Netflix Betaal: Horror as Social Commentary

Betaal comments on exploitation and jingoism in the name of development but fails to scare. Reason- The zombies look cute and the horror has gone for a holiday.

Go To Pakistan

The Show starts with a Prime Time Debate on a news channel where the Commander of an elite special force(CIPD) tells a panellist to go to Pakistan for his Anti-Development and pro-Adivasi views. As it later turns out in the show, the commander is in cahoots with the developer of the project and has been receiving bribes for evicting tribals from their lands.

A hint of Jingoism and Corruption

Neo-Colonialism

The British Era zombies though hardly scary, do help to draw parallels to present-day circumstances. CIPD, the special unit tasked with the eviction of tribals, uses the same force and brutality as our Colonial Masters once did in the past. Thus depicting that we have become, what we once fought against. And all this for some economic gain.

Who is a Good Soldier? A Zombie or An Order following Human

Lt. Colonel John Lynedoch

The British Leader Of  Zombies, who we are introduced to at the beginning of the series, does have some fear appeal, he is the one with the ambition to rule the entire Indian subcontinent. And has dark powers like - controlling an army of zombies through psychic abilities, hypnotizing humans and then possessing their bodies. He got all this power by sacrificing his own son to the Supreme Being - Betaal. Thankfully before he could do any harm he was trapped in a tunnel by Indian freedom fighters 160 years ago. He is released in the present day due to a road construction project that runs through the same tunnel in which Lynedoch was trapped. After this follows a series of attempted horror and lots of blood and gore.

The master of the Undead

The Encounter

The fight between the Zombies and CIPD does bring some first's for Indian audiences who are new to the concept of zombies. But for the initiated the fight scenes may even seem funny and childish. The horror quotient is zero and you hope in anticipation for a scare. But all the buildup goes to waste without delivering even a single goosebump.

Yes, the Zombies bite and turn humans to zombies.

Why watch?

With its Social Commentary on Exploitation, Dictators, Mob Mentality and Toxic sense of duty, the series will act as a vent for suppressed anger and may even be therapeutic for some. It is exemplary that popular independent platforms are talking about such contemporary ills and helping us draw parallels. However with horror missing from this so-called "Horror series" it may not get much fanfare as western Zombies shows garner. 

Manu Sharad Dwivedi