India, Nov. 7 -- Don't get startled at me mentioning Harry Potter and Jatadhara in one breath. Plot compels me. And before anyone raises their wand to curse me, allow me to explain myself.

The story of Jatadhara, written and directed by Venkat Kalyan and Abhishek Jaiswal, follows Shiv (Sudheer Babu, who you might remember as the antagonist from Baaghi), a ghost hunter. He's haunted by dreams of a child being killed by a woman. One day, he stumbles upon a picture of the same people inside his own house. Who are they? Why does he, unknowingly, keep escaping death? And who exactly is Dhan Pishachini? That forms the core of the film.

First, the good bits. Jatadhara doesn't rely on conventional jump scares, nor does it tread the same tired p...