s Game to Before I Wake: Horror movie maker Mike Flanagan’s movies ranked 

Horror Stories was shot in just 11 days.