Director Milind Rau has worked hard on the movie, and it’s quite visible as the story carries you giving you the right amount of jump scares.The actors have provided the right aura to well-written characters. The actor who steals the show is Jenny (Anisha Victor) as a troubled, rebellious Goth girl. If poorly executed, her role could have turned the film into another run-of-the-mill Hindi horror flick.

Finally, horror films being made in India are actually spooky and scary. With The House Next Door, director Milind Rau illustrates that horror films need not rely on scary, ugly faces, sudden noises and a loud background score to frighten the wits out of its audience.  And because Rau intentionally uses the special effects, the loud score and the ugly spirit's make-up so sparingly, The House Next Door retains its edge throughout its duration, unlike the Ramsay films of yesteryears that titillated viewers more than giving them the chills and frights. As for the cast, the chemistry between the madly-in-love Siddharth and Andrea is quite run-of-the-mill. The best and the meatiest role goes to Anisha Victor, who makes you cringe when she is possessed by the evil spirit and gets your sympathy after returning to sanity. The charming, beautiful and, at times vulnerable, Victor will definitely go places with Aval/The House Next Door. Atul Kulkarni, as the father of a possessed teenager, looks uncomfortable; his dialogues don’t match his expressions but that, perhaps, could have happened when the film, originally made in Tamil, was dubbed in Hindi. As for the climax, it’s clear that Rau and Siddharth are looking forward to a sequel.

Horror is an underexplored genre in Indian cinema that may not excite the audience, given its shoddy record, but this one is surprisingly gripping and scary. Other than a few out-of-place scenes including those with awkward falls, The House Next Door has rendered complete justice to the theme and the storyline of the film. It keeps you at the edge of your seats, believable VFX, coupled with some splendid performances by the entire starcast and not to mention, breathtakingly beautiful locales of the Himalayan valley. The story comes across as an amalgamation of a few classic Hollywood horror flicks — such as The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Insidious—but full credit goes to director Milind Rau for weaving the paranormal encounters and shock elements into an interesting plot. It works partially because the cinematography (VFX included) is at par with its Hollywood counterparts. One noticeable feature of this film is non-existence of songs, typically used as a tool to 'scare' the crowd in almost all the horror movies made here. If you are looking forward to watching this film only for the laughs, think again. Despite a stretched second half, The House Next Door is one that compels you to look over your shoulders.