'Betaal' review: The Netflix series that forgot to put up 'a scary show'

There are zombies, creepy dark scenes and ominous sounds, besides the standard gore quotient expected from a story of this horror sub-genre, but it is too formulaic in presentation

The problem with Netflix series "Betaal" is it tries being too many things. It tries to be a morality tale about modern-day urbanisation and greed, as well as a slice of ancient lore serving up every stereotype that has ever defined 'desi' mumbo jumbo. There is also token mention woven in of superstition-loaded gender bias, Naxal politics, and the Indian Muslim identity.

In all this, the makers seem to have forgotten what we primarily signed up to watch -- a scary show.

Sure, there are the hordes of zombies, lots of creepy dark scenes thriving on insufficient lighting and ominous