In a twist greater than any you’re likely to see on the show itself, Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein is actually good. A kitsch throwback to both trashy pulp fiction and 90s Hindi cinema, the eight-episode Netflix series is exactly what Haseen Dillruba, in its most salacious dreams, wishes it was.

But while that Taapsee Pannu-starrer was marred by a scattershot screenplay, which itself was crippled by a superiority complex—it looked down on the genre it was supposed to pay a loving homage to—Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein is largely successful at balancing delectably dark humour with action-thriller elements.

It’s a tall ask of any filmmaker to maintain tonal consistency across an entire season, especially if the genre keeps changing every two episodes, but director Sidharth Sengupta, for the most part, keeps the narrative on track even when the behaviour of his characters threatens to derail it.