Strung

Posted on September 25, 2026 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl: I have heard only about the strings of vampire violins in the castle.

Vampire Bat: Vampires do not play music in the castle.

Vampire Owl: I have heard a lot of the same from Uncle Dracula’s room.

Vampire Bat: It is not music, but voices from the other side of immortality.

Vampire Owl: The voices do make some nice music for sure.

Vampire Bat: The voices are inherited by the castle from the adoration of vampire elders.

Vampire Owl: There is always some new mystery to be unveiled from the elders.

Vampire Bat: They are all pointed towards eternity and infinity.

Vampire Owl: Well, we all know that death is only the beginning.

Vampire Bat: Beginning of the end is the one true beginning. Just run to the other side and ask Uncle Dracula.

[Gets a ghee podi idli and three cups of Kodaikanal tea].

What is the movie about? :: Laila Calloway (Chloe Bailey) is an extremely gifted, aspiring classical violinist who is working as a substitute music teacher while dreaming of a grand career which seemed out of the equation since her young little sister died of asthma and she could do nothing about it at all. This has led to her going through hallucinations and nightmares at times, which affects her performance on some occasions. Her best chance at a better career seems to have arrived when she meets Audra Jelani (Lynn Whitfield), a charming matriarch with unparalleled wealth and influence. Audra gives Laila an offer she cannot refuse in the form of a live-in music tutoring position to mentor her granddaughter, Zuri Jelani (Romy Woods). Laila understands that her high-society connections and high influence will guarantee her an easy path in her journey of music. Laila moves into the family’s highly luxurious estate which seems to belong to another world compared to the surroundings, and considers herself the luckiest person all of a sudden.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: But the situation seems to be something they did not expect, as the atmosphere inside the mansion is very much unsettling. Audra’s daughter, Imani Walker (Anna Diop) who is pregnant, does not like Laila at all, and treats her with contempt. At the same time, Laila’s young student, Zuri (Romy Woods) always wears a mask, and is deeply withdrawn, hyper-allergic, and hides her emotions at all times after the violent murder of her father, a highly popular rapper known as Reginald Garvey Bell (Pardison Fontaine). Zuri’s abiding sadness further triggers the unresolved trauma for Laila, as she has the haunting memories of her own deceased sister coming back to her. The situation gets to be further complicated with the return of Imani’s charming handsome husband, Marcus Walker (Lucien Laviscount). Laila’s finds out that Marcus is that man with whom she had a intense and passionate sexual affair just a few days before, which she considered to be her best physical experience ever. How will the family take this secret as the house itself has so many mysteries hidden in the building?

The defence of Strung :: The feeling of mystery goes right through the movie, and there is always the thought that something big can happen at any moment with so many secrets to be revealed from not just one character. Chloe Bailey keeps elevating the movie with a wide range of emotions as she goes through unexpected situations, while Lynn Whitfield’s antagonistic side adds to the overall quality of the movie. The movie surely features rich estate set design and a vibrant cinematography also supports the same, as most of its world is nothing less than stunning within a big mansion and its surroundings. The music and sound effects really add well to the same, and keeps the mood running to suit the movie. The wild twists and emotions that run further has us interested, while red herrings bring something more to take it away from the possible right guess of the twist. The final moments extend well with its moments creating a feeling of tension that goes on and on until the solution is reached.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does not reach its potential after a smart beginning, as the mystery does not get that finish it deserved. There were so many moments which could have taken in another way and made better. The twists could have also been extended in a fine manner, especially with an early connection established between two main characters and taken further with a twist as movie goes forward. The exploration of the evil and the intentions could have also been explored more to make that feeling of terror even more – as of now, it mostly exists in the background with not that much of the same shown directly or clearly. The movie also happens to be too long, and was worth not more than one and half hours, and feels stretched with a little bit too much of unnecessary details and melodrama that goes over the emotions. The feeling that the characters are over-reacting never really leaves us, and some strange dialogues also creeps in, as we keep wondering why this movie is deviating so much and wastes time in getting nowhere.

The performers of the soul :: Chloe Bailey as Laila Calloway comes up with a performance that we are going to remember for long, even though it is not a new role, with The Housemaid having its main character facing a similar situation and an angry wife and a seductive husband awaiting her. But Chloe makes sure that her role remains really good and also has some divergence associated with the same. It is to be notable that while playing a likable character, she makes the emotions of the person so much felt that we support the character even more in her complicated journey. When we look at her, there is the feeling that a Helen of Sparta with race changed would suit her more than anyone else; there is a certain amount of charm that she brings to the character which is nothing less than the same. Lynn Whitfield delivers as a seductive and manipulative matriarch with impressive aura, and the character remains one which we will remember for long. Lucien Laviscount and Anna Diop supports just fine. Romy Woods brings a lovely performance as the daughter.

How it finishes :: The movie does not reach the point where one would feel it should have reached with this kind of content as it seems to hold back on many occasions. The highly engaging thriller is not to be taken as the movie is rather slow, and the attempt to work with silence also does not work that well due to the presence of a little bit too much of melodrama. With such an interesting premise which has worked so well in the past, more could been achieved, but it is safe to say that we still have enough around here to spend some time with this one on a weekend on Jio Hotstar where it has released in India, and as the one OTT which comes with mobile recharges, more people from this part of the world would surely end up watching the flick with relative ease. As the main performers inject some much-needed charisma into the increasingly deviating movie, the interest regularly comes back, which could provide a fine feeling of being interested in a mystery which could easily bring the twist that leads to those tense final moments which serve the purpose.

Release date: 27 May 2026
Running time: 119 minutes
Directed by: Malcolm D Lee
Starring: Chloe Bailey, Lynn Whitfield, Lucien Laviscount, Anna Diop, Coco Jones, Romy Woods

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Mrithyumjayam

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl: I am sure that they are talking about us.

Vampire Bat: Why would you think that when going through a non-vampire movie?

Vampire Owl: Because it seems to be about someone who defeated death.

Vampire Bat: We haven’t defeated death; at least not yet.

Vampire Owl: Dude, we have come back from the dead. Anyone would coming back from the grave as a miracle and a victory.

Vampire Bat: It might be a case of victory for us, the same is not the defeat of death.

Vampire Owl: Why wouldn’t death be defeated by our victory?

Vampire Bat: We haven’t left the world of the dead. We are still connected to it. We never came back to the living, and we are just undead.

Vampire Owl: Does that really make a difference?

Vampire Bat: Yes, it surely makes a lot of difference. Death is only a passage, and we went through one of it to another stage – it is different from coming back.

[Gets three cups of special tea with Tiger biscuits].

What is the movie about? :: The idea of becoming a respected gangster is to kill the most feared gangster of all-time. But the question remains about what would happen if that man of terror is considered rather immortal? The doctors had told him that he would die in a few months, and he has gone one to live for so many years, and that too at the top of the food chain, doing his business with ease. He was stabbed multiple times, and has so many scars on his body. He was also shot so many times, and people say that he even took bullets on his head and still managed to be what he is now. There is also a tale which goes about twenty years back, about him being surrounded by fifty people armed with weapons, and he murdered them all without even a stick in his hands. He is also known to possess special weapons which are so sharp and poisoned that he can deliver the fatal blow in a second or two.

So, what happens next? :: The movie tells the story of a young man named Appu (Jitin Puthanchery) who has always wanted to be a gangster. He was born into a mafia family, and had grown up listening to their big tales of crime. These tales were talked about a lot of the common people who feared them, and there were even books and movies in their name. All these has made the young man want to be more and more like them. For the same, he takes on the mission, and it is to murder the man, Mrithyumjayam (Selvaraj Raghavan) known more to everyone as the the gangster who can’t die. It is his uncle (Sudhish Gopinath) himself who gives him with this objective even though he and his people have the doubt if he is really ready. But he decides to take it on – but the question remains if he can kill the man who can’t die? Can he accomplish what so many people and diseases couldn’t, and thus rise above the legend of the immortal gangster?

Soul exploration 1: Desire to follow the wrong path to fame :: Well, what people want is more about fame and money, and for the same, young people tend to take the wrong path, as they just seem easier – there is no need to study, and there is absolutely no need to follow the rules. This quick need for money and fame are driving forces behind them taking the terrible path. Once they take this path, there is no changing, and there is no coming back. We can see the protagonist in this short-film too, taking the same road, inspired by his own people and also by movies. Well, considering the state of our own movie industry, there seems to be too much criminal activities there too. It is a sad thing, as common people tend to lose their interest in movies too – you can see that the theatres are not that full as they used to be, and there are shows getting cancelled, or movies getting completely removed from a theatre. In the end, the wrong path can never be justified, and it all comes together to haunt you.

Soul exploration 2: A new generation lost in desire for more :: The new generation seems to find these things rather cool – there is the glorification of violence in the movies like Django Unchained, Kill Bill and many others which seems to show the same as the only solution to problems. This has made the youth choose the same to get what they want to have. The inherent evil in man just makes things easier – it is only that special push that most of them need to go against law, and you will feel such things happening with ease when you read the newspapers these days. The need for becoming the gangster which the protagonist in this movie has, does seem rather foolish and due to dumb reasons; he doesn’t even seem to be ready, but we see that he is ready to kill when there is the need. The most terrible acts of violence seems to be ready to come out when there is a chance – the question remains if it is how our new generation is turning into!

How it finishes :: Mrithyumjayam is taken in such a stylish way that you will have the feeling of this being more global in character – the black and white on the screen works nicely for the movie, and throughout the movie, it provides that kind of a feeling which keeps us immersed right inside. The only colour used otherwise is red, and that is nice to see – the only exceptions are the colours shown on a television screen and on the protagonist’s shades. The first thing that the movie reminds us of, is Sin City. It is actually nice to see that our own people are capable of making short-films like this – it is actually worthy enough to make a full length movie, with this particular gangster’s legend going on, leading the rise of a new one, and showing how things change, but the core remains the same while history repeats itself without any kind of remorse as it sheds so much of blood.

[Walks into the balcony with another cup of tea].

Vampire Owl: Throughout my life, I have never wanted to be a gangster.

Vampire Bat: It is a good thing because Werewolf Anger would have killed you otherwise. He hates gangsters.

Vampire Owl: Do they make him angry too? Like vampires, zombies, wood elves, dark elves, high elves, satyrs, orcs, goblins, halflings, witches and centaurs do?

Vampire Bat: He is always angry. He just hates the gangsters.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that he hate them so much that no gangster will ever see the light of the day in his territory?

Vampire Bat: Yes, something like that, but only until the Lich Queen re-animates their remains. She raises the undead from such people.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that the gangsters never really die either?

Vampire Bat: As long as the Lich Queen gets her hands on them.

Vampire Owl: So, there is really the defeat of death.

Vampire Bat: As I said earlier, this is not the defeat of death either, but the opening of another passage while traveling to the other world.

[Walks into the silence of darkness].

Release date: 30th January 2016
Running time: 15 minutes
Directed by: Dominic Arun
Starring: Rafeeq Aman, Dominic Arun, Ananthu Balachander, Sudhish Gopinath, Anil Narayanan, Jitin Puthanchery, Selvaraj Raghavan, Shabin, Nandhan Unni, Balu Varghese

Watch the movie Mrithyumjayam here:

PS: Check out the reviews of the latest movies in the theatres, Kadam Katha, Sunday Holiday and Basheerinte Premalekhanam.

<— Go back to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Woman in Black

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Dr. Tennyson

✠ A 1983 horror novel by Susan Hill was made into a movie of the same name, last year. But most of the people here haven’t been aware of the same, even as it had mostly positive reviews. That surprises me indeed, as it would have gained a lot if popularized here, thanks to the Harry Potter fans who might have been missing a leading man. There has been a 1989 movie, but we are going to stick to this 2012 version which has our Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe. I didn’t know that he was in it, and that was a pleasant surprise for me. There is no relation with the Men in Black franchise nor the aliens, and no neuralyzer was used in making me say so – you can check the usage records of the device for that. Instead, Woman in Black is a different supernatural story in a different setting, and it is a supernatural movie train which doesn’t run in our modern railroads, and therefore there is a chance that some horror fans might feel some displeasure. Still, my complaint is that there is the absence of something new in horror.

Count Dracula: Woman in Black? If you were looking for a Count in Black, I knew someone who could help you. The clue is that he has nice fangs which he brushes well without fail and lives in an awesome castle. Wait, do you need to talk to Brides in White? I know three, and I am pretty sure that you will love them.

Vampire Bat: And I thought he would confuse it with Men in Black. Do you understand anything I am saying? I am talking about the story of a woman who wears a black dress and if someone sees her, children die. Ever heard about it or something similar, world’s first official vampire Count?

Count Dracula: Are you talking about the lady who comes to clean the castle. I always knew there was something strange about her, and she wears black. My children of the night will be killed? Should I kill her first? Or is she too supernatural for me to get enough from her for my blood shake?

Vampire Bat: Not the cleaning lady. Your vision remains as clouded as the sky. No, not your children of the night. They can howl as much as they want, and you can look at the roof and have that weird expression which zombies have when they see humans with brains. Stop looking at the spider webs while talking. What is wrong with you?

Count Dracula: I am having dreadful visions. I see dead goblins and living halflings. Is The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug due to be released soon? Never mind, please continue. I am as interested in that lady in black as I am inspired by that rotten zombie girl in the corner of that graveyard. I have heard about that novel too, not as good as the one written by Bram Stoker, and no good character as me…I mean that Count.

Vampire Bat: Well, a widowed lawyer Arthur Kipps is on a mission to arrange the sale of a house. He has one son whom he leaves at his place with a nanny as he visits the small town where it is located and during his visit to the house, he sees a strange woman wearing black dress. A child dies and the people of the town blames him for seeing that lady.

Count Dracula: Nothing new to me. It happens every time. They blame me all the time just because some random person dies somewhere near my castle. See, I am just a farmer. We are a peaceful farming community with better teeth. What about my rights? I was framed by Bram Stoker. But I have to agree that I liked it.

Vampire Bat: I can’t believe I am hearing this. Just a few days ago, you were playing mist and fog outside the second house on the eighth street. And stop farming skulls – they don’t grow. Pouring blood on them doesn’t create reddish fountains either. I am going to record all these some day. It is not like your case. This is a lady who lost her kid and wishes to take revenge on all the kids of the town, as she makes them do things which lead to their deaths.

Count Dracula: See, she is a hypnotherapist like me. One of my various skills attained due to practice. Am I not the vampire in black? Why not such a title with me as the leading character? There is nothing about that woman, she doesn’t even exist.

Vampire Bat: But you have to think about the environment the movie creates. The local people, legends, strange figures, screaming – the things haven’t been this strange since the last time Jonathan Harker was held captive in your castle. Those were great times, right? Wait, is that a 55 inch 3D LED TV? Where did that come from?

Count Dracula: I didn’t buy it. It was available for free with human Halloween masks in the goblin market. Nobody wanted that stuff as the Witch of the West’s unlimited inches magic TV is the hot item right now, and it has the latest video game “Humans are Evil”. Sounds so awesome, doesn’t it?

Vampire Bat: You are ruining the horror environment with such items. This is why you can’t always blame Twilight for ruining your reputation. Vampires don’t keep 3D TV at home, thats what pseudo-vampires do. You just drink blood in 3D. This is why you need to watch this movie so that you can understand how well the ambiance works.

Count Dracula: You mean to say that the Harry Potter kid has grown up a lot more than his final movie of that franchise? I remember seeing the poster of this movie, and how does he do? I don’t know anyone else from that movie, what about them? The only lady in black that can be scary might be that person from Insidious Part one and two.

Vampire Bat: Yes, he is the centre of attraction, and he might be the reason why the movie has good collection. My first feeling was that he might be having that Harry Potter hangover, but no, there he is away from that franchise, and he is once again taken into a world which asks for willing suspension of disbelief, that fantasy which is rather more of horror rather than simple magic and a little more advanced sorcery. He has survived beyond that magical world which lasted many years, and without a magic wand he takes on both the Woman in Black as well as us skeptics, ending up victorious – yet there is still a lot more to do for him in whatever awaits him next. The world is dark and gloomy, and so is his character, taking us with him as he fits in there, not with perfection, but in the right manner.

Count Dracula: So he is no longer the wizard. I know that he will be killed by that Woman in Black – it is not a guess, as it is something which I can feel. So this is a horror movie, but my doubt is if it does really scare?

Vampire Bat: Yes, it does, and it chooses to use the atmosphere and items for scaring rather than anything else. There are lots of surprise scares coming up, but the problem remains that there is no real explanation for most of the things around. It can only mean one of the two things, either they think that our brains are eaten by zombies, or we have too much of an imagination to find out more. Well, it deals with a big curse, so the things are to be different. It is creepy indeed and full points to the house and its location, but it seems missing out somewhere. I would have also liked another ending, that is for sure.

Count Dracula: So it is scary indeed, and I am going to watch and like it after I get rid of this bloody tv. Its time for me to brush my fangs again. Good bye, and watch movies.

Vampire Bat (to himself): It was quite short a movie. Lasting about one and half hours, the movie could have had more, and it just ended soon when we wanted more of it. Coming from the director of Eden Lake, this is not as good as that movie, but works well with the resources that it has. Yet, this is nothing new for most of us, as we have been provided with similar things a lot. But we can appreciate how it works as another horror movie, and I am always looking for more and more horror.

✠ Its sequel The Woman in Black: Angels of Death is also coming sometime later. Therefore, it is more of a necessity to have watched this movie and be prepared to welcome the Woman in Black into our lives. Watch it for the first true performance from Daniel Radcliffe as a non-wizard civilian of this world and all the creepy things that the movie has to offer. All the atmosphere rather affects the narrative progress, but in a movie like this, it is the creation of that spooky world that we are looking for, but the occasional drag might bing up questions. If you are looking for anything extraordinary or out of the supernatural, you might have to look for another movie. A cup of innovation could have helped. If you don’t like our leading actor, then you can run away too, as there is a lot of Daniel Radcliffe in this one, and he is there more than that lady is black. He might look too young for the role, but when he does well despite the uninterested looks, there is not much there to complain. Darkness and shadows everywhere, not even Dracula can complain.

Release date: 10th February 2012
Running time: 95 minutes
Directed by: James Watkins
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer, Liz White, Roger Allam, Tim McMullan, Jessica Raine