Telugu horror comedy movies offer a variety of choices to make any evening as entertaining as it can be with family and friends. While Telugu action films are fun to watch, sometimes a good scare mixed with laughter could do the same trick.
Many films in the horror comedy genre offer some highly engaging storylines that are wrapped in thrilling scares and humorous moments. So, here are some of the top Telugu horror comedy movies everyone should watch at least once.
If you are in the mood to watch a fun-filled zombie-infested tale with an excellent story from Telugu cinema, check out the Prasanth Varma directorial movie Zombie Reddy. The Teja Sajja starrer features the tale of Mario, a game developer from Hyderabad who with his friends Bhadram and Maggie creates a successful game.
However, things take an interesting turn when Bhadram gets bitten by an old man and soon turns into a zombie. The rest of the film focuses on how they survive the zombie apocalypse in the village with some highly entertaining humor moments.
However, after many trials, he manages to meet a potential filmmaker and rents out an apartment to continue their film. Soon enough, they realize that there is a ghost inside their apartment who seeks revenge on the ones who led her to suicide.
Another fun-filled and thrilling tale with scares from Telugu cinema is the Sudheer Babu-led 2013 Prema Katha Chitram. The movie focuses on the life of three friends and a stranger banding together to end their lives for good.
However, the place they select for their final days happens to be haunted by a spirit who possesses the girl in their group whenever someone touches her. The rest of the humorous tale focuses on how they get rid of the spirit from her body while also realizing newfound purposes in life.
The 2017 horror comedy film featuring Taapsee Pannu in the lead role is the hilariously funny Anando Brahma. The movie written and directed by Mahi V. Raghav follows the tale of an NRI who wants to sell his ancestral house but is unable to find buyers due to rumors spreading of it being haunted.
In order to prove that there is nothing wrong with his home, the NRI asks a group of four men to stay a night there, dismissing any kind of rumors. However, little does the man know that the house is actually haunted by his own late family members who died in a flood, giving rise to various comedic moments.
Yet another good watch to include in your list of movies is the Nagarjuna Akkineni and Samantha Ruth Prabhu starrer film Raju Gari Gadhi 2. The film features the story of Rudra, a mentalist who lives near a resort owned by three friends.
However, as the resort business starts to flourish, certain paranormal activities start to take place inside the resort, making their livelihood all the more troublesome. This leads them to seek the help of the mentalist who is also a spirit medium to understand a ghost has possessed the place and is seeking answers to her death. The rest of the movie focuses on the true origin of the spirit and what had happened to her.
All the Telugu horror comedy movies that are mentioned in this list are surely a good watch to kick back and enjoy this weekend. Moreover, many other thrill-filled comedies are still available in Telugu to enjoy.
Goutham S is a native of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. A writer for a few years now, particularly following Indian films and Entertainment. A cinephile at heart, a writer by passion finds company in mostly poems, stories, music and mindless scrolling through the Internet, along with some very close people.
But Indian film audiences have no dearth of horror movies to call their own. With elaborate folklore to draw from, Indian horror cinema has a style of its own, and when it comes to the regional South Indian film industries, they have mastered an even more idiosyncratic take on the horror genre. From mind-bending thrillers that remind you of the horror offerings of Japanense and Korean horror cinema to fully-fledged entertainment packages featuring action, comedy, and a healthy serving of the paranormal, here are 14 of the best South Indian horror movies you need to watch.
Directed by acclaimed Tamil director Mysskin, the 2014 movie Pisaasu made a definite mark on its viewers with its unique take on the horror genre, blending it with heartfelt romantic notes. The movie begins with an up-and-coming violinist named Siddharth, played by Naga, witnessing a violent accident one day. A compassionate man, he is moved to help the victim to the fullest and rushes her to the hospital, where she passes away while holding hands with the protagonist. Following this incident, strange events begin taking place at his home, and Siddharth finds himself heading towards a discovery that will move him to his very core.
The 2022 Malayalam-language film Kumari is one of the most memorable horror offerings to come out of India recently. A unique and well-realized premise combines the eerie familiarity of Indian mythologies with the terrifying unknowability of classic Lovecraftian mysteries. Actress Aishwarya Lekshmi appears in the leading role as the titular Lekshmi, an exuberant young woman who is unceremoniously married off to a village far away. Even as she tries to make the best of her circumstances, her life is thrown into terrors of the cosmic variety. She discovers that the family she has married into is under the debt of an otherworldly entity, and her soon-to-be born child might be at imminent risk because of it.
Kumari is an excellent watch among South Indian horror movies with its superior ambiance. It develops its story less with idle plot points and more with its compelling atmosphere, which continuously whispers through each frame to craft a truly memorable watch.
Telugu-language film Arundhati falls more in line with the standard horror offering that comes out of the regional South Indian film industries. Anushka Shetty, who is effectively the default choice for powerful women leads in Telugu cinema, appears as the titular character in this movie about reincarnation and powerful occultist spirits. Written as a chapter in the lore of an ancient royal clan, Arundhati centers around the enmity between an illustrious heir of the Gadwal royal clan and an evil sorcerer who desires her. As supernatural elements come into play, it is only until two generations later that the saga is finally concluded.
An intriguing supernatural thriller that will remind some viewers of Korean cross-genre thrillers, the 2016 Kannada-language movie U Turn has enjoyed massive success in the South Indian market, even being remade a staggering seven times. The movie follows an interning reporter Rachana, played by Shraddha Srinath, who investigates a series of unusual accidents at a particular flyover in her city. She quickly understands that these accidents are being caused by drivers who choose this point to take illegal U-turns on the road, leaving road dividers haphazardly on the road. But when these rule-breakers begin to die off one by one, Rachana is slowly taken down the tunnel of a supernatural mystery.
Aranmanai has a fairly involved storytelling, the kind of which is typical to South Indian cinema and perhaps even resembles the best of it. Typical Indian beliefs, superstitions, and motives figure into the plot for a rich, culturally grounded story.
Released in 2012, the Tamil-language film Pizza was critically acclaimed for its unique story and impressive performances. The movie was a breakout hit for actor Vijay Sethupathi, who acts in the lead role as a pizza delivery man who gets trapped in a house whose inhabitants are serially murdered in circumstances that defy logical explanation. Pizza has a mind-bending plot that confounds viewers with elements of supernatural mystery as well as crime thriller, as it comes with a surprising twist on top of an already captivating premise.
Jallikattu begins in a placid, harmonious village community in Kerala, where a massive upcoming wedding feast is the talk of town. As the local butcher makes his preparations to butcher a massive buffalo, it runs off into the nearby forest. The entire village is enlisted to hunt down the beast; after all, a runaway buffalo promises a rare treat to its catchers in this small community. But along the way, slow chaos descends upon its peaceful inhabitants as they get consumed by greed.
Bhinna is a landmark for the Kannada film industry, set apart by its unusual plot and the fact that it is the first Kannada-language original feature by a streaming platform in India. Actress Paayal Radhakrishna appears in the lead role as Kaveri, an actress who swears by the method acting style and who is struggling to solve complicated issues in her marriage.
The elements of horror begin to settle into place once the two begin their married life, as Harini begins to show signs of possession by an otherworldly entity. And it seems to be connected with a mysterious trunk that Harini brought to her new home.
The year 2022 was a tremendous one for Indian cinema, as audiences were treated to multiple titles that were quickly dubbed iconic, winning hearts across the country. Kantara was one of those movies, a mammoth achievement for the Kannada film industry that became the third highest-grossing movie of the year. Written, directed by, and starring Rishab Shetty in the lead role, Kantara drew attention to a cultural phenomenon known as Bhoota Kola, a ritual dance tradition where local protector gods are believed to possess the bodies of its dancers.
The classic South Indian horror tropes of black magic and wars waged on the mystical front find a more dramatic expression in the 2023 movie Virupaksha. The story begins in a little village where an innocent couple is accused of practicing black magic and lynched, leaving behind an orphan boy. 12 years later, the village is stricken by a string of unusual deaths, from freak crow maulings to gruesome forms of suicide.
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