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<ul class="summary-list"><li>"<keyword id="2627105" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Betaal">Betaal</keyword>" is a new horror series on <keyword id="128682" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Netflix">Netflix</keyword> about a group of Indian soldiers and indigenous civilians trying to defeat British colonial zombies. </li><li>The show premiered in late May and contains timely messages about gender and imperialism, though it's gotten mixed reviews. </li><li>Director and co-writer <keyword id="455115" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Patrick-Graham">Patrick Graham</keyword> told Insider that he envisioned the show as a tongue-in-cheek "hate letter to England" and their colonizing past. </li><li>And co-writer <keyword id="1431621" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Suhani-Kanwar">Suhani Kanwar</keyword> said that the show's strong and relatable female characters came from her own experiences with sexism in the Indian film and <keyword id="6355065" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TV">TV</keyword> industry. </li></ul><p>With bloodthirsty zombies, an ancient curse, and gruesome deaths, Netflix's new horror series "Betaal" is a must-watch for horror fans. </p><p>But the show isn't just about vicious reanimated corpses and the struggles of the fictional Counter-Insurgency Police Department (CIPD) to defeat them. There are also messages about colonialism, gender roles, and police brutality hidden beneath the bloody plot points. </p><p>Even though it premiered in late May, here's why you shouldn't sleep on the quietly revolutionary new Netflix series "Betaal."</p><p><div type="image" title="betaal 2 netflix" height="2016" width="2688" msid="76520751" hostid="261"></div></p><h2>'Betaal' focuses on a group of Indian soldiers and civilians as they try to escape from colonial-era British zombies</h2><p>The central conflict of the show starts between the soldiers from CIPD and the villagers of Adivasi. </p><p>The corrupt CIPD has been sent to Adivasi to excavate a tunnel dating back to colonial India that runs through the nearby mountain Betaal. Not only would this displace the villagers, but the villagers also warn that doing so would release an evil spirit called Betaal. </p><p>Of course, because this is a horror show, the villagers are ignored. Things quickly take a turn for the worse for the CIPD officers when they discover the construction has released British colonial zombies who are out for blood.</p><p>The villagers and CIPD squad must face off against the reanimated colonizers and defeat Betaal over the show's four episodes. </p><p><div type="image" title="patrick graham BTS betaal" height="2331" width="3108" msid="76520755" hostid="261"></div></p><h2>Writer and director Patrick Graham called the show a tongue-in-cheek 'hate letter to England' and the memory of the British empire</h2><p>The references to colonialism in "Betaal" are pretty obvious from the start. A British lieutenant in the East India Trading Company is revealed to have sacrificed his son and the remains of his regiment in order to harness the powers of the Betaal and become emperor of India.</p><p>And in fighting the Betaal and his zombie army, the CIPD and other survivors are, in a way, recreating the battles between Indians and British soldiers hundreds of years before. </p><p>According to Graham, himself a white British man, he wanted the show's portrayal of colonialism to be a stern rebuke to those in Britain who might be nostalgic for the days of empire while also centering the Indian experience. </p><p>"Even in the most liberal English person, you often find this kind of glimmer of nostalgia, even though it was just a series of terrible atrocities," he told Insider. "And you can see in British fiction, a lot of the time they're still making stuff which glorifies the empire." </p><p>"I like the idea of making 'Betaal' my hate letter to England because Britain might be in their false delusion that they have a glorious past, but no one else thinks so — and particularly not the Indian population," Graham said. </p><p>"I was kind of hoping — I'm not sure if I quite managed it — that the show would be almost like a cathartic experience," he continued. "With people experiencing this band of Indian soldiers just decimating these undead British troops in the same way that it might be fun to watch the Nazis getting shot in 'Inglourious Basterds.'" </p><p><div type="image" title="betaal 3" height="2331" width="3108" msid="76520757" hostid="261"></div></p><h2>Co-writer Suhani Kanwar used the show to give voices to female and indigenous characters, in addition to touching on issues like colonialism</h2><p>Kanwar told Insider she was interested in exploring India's "postcolonial identity" in the show and said her collaboration with Graham allowed her to re-examine the decades-old story of the Betaal. </p><p>"Of course I'm aware of the fact that he's literally a foreign gaze, but he brought me this myth of the Betaal, which we grew up with over here," Kanwar said. "It's just part of our childhoods, it's everywhere. But what Patrick made me do is relook at it."</p><p>"And now in my adulthood, when I've revisited the story, it's actually a story of moral and ethical conundrums," she added. </p><p>According to Kanwar, a key part of the story for her was the role the indigenous villagers play, especially as they're confronted and murdered by law enforcement. </p><p>"I was thinking about police brutality, about this obsession that we have with ideas of national security. Who are we attacking? What are we defending?" Kanwar said of her mindset during writing the interactions between the CIPD and the villagers. </p><p>"We give those armed forces special powers. We give them immunity and we hope that what will happen will develop the nation, but tribal people are paying for it," she said.</p><p><div type="image" title="suhani kanwar betaal_edited 1" height="900" width="1200" msid="76520760" hostid="261"></div></p><h2>The strong female characters in 'Betaal' were a result of Kanwar's experience with sexism</h2><p>While some horror movies feature women as mere victims, there are unforgettable female characters in "Betaal," including Ahlu, the CIPD lieutenant; Puniya, a ruthless and resilient villager; and little Saanvi, a young girl who proves to be the key to defeating the Betaal. </p><p>Kanwar told Insider that her experiences as a woman in the film and TV industry led her to create such memorable women characters. </p><p>"It's coming from a very conscious place. I wish I could say it's organic, but it's been an adrenaline rush and kind of wish fulfillment to write these characters, Puniya especially," Kanwar said of her mindset while writing the show's female characters.</p><p>According to the screenwriter, when she attended film school in Bombay, things were much different for women than they are today. </p><p>"You come in with your youthful optimism, of joining the workforce in film," Kanwar explained. "But the odds are stacked against you. The system is designed to keep you out and you feel that discrimination every step of the way." </p><p>"The only way to be a writer a few years ago was to be able to 'write like a man' in Bombay. But that is changing, I am very happy to report," Kanwar said.  "The playing field is much wider. It's much more level. And I can actually write characters like Puniya, like Saanvi, like Ahlu." </p><p><div type="image" title="betaal trailer" height="1436" width="1915" msid="76520762" hostid="261"></div></p><h2>Despite the engaging plot and timely undertones, most Indian critics weren't fans of 'Betaal'</h2><p>"'Betaal' routinely undermines its own timely themes with an over-reliance on needless gore, cheap jump scares, and plot contrivances," Rohan Naahar <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/tv/betaal-review-shah-rukh-khan-s-netflix-zombie-show-is-dead-on-arrival/story-7utjRc9n4OwqOGlk0O93rJ.html">wrote in his review  for the Hindustan Times</a>, while reviewer Poulomi Das <a href="https://silverscreenindia.com/streaming/reviews/betaal-review-an-awful-netflix-zombie-horror-that-has-nothing-to-say/">said the show</a> "somehow manages to be too long, repetitive and needlessly convoluted, stretching its one-line plot, glaringly under-written, way too thin." </p><p>Naahar and Das weren't alone in their dislike for the show — numerous other critics from India also <a href="https://www.filmcompanion.in/streaming/betaal-netflix-review-deafening-and-dead-foray-into-zombie-horror-shah-rukh-khan/">slammed "Betaal" in their reviews</a>. </p><p>Graham and Kanwar had their own thoughts on why the show was received negatively in India. </p><p>"They might not be familiar with this kind of genre, but I think there's so much more stuff at play," Graham told Insider. "I think that they might have an issue with Netflix, because it's seen as like an American entity that's coming in and trying Westernize certain things. They probably see the show isn't as a kind of Western show."</p><p>But Graham was adamant that "Betaal" isn't a Western show, despite what critics might say. </p><p>"I'm the only Westerner working with a crew of hundreds of Indian people. And I had an Indian co-director and an Indian co-writer Suhani — we both came up with the story together," Graham said. "So it's very much an Indian story for an Indian audience, and it's an Indian show first and foremost." </p><p>Kanwar, for her part, didn't have a clear explanation as to why critics had such an intense dislike for show. </p><p>"I wish I had an answer to that question," she said when asked by Insider about the critical response. "I guess all I can do is write about things that I care about and that interest me. I want to keep writing stories about interesting women because I've been waiting so long to do this, and I finally can." </p><h2>Overall, if you're a fan of horror, 'Betaal' is worth a watch</h2><p>Whether you're a hardcore horror fan or just in need of a new show to binge, the compelling plot and social commentary of "Betaal" make it worth a watch. </p><p>All four episodes of "Betaal" are currently streaming on Netflix, and you can watch the trailer below. </p>

Why horror fans shouldn't sleep on 'Betaal,' Netflix's quietly revolutionary new series

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Why horror fans shouldn't sleep on 'Betaal,' Netflix's quietly revolutionary new series

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