Tag Archives: fear

The Monkey

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Vampire Owl: Is this a movie about the vampire monkey in Amazon Prime Video?

Vampire Bat: You know that there is no real vampire monkey.

Vampire Owl: Why would monkeys be out of the equation?

Vampire Bat: Because there have been no vampires among them.

Vampire Owl: I believe that I had seen one during the last war.

Vampire Bat: That was a zombie monkey with some real bad teeth.

Vampire Owl: But he looked like a classic vampire.

Vampire Bat: That was before him losing those teeth.

Vampire Owl: So, they are all restricted to the zombie area?

Vampire Bat: Yes, zombies have almost everything, even the most impossible ones.

[Gets a paneer fried rice and three cups of Ooty tea].

What is the movie about? :: In 1999, Captain Petey Shelburn (Adam Scott) tries to take a wind-up drum-playing toy monkey to an antiques shop, but the toy plays a drum, triggering a chain reaction that ends with a harpoon gun brutally the shop owner, and after attempts to destroy the toy, it is seen that the captain disappears without trace. It is seen that after making an impact in the life of Hal Shelburn and Bill Shelburn (Theo James in a double role) during the childhood, and causing the death of their mother Lois Shelburn (Tatiana Maslany) and babysitter Annie Wilkes (Danica Dreyer) in the childhood leading to their disposal of the doll, it seems to come back after a very long time. It was something which they had from their father, and now Hal gets the call of Bill regarding the same at a time when he is separated from his wife, and is almost losing the custody of their only son Petey Shelburn (Colin O’Brien) much to the dismay of both the father and the child. They decide to go a final trip together for a week, as they are going to be cut down from each other.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: After the death of his aunt Ida Zimmer (Sarah Levy), with whom the twin brothers were staying post the demise of their mother, he is forced to go to her home and see if there is the monkey doll in that house. He realizes that his aunt had also gone through a brutal death, like all the deaths which the money doll had caused. He also realizes that there have been many other brutal deaths in the area, and some of them seemed to have caused with no real reason at all. He understands the seriousness of the situation and tries to keep his son away, but Petey only gets further mad that he was not told that his father had a twin brother. Hal was always considered to be a single child by him and his mother, and despite having asked about the family tree, nothing was told at all. Barbara (Tess Degenstein), a real estate agent who guides them with further process is also brutally killed as a shotgun falls down, and this leaves them caught in the village pending enquiry from the police department. What would this mean to the twins, and what is happening with that missing doll?

The defence of The Monkey :: The story about a supernaturally affected or cursed toy monkey causing deaths is rather unusual compared to the usual, and also memorable for the image of that particular toy. The mixture of violent horror scenes with dark humour makes an impact, even when they come out of nowhere and disappears without trace. It can be said that the inventive and twisted death sequences combine different elements very well. As much as it is an adaptation of the short story by Stephen King, it also reminds us of the story, “The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs, which became part of the Mahatma Gandhi University of Kottayam syllabus as part of the common English paper. The movie has included its own elements, developing the short story, and the emotional side becomes good as it gets towards the end, and the final scenes are quite memorable with a pale horseman and the school bus. The monkey imagery remains effective as we keep seeing it in a dual mode, with the side of horror taking the front seat. This also gives the feeling that we have the kind of supernatural from where there is no escape.

The claws of flaw :: The movie keeps losing strength in between, as it seems to focus on the main characters while seemingly avoiding most of the other things including the supporting characters who have also affected this particular world. There seems to be the feeling that the movie might not be that appealing to the audience of this part of the world, as its focus on the supernatural and its origins, as well as journey is rather less developed compared to the effect that it creates. Taken right out of Stephen King’s short story with the same name, this could have surely done better with ease, and that was one base material which could have gone many ways, and supported a lot of further extension on the way. The seriousness of the original movie is lost in some of the humour which is used here, and when absurdity comes in front of horror with that comic side, the supernatural power is often lost in the silliness – being dumb is surely not always welcome. When there is too much focus on brutality and comedy by losing the original horror power, the overall strength is surely lost, and the slow pacing in between and the lack of power with emotions also struggle.

The performers of the soul :: The movie has some strength with its leading cast, even though it never really feels like a performance-oriented movie. The focus is more on the image of the monkey and the deaths, with focus more on the terror that it creates on the characters as much as it does on the regular audience who finds the shock. In between, the characters have to work with some dark humour and the emotional effect, both of which never really have a permanent effect here – it does not stay with us for that long, and it is evident from the fact that not many recommendations of this particular horror movie came into the groups of horror genre admirers that we know from around this side of movie love. Theo James is here in the lead, and as he remains the one who makes the impact in two characters, the others are of not much of a relevance here. The different modes of humour and fear are pretty much safe with him, while Christian Convery who plays the younger versions follows well. Colin O’Brien is the next one to be relevant and the character is also blended in well enough.

How it finishes :: The movie had immense potential, which is never really used, but remains a nice mysterious horror movie with a seemingly invincible killer toy at the centre, and some humour that works well. But coming out of a very serious and terrifying short story, this one loss some charm in the form of dark humour and gory scenes which turn not that scary in the process. One has to wonder why humour has to come in along with absurd deaths instead of following the Final Destination mode, which would have given this better strength. But there is fun for sure, and one cannot easily doubt that here. But we keep wondering how this movie could have been better, while enjoying the same, especially because you see how interesting scenes of childhood and later pass on without expanding the same, from those bullying moments to the later rural scenes. Maybe, we can hope for a better sequel, with a classic developed story from this one with less humour, making the world more serious as much as emotional.

Release date: 21st February 2025
Running time: 98 minutes
Directed by: Osgood Perkins
Starring: Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Christian Convery, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell, Sarah Levy, Adam Scott, Elijah Wood

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Dracula

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Vampire Owl: They are making another movie about Uncle Dracula?

Vampire Bat: Well, with some variations to come with it.

Vampire Owl: Nosferatu had him at work earlier with style.

Vampire Bat: Well, they also had Dracula Untold, and so there should be even more to come.

Vampire Owl: I wonder if Uncle Dracula had approved of this one.

Vampire Bat: Humans never really take approval of any other species.

Vampire Owl: Oh yes, they think they own everything in the world.

Vampire Bat: Only until they meet the people from other realms.

Vampire Owl: They are surely expecting some alien contact very soon.

Vampire Bat: I feel that they will need to meet the shadow demons before that.

[Gets some white chocolates and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: Prince Vlad the Second of Wallachia (Caleb Landry Jones) is on a battle with the Ottoman Turks who are quickly gaining grounds and marching into Europe, relentlessly conquering and brutally murdering anyone who stands in their way, leaving a trail of dead bodies and blood. He becomes the chosen hero standing at the borders of Europe, who chooses to meet brutality with the same strength as he wins battles and impales his enemies taking the fear back to the invaders from the other side. The Ottoman army seems to have retreated for the time being, but they ambush the princess and the guards escorting her in the nearby forest, and almost kills her when Vlad arrives, only to have her die in his arms, as the Ottoman troops had found the lone queen without the guards as an opportunity. The prince had asked the leader of the church in Wallachia only one thing in return for his allegiance to the church, which was to pray to the God and keep his queen safe with the prayers and blessings.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: With his only wish not granted, he commits murder of the priest in the church and renounces God, turning himself into an abomination, with a curse on him to live forever in an undead state. Throughout the centuries, Dracula attempts to track down the reincarnation of his wife by using the usual methods, which does not seem to work, as the plagues lead the women to churches where he cannot enter. Therefore, he comes up with a secondary plan, creating different vampiric agents to assist in his search after drinking blood from them and making them just like him, but directly under his own control. These agents spread all around the world, and travel, with him confining himself to the castle with gargoyles that became his servants in a world of darkness and hopelessness in chaos created by himself. He also develops a specially crafted perfume designed to lure women to him, taking elements of the same from Italy, India and the Arab lands so that he does not have to wait for too many rebirths of his love.

And what more is to follow as darkness seems to take over everything good? :: Four hundred years later, during the Victorian Age, while looking for a property in England, Dracula changes the focus to France with hope in the post-revolutionary world to seek with ease. While negotiating a real estate transaction with the law expert in Paris, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid) who had travelled to Romania, Dracula discovers from his locket that Harker’s fiancée Mina Murray (Zoe Bleu) who looks so much similar, is the reincarnation he seeks. He is incredibly happy about the same, much to the dismay of Jonathan whose worries only get to be more. Despite the initial plan to kill Jonathan for finding out his secrets in the castle, he decides to imprison him instead and go for Mina and get her back to the castle to live with him. Jonathan’s attempts to escape do not bear fruits with the gargoyles all around the castle. Dracula decides to go on a blood hunt so that he could go young again, and gets out of the castle. Can the world stand it, and what will be Mina’s reaction to this with her friend Maria (Matilda De Angelis) also under Dracula’s influence?

The defence of Dracula: A Love Tale :: The best fact about the movie is that it is just too beautiful, with the visual splendour like one would not imagine for a movie with such a dark theme at the core of everything. The humanizing of Dracula brings another viewpoint, and it is something that brings the intellect to full power. The vampires here have a certain amount of charm about them, and even gargoyles are nicely designed. The castle design is also really good, and the architectural beauty of every building that we see here are too good, and the insides keep catching our attention. Caleb Landry Jones deserves all the praise for playing a haunted, tragic vampire with honesty and intensity, despite the initial struggle with past scenes. Zoe Bleu is incredibly lovely in her portrayals of her characters as the main leading lady – there is a certain amount of torment and the sad attempts to balance multiple worlds. It feels incredibly beautiful as he goes through emotions and memories of another life. Matilda De Angelis, at the same time, makes a perfect vampire, and strikes gold with the fangs and expressions, especially when in chains.

Positives and negatives :: The movie just seems to have less Orthodox and Byzantine elements in the old churches and castles compared as much as with the historical priest, and the Catholic and Gothic elements seem to have more of a presence here in comparison. The deviation might feel to be a little too much here, even though this could have been made to suit the French audience or the West in particular. The initial moments of the movie are not that good either, as there seems to be a retreat from a better situation. With focus on romantic love, or what seems at times like lust, the horror elements are mostly lost – at least the gargoyles could have been scarier; the fang power is also somewhat lost in the process. At the same time, Christoph Waltz makes some fine impact as the priest while Ewens Abid’s significance in the character is rather less, but good. The world continues to have something about it, even though even the romance is often felt less used unlike movies like Nosferatu which did it better even in not this much of a colourful world. The women characters have no role in saving the world this time.

How it finishes :: We have had different versions of the world’s most popular and the earliest classic vampire in the form of Dracula Untold and Nosferatu, and this one brings a fine deviated movie that has enough power to keep it strong as something to remember, with horror making its way for romance with some scares and a beautiful world. The comparison would be more to movies like Crimson Peak rather than anything else. This can be considered as a similar kind of gothic romantic drama that reimagines the legend of Count Dracula as a tragic lover rather than just that monster who made the way as pure evil above others, and England becomes France in this one. The tale of the medieval prince who loses his wife to turn against God and become the immortal vampire Dracula would keep striking well. As the vampire pursues love again, there is more romance and tragedy, focusing on Dracula’s loneliness, curse of immortality, and the conflict between love and the eternal darkness within him, as he remains half-monster, half-lover and not much more, but in any way, someone who is to be feared by all except his allies.

Release date: 30th July 2025
Running time: 129 minutes
Directed by: Luc Besson
Starring: Caleb Landry Jones, Christoph Waltz, Zoe Bleu, Matilda De Angelis, Ewens Abid, David Shields, Raphel Luce, Bertrand-Xavier Corbi, Guillaume de Tonquédec

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Black Phone 2

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Vampire Owl: Are they talking about the only phone in the castle?

Vampire Bat: It is one phone that has never worked.

Vampire Owl: But the vampire elders used to call Uncle Dracula with it.

Vampire Bat: Vampire elders always had their telepathic powers.

Vampire Owl: You think that nobody including Uncle Dracula ever used that phone?

Vampire Bat: The phone is meant to be more of a presence.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that it has served as an afterlife presence.

Vampire Bat: It cannot be considered undead though.

Vampire Owl: Yes, there cannot be electronic undead, I guess.

Vampire Bat: Why don’t you ask your super-best friends?

[Gets a chilli porotta and three cups of Darjeeling tea].

What is the movie about? :: A few years had passed after Finney (Mason Thames) had killed the psychopath known by the name Grabber (Ethan Hawke), but his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) begins having dreams and nightmares where she sees certain incidents and also the murders that happened at Alpine Lake Camp in 1957, leaving her mostly sleepless. Their mother Hope (Anna Lore) is also known to have had similar dreams at the time of the murders, and this has Gwen worries, while Finney has not come out of the trauma which unfolded in front of his eyes due to that psycho killer unleashing himself after abducting him four years ago. Gwen convinces both Finney and Ernesto (Miguel Mora), her best friend who has a crush on her, to travel to Alpine Lake Camp and find solutions to her problems with mysteries to be solved. Her father Terrence (Jeremy Davies) also gives permission despite early reluctance. They hope that this would solve her problems, even though she is not that sure.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Despite a planned journey, a heavy blizzard traps them, but the supervisor of Alpine Lake camp, Armando (Demián Bichir) and his niece, the young and energetic Mustang (Arianna Rivas) shows them the way. Two camp employees are also there, in the form of Barbara (Maev Beaty) and Kenneth (Graham Abbey). As Finney receives a call on the camp’s dead land phone from the Grabber, he goes into panic. Speaking from hell as it seems, the Grabber vows revenge on him and his family by brutally murdering Gwen. Soon, Gwen is violently attacked in her dream by the Grabber, but the group manages to save her in the last moment from being thrown into fire. Barbara feels that Gwen is possessed by a demon, especially with the young girl having no control over her tongue, using curse and sexual words. The group feels that they have to find the dead bodies of the Grabber’s victims to loosen his hold over the dream realm, and hope that Gwen sleeps less. But can they do it without Grabber knowing or attacking them with a better plan?

The defence of Black Phone 2 :: The way in which the movie expands the original lore and adds new supernatural elements beyond the simple horror is something that should be appreciated, as we feel the creativity behind all of these in a world when horror has always struggled, especially after the Conjuring–Annabelle–Nun trio had started losing power from that memorable beginning. The world has been nicely built for the same and the evil being stronger than ever and almost invincible, keeps the strength of horror at a higher level. The exploration of trauma and the related character growth with an emotional side works well. The visual style with the support of snow and ice all around, is something to be noted too. For most of us who are not that familiar with blizzards and such snow brings further horror with the dialogues from the antagonist about ice of hell and the burns that it delivers – the dialogues further elevates the terror, and there are some unexpected horror moments which keep the world strong.

The claws of flaw :: The movie takes too much time to get interesting, and by the time it provides that feeling, it would have gone through half of its runtime. One feels the need to see why it takes so much time in showing dreams and hallucinations, when all of these could be over in a few minutes, as many moments like those are just random and not that much scary. The dream sequences, especially the initial ones often struggle and do not go on making the impact as Freddy of Elm Street would make. The quality of the same is also something to be questioned here, as it also remains tiring for the eyes. The horror in there do not feel real or dangerous until some time passes in the movie. This asserts the fact that the movie was about twenty-five minutes more than what it should have been. The emotional side and random fears do not raise the movie during the beginning stages. For those who have not watched the movie will also find themselves in a receiving side of some confusion which leaves rather late.

The performers of the soul :: The movie’s biggest strength is Ethan Hawke, the antagonist who takes it to the next level, despite not showing that much of his face – the mask itself would be remembered by the horror fans for long and could become iconic, thanks to his performance. Well, it is not limited to Freddy, Jason, Michael, Chromeskull or Ghostface. This has not been the kind of role in which we have been seeing him, but the movie reminds us that we should be. Madeleine McGraw whom we have seen more in the younger child roles in American Sniper, Ant-Man and the Wasp and Pacific Rim Uprising, gets to be the scream queen here, and despite some struggles in the repetitions of the first half, manages to finish so well. Mason Thames is the other main lead, and he also manages the same nicely. Miguel Mora also follows well. Arianna Rivas as Mustang remains nicely noted here, and is a lovely presence. Demián Bichir also has a strong and responsible role which is managed well, while Jeremy Davies adds well. Anna Lore’s small presence is memorable.

How it finishes :: I was not aware of the existence of a first movie, as this is not the kind of movie which has become known among the horror fans of this part of the world. This one surely deserves better attention in this part of the world, but its lack of attention towards the usual slasher elements got it pulled back a little. As one watches this one it can be said that this is a visually stylish and ambitious sequel that benefits from Ethan Hawke’s strong performance and its darker, and a dream-like atmosphere. Still, the drag in the beginning, uneven pacing, repetitive elements, and missing scream queen elements got this one in some struggle at times. The added supernatural elements might not feel positive to everyone, especially the fans of the first movie. Well, we can always have some divergent horror here and there. The scope never goes low for this one, as there is something that comes up strong at every moment – the idea seems to have been worked with nicely with different elements, and this would indeed remain an engaging watch.

Release date: 17th October 2025
Running time: 114 minutes
Directed by: Scott Derrickson
Starring: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, Demián Bichir, Ethan Hawke, Arianna Rivas, Miguel Mora, Maev Beaty, James Ransone, Anna Lore, Simon Webster, Shepherd Munroe, Chase B. Robertson

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Devil’s Bride

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Vampire Owl: I thought that this one was only going to be a demon’s bride.

Vampire Bat: They have particularly spoken about the Devil. So, it would be like that only.

Vampire Owl: Well, the Devil has no authority here in our castle.

Vampire Bat: None in our realm either, but he enjoys his stay in the human world.

Vampire Owl: There are always homes made for him in their world.

Vampire Bat: It would still strange that humans choose to be evil when there is the perfect chance for being good.

Vampire Owl: Humans have always been the big fools from Eden.

Vampire Bat: I would say that the garden of Eden is more accessible to vampires than humans these days, considering the collective actions of a species.

Vampire Owl: Well, the Devil is smarter than we would think.

Vampire Bat: The shadow demons who have crossed over to our realm says the same.

[Gets a paneer biryani and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: Echa (Erika Carlina), a young woman has been happily married to Ariel (Emir Mahira) after falling in love with him. In the beginning, their married life is full of love, as they work hard to make a living, but soon, the busy world catches upon them, as Ariel working as a security guard and Echa as a logistics worker just do not find enough time to be together with each other while trying earn enough. They begin to fight regularly, and without anything to talk to each other, Echa begins experiencing strange supernatural disturbances. Echa starts feeling a new life coming to her in the dreams with a handsome young man taking her to a beautiful home in the countryside. Soon, it is revealed that a djinn had fallen in love with her and wanted her to become his bride. The obsession leads to him having sexual intercourse with her in dreams, as she falls into his spell and agrees to the sexual intimacy, even though she feels that it was only done in recurring dreams like a sexual fantasy which is not close to reality.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: It seems that djinn wishes to have her forever, and Echa also seems to be pregnant by three months, much to the dismay of Ariel who remembers that they never really had even an intimate moment in the last few months. She begins to vomit blood and despite a local woman telling them that Echa is pregnant, the doctors do not find such a possibility with her. Ariel has visions of babies looking like the djinn which keeps him further tensed about their future. Echa keeps feeling that there is something inside her, and wonders if it is the result of having the sexual intercourse with the djinn in the dream. But others do not know about this situation, but it is at the same time that one of her friends who let her know about an exorcist also gets killed. She understands that the djinn will not stop until it gets her, and decides to take the matter into her hands. But is it already too late for her to act, with he djinn already part of her daily dreams?

The defence of The Devil’s Bride :: The movie thrives on the tense, dark atmosphere with the evil always present. The demonic presence which is often called the djinn is established very nicely in the beginning of the movie itself. It never loses its way as far as the abiding terror is concerned. There is some good divergence in how the usual idea is used, and a certain amount Indonesian cultural side can also be seen as active here. The supernatural scenes and makeup effects are nice, providing the Nosferatu or Dracula effect also with the demonic love, but maintains a certain style due to the locations. For the Indian audience, the movie will not feel too far away from them considering the way the whole situations have been dealt with. The secondary world of nightmares is constructed well too, despite us having seen before with a different kind of treatment, from Insidious onwards. From the visit to Bali itself, I have found myself interested in Indonesian movies, and this one actually serves more nostalgia as it never really gets out of the usual out there.

The claws of flaw :: Sometimes, one feels that the movie just goes on through a path which has been established in its usual manner for a long time, and it has been taken from the Western ideas about the demonic birth to be used here. We are familiar with the movies dealing with son of the devil being born and the idea of the anti-Christ, and this would often feel like taken right out there, especially with the same being a classic supernatural idea. There is also a certain number of repetitions without bringing anything new, and the protagonist often feels a little too dumb with her actions despite things being so clear for even people who are not that aware of the cultural beliefs. The supporting characters are not that much explored, and they just seem to come and go at will. The romance is also not that much felt, and there for using the love to fight the devil feels out of the equation. The ending also seems to be done in comfortable way without that much of thinking, and innovation when it was needed, never really gets here. Then, there is the loss of pace in between despite the movie being of short-length.

The performers of the soul :: Erika Carlina leads the way in this movie which revolves around her character as the bride of the djinn, seemingly willing for the same within her nightmares, but attempts to come out of the same when back to her senses. With this strong and convincing performance, she effectively portrays the fear, vulnerability and emotional struggle that she has to go through in more than one world. Her expressions and reactions in the emotional, terrifying and intimate scenes help build the movie’s mood with is not limited to the eerie atmosphere, making the whole situation more believable. Even with the traditional horror tropes rising above the rest, Erika’s solid performance makes sure that the different elements and multiple sides work so well here, as she also covers some of the faults of the movie. Emir Mahira is also not far behind in his work, as he plays the loving husband without any trouble. Ruth Marini and Wavi Zihan provides some good support too, while Alfie Alfandi adds on.

How it finishes :: The Indonesian horror movies have often stayed a step ahead like with the near-perfect Impetigore, interesting Ivanna, revenge-seeking Ronggeng Kematian and that almost-horror Grave Torture which also tried well. After the travel to Bali of Indonesia, these have served my love for horror well, along with Gundala being a favourite superhero movie from the same country. While Korean movies have remained the most watched foreign language movies here with Spanish, French and Russian having quite some space in the website, Indonesian ones have been the South East Asian favourites. This one serves the purpose well, but one has to wonder if it could have been better with such an idea at the core – you do not get to work with such creatures of the night all the time, and the premise was so well set with the first scene itself. Well, still it remains a good scary one with the mood and the setting doing the job well too. You can think watch this one on a fine night and have the demonic one have its say.

Release date: 16th January 2025
Running time: 91 minutes
Directed by: Azhar Kinoi Lubis
Starring: Erika Carlina, Emir Mahira, Ruth Marini, Wavi Zihan, Alfie Alfandy, Ence Bagus

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Chhorii 2

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Vampire Owl: So, we are now going for this particular sequel.

Vampire Bat: We do not like missing out on the horror movie sequels.

Vampire Owl: Yet, this is no Scream, Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe or anything.

Vampire Bat: This is not Conjuring, Nun, Annabelle or anything similar.

Vampire Owl: Is this the kind of sequel that we have been looking for?

Vampire Bat: The first movie had provided a good dose of basic elements.

Vampire Owl: There is no better master of combining elements than Dr. Frankenstein.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein combines different types of pseudo-science only.

Vampire Owl: He is a doctor and scientist who keeps winning awards.

Vampire Bat: He do not win them, for he only keeps taking them, mostly from unsuspecting humans.

[Gets a kothu porotta and three cups of Vagamon tea].

What is the movie about? :: Seven years have passed after the incidents of the first movie, and Sakshi (Nushrratt Bharuccha) lives with her daughter Ishani (Hardika Sharma) and her newfound support in the form of Rani (Pallavi Ajay). Inspector Samar (Gashmeer Mahajani) who understood the case thoroughly had arranged a place to stay for them, and he had also arranged a job for Sakshi as a teacher in a nearby school, where Ishani was also given admission through his influence. Sakshi still lives in fear, thinking that Rajbir (Saurabh Goyal) and his people of the village will come back for her and the child, and she also feels that they will always continue to have sinister plans for those who escaped from their captivity. The darkness bothers Sakshi, but her daughter is having a certain skin condition which does not allow the kid to go out in direct sunlight as it burns her badly. The school does not give her exemption though, as she goes to school with enough covering as protection, and enjoys her time in the institution.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: They try their best to make the situation best for the child. But it does not take much time to have everything take another twist, as both Ishika and Rani are kidnapped by people who seem to be from the village. The police chase them and Sakshi accompanies them. As they walk through the area surrounded by corn, things feel unusually peaceful, with no signs of the missing child and woman. Surprisingly, they soon find themselves being stoned by children in the sugarcane fields and they hold back to avoid hitting the kids. Sakshi finds herself hit on the head, blindfolded and dragged by her legs by children to an unknown area, as police is unable to find her within the long and broad field of corn. Sameer knows that time is running out for him, as the villagers might waste no time in getting what they want, which might be something even weirder and scarier this time. Can he and his policemen get through the corn and save the women and child in trouble?

The defence of Chhorii 2 :: As a continuation of the first movie, this one covers a good ground while keeping the world going. The atmosphere is really good here, as the setting works perfectly with sugarcane fields, mysteries and fear coming together. The cinematography nicely supports the same as we are glad about what is displayed on the screen. The attempt to tackle the issues like blind superstitions, child marriage, child infanticide and mistreatment of women along with the horror elements — giving it more depth related to the society and its troubles rather than just jump scares. The movie further establishes Nushrratt Bharuccha as the one Bollywood actress to look out for, above the usual performers who are mostly products of nepotism and never came close to acting, with Param Sundari being the biggest example of terrible acting by an actress. The spooky visuals, especially in underground sequences which includes those realistic maze-like tunnels, are just too good – it feels like a world has been created, and there is a certain innovation with an Indian touch. The aerial shot of the sugarcane fields with the well and other structures is just classic. Then there is that well that works.

The claws of flaw :: The movie still has moments which keep us wishing for more, and wondering if things could have really been different. There are scares which could have been better, and sometimes, the movie just seems to hold back. There was chance of infinity of horror at times, but taking the wrong turn might feel not safe for the people of the movie. There are still so many moments where not much happens, that too in the maze where there was scope for some creatures, supernatural or not. The strength of horror is not maintained throughout the overall run of the movie too, as the monsters themselves are not among the scariest or designed well enough to match up with the strength of atmospheric horror and nicely worked surroundings. The story does not remain strong throughout its run either, as it refuses to keep the interest of the audience at all times. Some characters are not dealt with well enough. The attempt to go to the message often makes it lose the flow of the story and the horror power.

The performers of the soul :: Nushrratt Bharuccha continues to make us feel like she is a perfect addition in this as much as the original Chhorii. We have known her the most for movies like Pyaar Ka Punchnama, but these two movies might be the works for which we will know her the most and we also see how she establishes herself as a Bollywood scream queen. There is also that feeling that she is looking younger and younger, with this one having her with one of the most beautiful looks ever. She shines as the mother as much as the survivor of horror against all odds, with determination overcoming the fear on her face like Hollywood movies could have in their slasher flicks. Gashmeer Mahajani is a strong addition to the main cast as he makes the police officer role work like a dream, never really overdoing according to the usual tendencies. Then there is my favourite performer from that particular family, Soha Ali Khan doing so well. Saurabh Goyal is once again strong with the brutal villainy here.

How it finishes :: Chhorii 2 is that sequel which would have always been on the list of future horror that is to come. Bollywood really needed some strong horror franchises with some nicely built world, and this is one group of movies which can assure the same. Adding some folklore-like elements here and there would make sure that the effect is something more. I would say that I liked this one better than the previous one, with both the evil and the dark world getting a boost here, while not being as preachy as the previous one. There is also more clarity about this one, and the leading actress also gets more to perform due to her being at better health; the added police officer only serves the purpose further. A certain lack of pace and repetitions does bring some struggle, but the overall situation gets itself at a better level than the previous movie. Not all movies get to create a sequel that match the original, and this one does, which serves a reflection of no ideas being lost, and of still having a possible sequel on the list.

Release date: 11th April 2025
Running time: 134 minutes
Directed by: Vishal Furia
Starring: Nushrratt Bharuccha, Soha Ali Khan, Gashmeer Mahajani, Rajesh Jais, Kuldeep Sareen, Saurabh Goyal, Pallavi Ajay, Hardika Sharma, Mukul Shrivastava, Aarifa Siddiqui

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Others

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Vampire Owl: The humans have often thought that vampires are the others.

Vampire Bat: They have always kept some people as others.

Vampire Owl: By religion, race, caste, creed, nationality?

Vampire Bat: The first division would still be about money.

Vampire Owl: Human money has no say in our realm.

Vampire Bat: They are still addicted to what matters the most only in their world.

Vampire Owl: Well, Dr. Frankenstein has said that an alien invasion will change them.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein has not really seen an alien before.

Vampire Owl: That does not change his theory about the same.

Vampire Bat: His theories do not change as they are all fraud.

[Gets a masala bonda and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: Assistant Commissioner of Police, Madhav (Aditya Madhavan), gets a strange case in his hands, something which feels too unnatural, especially with the inability to find the identity of a number of people who died on the road in an accident which seemed to have resulted in an explosion. To add to the twisted situation, he understands that the three dead women were blind, while one of them had died much earlier, not due to the burns. Also, to further surprise, the man who died with them was not the driver, who seems to be missing. The accident feels like created by the dead man who was a thief, but his death, explosion, woman who died earlier and the missing man seems to make no sense. He is supported by the inspectors Beena (Anju Kurian) and Gajendran (Munishkanth), who also try to make sense out of the complicated situation. Madhav is engaged to Dr. Madhumitha (Gouri G. Kishan), who is working at a local hospital, but due to busy schedules, rarely find time to spend with each other. As nobody has come to claim the bodies, Madhav figures out that the dead people might be orphans and extends the investigation in that direction.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Madhav traces three of the dead girls back to an orphanage where twelve women are supposed to be missing. But he ends up finding the warden of the orphanage dead. There seems to be an NGO connecting this orphanage to hospitals and other social service. At the same time, Madhumitha figures out strange happenings in her hospital focusing on fertility treatments with the newborn babies resulting from IVF, which seem to point to that accident in an unexpected connection. There are links between women who were married off from the orphanage and those who participated in the IVF treatments. But it seems that the goons are after Madhumitha now, and they have not stopped or held back in their crimes either. They find the links to two men named Mukesh (Vinod Sagar) and Charles (Shyam Krishnan), but this seems like one end of a chain which longer, and might include the most unexpected people. How far are the villains from executing a plan which seems to be more sinister than one could expect?

The defence of Others :: The dark mood of the movie remains its biggest strength. The medical corruption in the name of revenge is a theme that would become more and more relevant as time flies in our busy and complex world. There is always a lot scope for an all-powerful villain coming out with knowledge of medicine or engineering, as other fields will always remain limited in scope – and Artificial Intelligence can have evil roles in both of them. Quality of cinematography and the strength of the background score contribute to the moody, investigative tone which works so well with this kind of a dark thriller with unsettling mysteries to be unveiled. There are some classic moments which can claim to be so memorable in comparison to similar minutes in same kind of thriller movies. The performances work well in favour of the movie too, with some good villains around, and Anju Kurian finally given such a full-movie strong role with no silly romance or humour, which Malayalam movie industry has not really provided her with. This movie also limits its romance’s presence which is great, and supporting cast also do the job well.

The claws of flaw :: The movie could have been much more. The struggle that it makes to connect the dots feel real in the beginning stages, even though it manages well by the end – some of the moments when the movie begins show some lack of effort in making it work better, even with the mystery running smoothly in the background. The uneven execution can be termed as a part of the movie, something which it does not suffer from during the middle part of the movie. It also does not go that well as the movie marches near the end, and the struggle in the beginning are reflected in the end too, despite maintaining so much of classic tension in between. Then the villain being revealed a little early only to the viewers and a little sympathy given to him does not serve a good purpose, as his character had even murdered his best friend who supported him for anything from saving and supporting to murdering and brutalizing people – evil is always evil, and murders are murders, and even more evil when committed on random innocent people and not on the original perpetuators. The final death of a police officer just seemed to be coming, but killing a side character in the end just for the sake of it with only a few minutes to go justifies nothing with almost everything done.

The performers of the soul :: The movie has Aditya Madhavan doing a fine job as the leading police officer. He maintains the focus and determination of the righteous leading police officer as one would expect. Gouri G. Kishan gets a strong character, and manages the doctor role while also getting a nice romantic track. It was also nice to see Anju Kurian get a powerful role in the form of a police officer. From the small role in Om Santhi Oshana to the leading role in Kavi Udheshicathu? and Njaan Prakashan to Meppadiyan, one has been wondering why she has not been getting more of such characters. The antagonists of the movie do remain strong – Shyam Krishnan is the usual villain, Sumesh Moor is the unexpected evil without boundaries, Vinod Sagar the quick villain and Jagan the easily revealed one. The evil in the movie is real, and the anger is felt, and despite playing the revenge-seeking victim, there is no real justification to the acts of the main villain, thus making the antagonist pure evil, with motives aligning with the big villains punishing the whole world for the acts of a few.

How it finishes :: This is one movie which had provided the feeling of being a classic investigation before its release itself. There were some controversies on the movie but not related to the content, and with some better promotion, it could have reached more people and surely deserved more screens in this part of the world which has always appreciated such mystery thrillers with dark mood and shocking revelations. We have always appreciated movies like Memories, Forensic, Kooman, Anjaam Pathiraa, Paappan, John Luther and others which have made some classic impact in the theatres as much as online. It is to be noted that the leading actor is different in each of these movies, at Prithviraj Sukumaran, Tovino Thomas, Asif Ali, Kunchacko Boban, Suresh Gopi and Jayasurya. Later, we also had Abraham Ozler and Anveshippin Kandethum to be added to that list. This one here follows a similar pattern, but is not about deaths, but about something more, as we had seen with the Indrajith-starrer Angels and Joju-starrer Joseph some years ago. With some nice divergence, this movie surely remains an engaging watch.

Release date: 7th November 2025
Running time: 130 minutes
Directed by: Abin Hariharan
Starring: Aditya Madhavan, Gouri G. Kishan, Anju Kurian, Hareesh Peradi, Munishkanth, Vinod Sagar, Sumesh Moor, Vaiyapuri, Jagan, Saravana Subbiah, Shyam Krishnan, TSR Srinivasan, Maala Parvathi, Bayilvan Tanganathan

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✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Great Flood

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Vampire Owl: I have heard that the vampire elders have witnessed the earlier great floods.

Vampire Bat: Maybe from a distance, as they have always lived on the mountains.

Vampire Owl: The sacred hills have always provided the vampire kind with protection.

Vampire Bat: The hills have always acted as a natural barrier against the others.

Vampire Owl: You mean against the ancient evils which have no regular forms.

Vampire Bat: The ancient evil has kept us searching for changes in a volatile world.

Vampire Owl: And yet, we have not defeated that evil. It lives.

Vampire Bat: It would live as long as humans exist, with an easy pass to their world.

Vampire Owl: Well, they keep saying that evil always finds a way.

Vampire Bat: From our experiences, we can conclude that too.

[Gets a paneer masala dosa and three cups of Ooty tea].

What is the movie about? :: Gu An-na (Kim Da-mi) is an AI researcher who had only been recently widowed after losing her husband Shin Ga-won (Lee Hak-joo) to a car accident and following drowning from which he could not be saved. She stays in contact with her parents who keep checking on her, and is living with her son Shin Ja-in (Kwon Eun-seong) in a thirty-floor apartment which features a large number of residents. Living in the third floor, she soon finds water reaching her apartment, slowly filling the room, which leads her to panic and try to run with her son to the top only to find the elevators not working anymore, and the stairs are blocked, with no way to go. The child is terrified, but she cannot find a way through the panicked residents of the building. It is then that Son Hee-jo (Park Hae-soo), a security operative from the Darwin Center, an advanced scientific research facility, arrives there in time to help An-na escape from the apartment. After saving them from waves of water, he reveals that the United Nations had known that an asteroid impact at the South Pole that would trigger a global flood and push mankind towards extinction.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: It is then known that instead of announcing the terrifying situation, world governments funded secret efforts to ensure survival of the species including a space station and research into creating biologically engineered human bodies and transfer of consciousness. It is revealed that An-na’s employer is also involved in these projects. As another tsunami separates An-na from Ja-in, she is forced to swim back into the flooding building. She finds a trapped young girl in an elevator but is unable to free her as the water keeps forcing her to continue upward. As they reach the roof of the building SWAT team captures Ja-in and extracts his consciousness into a digital storage device, revealing that Ja-in was never biologically born, but an artificial child. An-na’s AI software had helped in the same. The SWAT commander tells her that there is no safehouse that only An-na and the storage disk will be taken to safety, while everyone else will be left behind to die. As An-na is transported to a rocket bound for the station in orbit, she is forced to accept her fate, but can she go on with it?

The defence of The Great Flood :: The movie takes a fine divergence with the idea as disaster finds another possibility or even more. This is surely not the disaster movie that we would expect to be reflected on the screen, even though the devastation is very much there with the loss of human lives and property, with a lot more devastation being talked about rather than shown on the screen. It chooses not to go with the usual disaster mode and focus on all the usual, and instead, innovates enough. It is not an easy job to combine the genres like this, but the challenge seems to have been accepted with some grace. The emotional side is also at work here, and gets stronger at times. The sentimental crisis feels much relevant here, and about humanity itself, there would be questions that remain thought-provoking. The doubts about morality when facing a crisis would remain throughout the movie. The visuals are much supportive of the situation, and the flood is indeed nicely shown. The flood visuals and water effects, from the surface as much as going underneath, goes on well. The strong performances just go with it.

The claws of flaw :: The movie has a struggle in between with the repeated visuals, and sometimes it gets too repetitive instead of bringing something special – the innovation is not that much there when the world repeats itself. That sudden shift from disaster drama to science fiction with complex simulation loops feels too complex and not that interesting to follow, unlike some other movies which have kept the same interesting with variety. The emotions also go down the drain at times as other questions keep popping up. The emotional weight often feels forced too, as we keep seeing the mother-child situations rather too much. The cliché is surely there and going down to the stereotypes also seems to be another priority at times. Some ideas just seem underdeveloped and, in the end, there seems to be a rush rather than a smooth final finish. The movie could have surely been better polished and executed as we look closer. This one would not be for everyone, as the grandeur of the destruction and danger is left behind too early.

The performers of the soul :: Kim Da-mi as Gu An-na leads the way, and she plays the concerned mother caring for her child who have just gone through another trauma. She has her moments, and it is surely up to her to hold the movie high, and the same rests on her shoulders. The concerns and attempts of her character continue to have a feeling of reflecting harsh realities. Yet, she is weighed down by the repetitions that come without that much of a divergence in between. Park Hae-soo follows really well, and there is a certain amount of strength to his character which is dealt with well. There could have been more action to it, as there was much scope for the same. The repetitions just keep holding things back. Kwon Eun-seong plays the child in trouble nicely, but not that much when seen again and again. Jeon Yu-na is the other notable child actor. Most of the other characters do feel irrelevant. They just come and go, or just make a quick appearance without letting us know much about them.

How it finishes :: The Great Flood is a disaster movie featuring flood with a difference, and an extinction event with even more of a divergence in a world of chaos. There is no denying the fact that much more could have been done with the resources in hand, and that movement in the direction of the less explored. There are some classic looks to support the movie, and the danger is always present, even though complications sometimes drag the same to the back. With a visually impressive world and some strong acting, the movie feels like a safe watch, but its ambitious mix of genres and strange as well as complex narrative choices create some confusion here and there. If you are in support of some thought-provoking science fiction action mixed with the usual disaster themes, there is much to be seen here. The journey is mixed, but never goes out of the equation. This is some divergence to be watched with its quality. After all, we have been looking at the possibilities of human extinction as much as the usual disasters.

Release date: 19th December 2025
Running time: 108 minutes
Directed by: Kim Byung-woo
Starring: Kim Da-mi, Park Hae-soo, Kwon Eun-seong, Jeon Yu-na as Lee Ji-su, Park Mi-hyun, Jeon Hye-jin, Park Byung-eun, Lee Hak-joo

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✠ The Vampire Bat.

Anomie

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“Anomie” with Bhavana and Rahman in the lead, is the latest serial killer crime thriller movie with science fiction additions, not common in this part of the world. It marks a fine beginning to the new year, with such innovations leading the way.

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What is the movie about? :: Zaara Philip (Bhavana) is forensic expert who helps the police in their investigations, but has a personal trauma that has kept haunting her, and even made her brother Ziaan Philip (Shebin Benson) psychologically disturbed and feeling suicidal. The death of their parents, which was caused during a celebration while traveling in a car, has been one incident for which Ziaan never really forgave himself. Zaara tries her best to cheer Zian, and provides him psychiatric support through a doctor that she knows. Zian looks better, with his life with a pet cat and the small group of friends who help him. His apartment is also set for his comfort. But things change when he goes missing all of a sudden, that too after a comfortable sitting with his psychologist. He was going to meet up with his sister, and then he was not to be found. Zaara quickly calls his best friend and romantic interest Alby Thomas (Arjun Lal), who finds out that Ziaan was last seen in his friend’s pet shop.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Soon, Ziaan’s corpse is found at the same area where his parents died, and people attach this death to grief and resulting suicide. This sends Zaara into further grief, much to the dismay of Alby. The case is handled by Muhammed Jibran (Rahman), Assistant Commissioner of Police, who goes on a hurry to close to case a suicide, just like a recent case, as attempts at suicide have already been made by these victims. But Zaara decides to seek answers independently, as she is sure that her brother would not commit suicide at this point, as he is a lot past that – the same was revealed by his psychiatrist too. Her independent investigation with the support of Alby leads to the understanding that this is no normal case, and much more is behind all of these. There are too many similarities in the previous suicide and this one, despite having no connection between them. Soon, another suicide occurs, and the same procedure seems to be followed. This time, it is a lady teacher who is found dead in a car inside a garage, and she also had a history of mental illness and used to show suicidal tendencies.

And what more is to follow in this world of chaos and deaths that follow? :: Zaara files a complaint and soon, the police are asked to act as soon as possible by the court. Jibran understands the seriousness of the situation, and decides to rise above his past troubles to solve this case. He had kept himself away from such situations before, but not anymore. This particular situation seems more of an emergency than ever, as more victims might have been there, and many more could follow if the serial killer is not stopped in time. Soon, another boy who had posted about death in social media is kidnapped, and Jibran has a lead in the form of Prasad Eashwar (Vishnu Agasthya), who had collected details of psychiatric patients, and is a drug dealer himself. But Zaara takes another path which leads her to a former medical student, Jinsy Paul (Drishya Raghunath) who had died in mysterious circumstances. Now, they question remains how all of these are going to converge as each lead seems relevant.

The defence of Anomie: The Equation of Death :: Here is one crime thriller that has the suspense and twists – with interval punch that changes the mood, as we have the possible suicide to a serial killer leading to unexpected ending. The addition of science fiction elements all of a sudden also changes the mood further. This is surely one of those movies which I would categorize as Ranam-esque – quality written all over it with the feeling of that Prithviraj starrer which was above the usual level, no matter how people accepted it – there is the feeling of emptiness, damaged characters, slow and inevitable violence even though not always shown on screen, with the realization that something bad always going to happen – isolation, numbness, suppressed anger, moral greyness, all getting a role to play. The final shootout has the looks which seems to elevate the budget of the movie itself. Then when more revelations come, there is also the support of some grand visuals which makes a spectacle out of a movie which seemed to start with such low ambitions. It is also a reminder that science can be infinitely evil in its core.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does leave some of its emotions back in the first half, as the mystery takes more of a hold. The emotional depth losses the hold and by the end, we are more wondering about morally grey science fiction elements. The main characters talk too less to each other as the deviations seem to take them apart. As the serial killers are a different kind of psychopaths, the dark side never really gets to be that scary in end. The movie seems to lack the hype that it had deserved, and for the same, do not have that many screens to help its run. The slow beginnings of the movie might not please everyone and the movie seems a little too long for this content. Without that much focus on the same thing again and again, the overall length could have been reduced. The philosophical elements could have also been further explored. In between, there are moments which seemed to be created to make things more convenient and some consistency is lost in the process. The ending could have also meant more.

The performers of the soul :: Bhavana leads the way and excels in the emotional sequences. A lot of this movie had to depend on her and the feelings of the sister character more than the forensic expert and investigator in her. The same has been achieved with ease. This return from her feels like something which that suits her, and to the same, she has done justice. Rahman manages to do the same from another angle, and he also goes through the emotional side well, even though getting some mass in there felt irrelevant, as a flawed cop like that of Memories was better for the situation and the overall mood of the movie. Then we see how he pulls this one off effortlessly, and that requires further mention. Arjun Lal has changed quite a lot from how we had seen him before, and blends in really well. Shebin Benson is really good with the brother elements. Vishnu Agasthya, after that fiery villain of RDX, makes a different appearance with negative shades. Drishya Raghunath’s avatar comes as a big surprise, and in a role in which we would not recognize her, manages to make a long impact in short time. Binu Pappu does his job with ease.

How it finishes :: Anomie does not feel like being present in that many theatres, but the innovation and the science fiction twist make it something beyond the usual investigative thrillers with serial killers all around. There is also the strong aesthetics, and even though slow at times with possibility of a shorter movie with this content, there is that effective narrative, which moves well to the multiple-twisted ending. We had seen superheroes doing well coming out of nowhere with Minnal Murali and that cinematic universe of Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, but science fiction is a tricky thing to add in Malayalam cinema, but this one has made the scope big and added the same well. It surely has more than what meets the eye, and so is an interesting watch, and I would suggest that you give it a try, as divergence and attempt to create something out of the box requires all the attention. It might still not be a movie for everyone, but we know that there is more than one kind of audience to which this particular flick can cater. A deviation from the usual and a different treatment in the beginning of the year itself – 2026 is surely going to bring a lot more for us, as this is unlike Anjaam Pathiraa and Paappan which lost its way into random revenge and stays focused.

Release date: 6th February 2026
Running time: 135 minutes
Directed by: Riyas Marath
Starring: Rahman, Bhavana, Binu Pappu, Arjun Lal, Shebin Benson, Vishnu Agasthya, Drishya Raghunath

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Kishkindhapuri

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Vampire Owl: I can feel that some classic demons are going to be back.

Vampire Bat: I have never known the demons to ever leave us.

Vampire Owl: I am not talking about the shadow demons from Sector Eleven.

Vampire Bat: So, you are talking about another group of shadowy creatures.

Vampire Owl: There are enough demons with separate identities in the legends and myths of different areas.

Vampire Bat: But the question remains if they can make a good movie out of them.

Vampire Owl: Now, that would be a difficult question to answer.

Vampire Bat: It will be the best if we watch and have an understanding.

Vampire Owl: I shall always believe in horror and its different forms.

Vampire Bat: There is no true existence without horror in any realm.

[Gets a parippu vada and three cups of Vagamon tea].

What is the movie about? :: In 1989, in a remote village known as Kishkindhapuri, the owners and workers of Suvarnamaya radio station are about to leave post work after locking the doors at midnight. But soon the lights go off, and an evil spirit uses the radios and speakers to get them to the basement. The spirit kills all of them and leaves their bodies there arranged in the shape of a swastika in an inverted mode. The station is closed permanently by the villagers. They are joined by priests who sealed the building permanently using prayers and magical incantations in such a way that nobody or nothing comes in or goes out. Many years later, Raghava (Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas), his girlfriend Mythili (Anupama Parameswaran), and best friend Sumith (Sudharshan) are members of Ghost Walking Tour Company which takes tourists to locations which are believed to be haunted due to legends and myths spread related to it, and provides them with a special experience to remember for a life time.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The tours usually script the events of the entire tour, and bring the scares in an artificial manner to liven the experience. There are people who are dressed as ghosts and objects in buildings are moved using hidden levers and ropes, with some sound effects to support the experience. But for their next trip, Raghava’s boss lets the tourists choose their location, and the random selection turns out to be Suvarnamaya radio station, which is not among their usual list of locations. It seems to have been randomly added to the list without much of a thought. They have no settings ready for this place which was never chosen before. But that does not stop them as they travel all the way there. Raghava breaks the talismans which were set on the doors and they enter the place, even though the team never really has any plan this time. As the team does not believe in such evil, they had also brought the neighbourhood kid Moksha (Baby Ashvika) with them as she insists.

And what more follows here as evil continues to spread like no other? :: After the tourists begins to be really scared with some terrifying presence really being unleashed, they attempt to leave, but as they get out, finds their van burning. But the next morning, at the village, the locals warn them about the presence of the spirit which would follow and kill them. The twelve people who were in the radio station soon receive warnings about their deaths from the spirit through their radios they brought with them from the station. The spirit brutally kills three tourists, two of them on a train and the next one on a construction site, and has the deaths marked with a swastika’s inverted mirror form. Raghava investigates about the radio station, but most locals stay silent out of fear. He discovers the station was supposedly haunted by Vedavathi (Thanuja Madhurapanthula), the first and last speaker of the station who was publicly humiliated and had suicided, but feels that there is something more about her. Can he find the secret behind the actions of the spirit, and stop it before things get worse and everyone gets killed?

The defence of Kishkindhapuri :: The movie needs to be appreciated for the cinematography, sound design and production values which support the horror so well. The spooky setting with a haunted radio station looking like an ancient mansion is effectively done, creating a creepy mood that never leaves us. The film’s opening acts maintains that suspense which builds gradually, and the final twists are so well-managed. The evil feels so good and its effectiveness can never be questioned, coming together so well after those final revelations. The movie’s leads, Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas and Anupama Parameswaran, gets in nicely here, and the emotionally intense as well as scary moments. It is really nice to see Anupama getting such roles in different modes, the charm which started with Premam and was carried over to The Pet Detective. This one proves that she could be that scream queen of horror movies too. Then there is Sandy who scores as usual. The scares and tension are nicely maintained in this movie, and twists are to be enjoyed. The use of the background tale is so well layered and narrated with different versions taking control.

The claws of flaw :: The movie could have gone for unlimited horror, as the spirit here is definitely beyond control. There is also some predictability in between, and the problems seem to be just randomly solved in the end after all the terror that had come earlier. Sometimes, the makers do let the horror to remain routine, like in Bhool Bhulaiyya 3, which made no real struggle to make things better. The songs and fights do not live up to the rest, as some struggle is also there. The need to bring the commercial elements to more strength do not help the movie at all, and it is seen from the first few minutes of the hero’s entry too. These are some cases of over-writing, maybe meant for a certain kind of audience. One keeps wondering how deep the horror could have managed to get if there was some innovation or the incorporation of folktale elements like Stree could do. At times, there seems to be an effort to make this a horror comedy, but one wonders if it was really intentional or coming out of nowhere. Some more of graphics could have been used here to make the terror look special.

How it finishes :: The movie’s box-office success is not a surprise, as it has managed the whole thing so well, and it raises itself much above the other horror movies dealing with the same type of content. Kishkindhapuri is an effort to be appreciated – it gets many of the basics in horror absolutely right with the classic setting, terrifying mood, throughout scares and is supported by some appreciable lead performances. There might be flaws, but if you enjoy spooky, atmospheric thriller on a ghost with a past and don’t mind the existence of some cliches, it is surely worth a watch. Even though it is now in Amazon Prime Video in Hindi too, this feels like that experience which we missed in theatres, but we know that it would not have released in this part of the world at all. But the horror should have always had some space in the big theatres, as the terrifying experience is to be best experienced in the darkness of the best screens. With those final talks in the movie, it feels that one can have an even better experience. This is the kind of horror which could surely take the genre to new heights and we will wait for that.

Release date: 12th September 2025
Running time: 125 minutes
Directed by: Koushik Pegallapati
Starring: Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas, Anupama Parameswaran, Sandy, Sudhardhan, Tanikella Bharani, Hyper Aadi, Srikanth Iyengar, Makarand Deshpande, Prema, Sunil Reddy, Anantha Prabhu, Baby Ashvika, Srinivas Vadlamani, Thanuja Madhurapanthula, Alapati Lakshmi, Srinivas Bogireddy

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Black

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Vampire Owl: I am sure that this movie is about darkness.

Vampire Bat: There is no darkness that we do not know.

Vampire Owl: I feel that this would be pitch black.

Vampire Bat: This could actually be about the colour.

Vampire Owl: Nobody focuses on a colour like black.

Vampire Bat: Black is our national colour, so focus is already there.

Vampire Owl: Do you think that this movie would have unlimited dark horror?

Vampire Bat: The biggest of horrors are not dark or black, but much more.

Vampire Owl: You are talking about different colours of horrors in a witch’s cauldron.

Vampire Bat: Those are just potions and elixirs that cause stomach upset horror.

[Gets a egg puffs and three cups of Wayanad tea].

What is the movie about? :: In 1964, one a rainy night, three people drive on the road, two eloping lovers and their friend who are trying to stay away from the city while they get married on the very next day. The friend who also had love for the same girl comes back after leaving, and finds both of them murdered, and is surprised at the name of the one who committed the murder. Back to the present, Vasanth (Jiiva) and Aaranya (Priya Bhavani Shankar) are a couple who recently do not have a good time together due to their busy schedules at work and some occasional fights. There is also a fight at a pub which leads to Vasanth beating up a man who retaliates by breaking the glass of their car. To make things better, he proposes a vacation, but Aaranya suggests a weekend trip to their new apartment in a peaceful coastal area. Being the first residents in the villas, they are alone for that night except for the one security who is there for duty. There is a mysterious statue of an angel which has been there since 1964, with different relocation attempts failing one after the other, and it was something that was present during the earlier murder of the couple in that year.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The couple buys some supplies from a nearby supermarket and decides to settle in for a calm and peaceful night. They are surprised to find that the security of the villas has gone missing, and there is also a strange painting delivered to the location which is only known to their best friends. As the supermoon rises in the night, the power goes off and some strange sounds are heard. With no one to switch on the available power backup, they go to the parking area and manage to get it done. Aaranya feels that someone else was there in the parking area, but ends up finding nobody. A friend shows up and tells them that they made a call asking him to come over, which both of them denies. Vasanth and Aaranya, who have made no such call, are baffled but bid him goodbye saying that they have no problems. As he goes back to his car and finds the call on his mobile phone, he is confused, but has no option but to drive away from the area.

And what more is to follow in this world of chaos with something strange all around? :: Later, they find out that there are lights in the opposite villa, even though they were told that they were the only occupants in the group of villas. They find out that the opposite villa is exactly the same mirror image of their villa, but not just with the structure, but having identical furniture, drinks, and even the newly arrived painting. The painting which was once broken, appears okay when they return home, and the same also happens with the curtains which had caught fire. They try to escape in their car, only to find themselves reappearing in the same area after crossing a dark area. Panicked, Aaranya calls emergency services for help, but gets disconnected after telling them a bit. They find themselves in the opposite villa, shocking them about their own existence. Suddenly, an intruder comes in and attacks Vasanth, and it is another version of him, whom they both somehow manages to drive away. They have no idea what is happening and wonder how they can survive the night – can they?

The defence of Black :: The movie nicely explores parallel timelines or alternate realities, complex loops and identity confusion unlike what is usually seen around. Fans of the movie from which it is adapted – Coherence, will surely find it engaging, as they see the world of that movie of Hollywood beautifully recreated with the necessary changes to suit our world. Also, there will be a lot of people who have not watched that particular movie, which will make this experience feel to be fresh and very much new. That dark set of so much similar-looking houses provide us with the feeling of other science-fiction movies like Vivarium from where escape for so much more than just impossible. The environment is just perfect for the movie, and even though not a horror movie, there is terror right in here. Jiiva shines in the movie with multiple identities, while Priya Bhavani Shankar who was also seen in Demonte Colony 2 remains too good here. It has something to keep us engaged and on the edge of the seats at all times, as the mystery thickens and fear is generated from the hopeless situations faced by the protagonists. There is also a lot left to the imagination, which would work for the people who wish for more than what meets the eye. After all, we are the Avengers and Justice League multiverse – parallel worlds fans in heart.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does not seem to solve all its complications, as some confusions do seem to remain – ambiguity stays on without holding back. Multiple versions of characters with overlapping timelines being brought to limited expositions make it a hard thing to follow for casual viewers. The moments at the generator are as ambiguous as the ending, and the attempt to escape in the car also provides that strange feeling. There are also so many characters which remain underdeveloped and one wonders if they exist just to be around. The questions about which version of which characters come at which moment, and who all are matched with each other, keeps people wondering, and explanations are just basic, with visuals not giving that many deep ideas. For people who are not serious with science fiction, too much of time is wasted thinking about what is happening around here. The connections do not feel to be perfect, and sometimes, the movie seems to be a little bit stretched beyond need too.

How it finishes :: Black, despite said to be the adaptation of an English movie, feels like having undergone a transformation to reach this situation which seems to be well-suited for this environment. There seems to be a lot of variation from that tale too, and most of us have not really watched that particular movie either. This version also has quality written all over it, as there is a fine presentation of the idea, even though we cannot deny the existence of some confusion in between, as the blending of time travel, alternative realities and science fiction are not that easy to work with, especially with some strange phenomenon coming in out of nowhere – even the audience would not be ready for the same. But we know that the effort is so good, and this divergence has been the need of our times. Without such thoughts, would movies like Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra and Minnal Murali be around in Malayalam movie industry? Our movie’s twisted realities remind us of the earlier Pechi which was dealing with another genre, but brought the complexities of multiple realities as if hallucinating in an uncertain world. This one here is surely worth your time.

Release date: 11th October 2024
Running time: 117 minutes
Directed by: K G Balasubramani
Starring: Jiiva, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Vivek Prasanna, Yog Japee, Sindhoori, Shah Ra, Swayam Siddha, Raja Rudrakodi, Bharath Sivarajan, Mahimai Raj,Dharma Raj, G V Krishna, Pop Suresh

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

I Heart Willie

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Vampire Owl: This particular person looks like the Frankenstein monster.

Vampire Bat: The Frankenstein monster has been on the missing list for a long time.

Vampire Owl: Dr Frankenstein once told me about his location.

Vampire Bat: Mr Frankenstein has never told anyone any truth.

Vampire Owl: Truth is often what human make. We create realities.

Vampire Bat: Do you remember the last time when you created another reality?

Vampire Owl: It was a mistake. The alternate reality lives on under our control.

Vampire Bat: That reality has transformed into something like a cartoon.

Vampire Owl: It is just a really cool place like a fantasy world.

Vampire Bat: I still do not know why you made it an elf-halfling-dwarf-hobbit place.

[Gets a ghee masala dosa and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: Four friends Nora (Maya Luna), Nico (Micho Camacho), Daniel (Sergio Rogalto) and Jess (Daniela Porras) are four friends who have been trying to make a movie for YouTube within a scary setting in the woods, which has an old mansion and a past which would keep most people away, and is off the limits according to the police and administration. There is the tale about a boy with a mouse-like head believed to have inspired Mickey Mouse who lived there long ago, and is associated with a tale of horror hat have scared many generations. Jess seems to be someone who fantasize about monstrous villains, wearing black clothes and lipstick, more of a Goth who loves to travel to these locations. Nora is more of the one who wishes to help everyone, loves Mickey Mouse and tries to be nice to everyone around, showing a great amount of concern whenever anyone has a chance to get hurt. She seems to have joined them more to help than anything else.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Daniel and Nico have been good friends who often take similar videos, making them viral on YouTube and Instagram, and Nora used to be in a relationship with the former for some time. While this former relationship brought Nora with them, the interesting in being viral with something spooky, like she had done with Ouija boards and dark spaces brought her here – she has also been best friends for Nora for about half of her life. They decide to start shooting immediately, but end up finding a burned man who scares them out, only to find an abandoned van outside which has rather too much blood for anyone’s liking. Jess who finds this an opportunity to get closer to the newly single Daniel, seduces him, only to find her desires paused by a presence outside. A certain person seems to wander around outside with a weapon, which it seems to use to carve people, and the only chance for them to survive is to stay together in the area without network coverage, but can they?

The defence of I Heart Willie :: If there was a psycho killer movie with a perfect protagonist as much as antagonist, it is this one with Maya Luna at its heart. Her transformations not just in the personality but also with the looks in the movie really leads us through a journey which advances so well. One would need to watch how she changes, and her final moments are nothing less than magnificent. Daniela Porras’ performance also provides a few reflections of the strong horror slasher elements, as she surprisingly rises above other main characters at times, creating her own moments. The setting is really good, and the atmosphere adds to the overall fear elements. The inverted Steamboat Willie the psycho killer in the form of the childhood hero turned super-villain who slashes people into pieces has its own impact. The ending is for you to remember and spawn a sequel, as this is the one twist which is nicely built and executed well, with a shot of mickey and his minnie mouse that will further raise the level of the movie.

The claws of flaw :: The movie often hesitates to use its strengths to the best advantage. When there is a psycho killer on the loose and that person seems to have extraordinary supernatural strength, one would surely expect more. A certain amount of budget limitation can be felt in between. The fight against evil is rather too weak, as we look around here – even the basic tendency to escape from a certain doom seems to be missing, with the characters not understanding the terror early enough and by the time they do, they are just too weak. The hunting could have been done in a more frightening way too, as the running and hiding are also too less here – maybe having a horror movie in less than one and half hours, that too when establishing a new universe, seems to be a little too less to be on the screen. Some quick scares here and there could have strengthened the fear factor to a very much higher level as the dark world in the woods is surely there to be taken, maybe the sequel would do it.

The performers of the soul :: The movie is led by Maya Luna who might be the greatest scream queen any slasher movie has produced in some time. From the beginning itself she creates a certain interest among the horror fans, and becomes that character who makes the slasher more interesting than it could have ever been. There are some fine moments that she provides, and shows that her acting skills can make any slasher horror better. She shows the multiple faces of the character and its adaptations as this is one dynamic character in horror that we do not usually see. She is unforgettable in those final moments, in her underclothes and covered in blood, with that grin that is going to stay with the viewer for long. Daniela Porras is not that far behind in that scream queen status, but remains the usual kind of horror character for a slasher, and has the usual dialogues and scenes for such a movie, and she perfects the same. The others only come as supporting to this work, while the antagonist by David Vaughn also excels.

How it finishes :: I Heart Willie takes a different approach to slasher horror despite tendency to become a Wrong Turn, and deviates well especially as it moves towards the end, and has one of the more classic endings which could have cult following, and inspire a number of sequels which could be even more twisted. One can wait for them, and until then, enjoy this particular movie which leaves new doors open. Steamboat Willie, the 1928 American animated short film and the first public debut of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, has been nicely deviated to make a serial killer at work. As the particular cartoon entered the public domain on January 1, 2024, the movie has nicely made the same transform into something unique – it is something that we will remember for the deviation now. Well, Mickey Mouse could always be evil, as it is the cat who should be on the human side – we know who is the real villain in Tom n Jerrry as we have grown up now; a mouse is better suited to the other side of neutrality. Watch the movie, and you will be sure about it.

Release date: 8th November 2024
Running time: 89 minutes
Directed by: Alejandro G Alegre
Starring: Maya Luna, Micho Camacho, Sergio Rogalto, Daniela Porras, David Vaughn

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Witchboard

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Vampire Owl: I was always sure that the Northern Witches were involved.

Vampire Bat: Now you think that they really use some board for their magic.

Vampire Owl: It is black magic and they have so many similar things.

Vampire Bat: I am sure that this not one of them – they do not even have a carroms board.

Vampire Owl: I am sure that the truth is just hidden.

Vampire Bat: Hidden truths are often half the lies.

Vampire Owl: Something which is partial truth cannot be a lie.

Vampire Bat: It applies both ways, right?

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein has applied it only on one side.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein has no idea about any of these.

[Gets a chilli paneer dosa and three cups of Yercaud tea].

What is the movie about? :: Emily (Madison Iseman) has been trying to recover from her drug addiction for some time, and after falling in love with Christian (Aaron Dominguez) who had just ended his long-time relationship with Brooke (Melanie Jarnson), she has been helping Christian’s opening of a restaurant in the French Quarter of New Orleans. While picking mushrooms for the restaurant in the forest, Emily comes across a spirit board. It was just recently been stolen from a local museum, and had landed there due to a fight between the thieves. At a dinner party preceding the grand opening meant for close friends, Emily shows the board to Brooke, who is an antiquities expert and she seems to be very much interested in it. She finds out that it predates the Ouija board and is meant to connect with ancient evil that might even predate many civilizations. According to her, it is something which could be helpful as much as cause terror, with immense possibilities hiding within the board.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Emily discovers a pendulum made out of a human finger bone within the board. Emily who tries to communicate to the spirit board finds help in locating her lost engagement ring. But when this is fulfilled, Christian’s friend who is at the kitchen, Richie (Charlie Tahan), is killed in a strange incident in which his hand is caught in a meat slicer after slipping. Christian who searches in the internet understand that there have been many board-related killings in the past and also sees in the news that the board was stolen. He suggests handing it over to authorities, but Emily feels that she maybe a suspect due to her former indulgence in drug business as a customer. But things get worse as Emily feels like arms groping her from underneath the bed and also further groping and pulling her into the tub while taking a shower. She sees an ancient witch named Naga Soth (Antonia Desplat) coming in her nightmares and taking her back to past. Now it is to be seen how the couple would deal with it.

The defence of Witchboard :: There are not many movies that have had such a good-looking cast which also performs so well. It is not alien to slasher movies, but this one brings that feeling so well, as performance also supports the same. There are many memorable moments in the movie from that first unleashing of the horror as if in a Final Destination movie, pulling of the leading lady underneath the bed, taking her right out of the shower into deep water, her first full possession on the bed and the twisting of bodies and time periods. Also, we never see any supporting lady being so good like Melanie Jarnson while Madison Iseman leads like no other scream queen has done in quite some time. There seems to be nice visuals at work here, and the scary side is also nicely helped on with the support of what is on the screen. The gothic horror power with the supernatural atmosphere, dark imagery and black magic elements maintains the spookiness throughout its existence. The entertainment value has its strength throughout the run too. When the past is also used with quality, there is always something interesting about what comes from history.

The claws of flaw :: The movie misses an opportunity to make it grand, as the stage was set for something that goes so much more with the distance. A number of its major scenes could have made even grander in scope, and spectacles could have made this movie something classic. The drug addiction recovery, possession, ancestral witch tale, past lives and so many things are here to be taken, but the arrangement could have better and connection to make this one a movie to be remembered for long. This makes it easier for the movie to lose its direction. The opportunity for scares is also not taking completely, as there were so many chances of taking the horror to another level. Some of the motives of characters are also unclear at times, and a few characters just seem to be present for the sake of being there, and sometimes when we need some characters, they are not there at all to be seen. The romantic side is also not strengthened enough, and some elements surely go unexplored. The length of the movie could have been even lesser, as it wanders off a little too much as we look into it.

The performers of the soul :: Madison Iseman plays the leading role, and she does that as the scream queen that we had always wished for. She shines through the helplessness and terror of the girl trying to save herself and also the one possessed, from taken from under the bed and abducted from the shower to being possessed and unleashing ancient evil. She is certainly capable of carrying the situations of horror, and one would hope to see her around in more of similar movies. Meanwhile, Melanie Jarnson who plays the second lady lead also does a memorable job, and both combine to become the best-looking leading ladies in a slasher movie in a long time. Antonia Desplat as Naga Soth makes a perfect witch, and one which we would remember with horror, generating fear out of nowhere. Jamie Campbell Bower makes a strong antagonist, and brings further terror into the situation successfully. Aaron Dominguez is also in the lead, and does his job well. David La Haye makes another strong figure in between.

How it finishes :: Witchboard, even though supposed to be a remake, makes itself felt in style. There is the supernatural nicely made into a fine form through witches and a past which is nicely connected with the present as the world keeps moving on either way. If you enjoy horror that is visually strong and sometimes gruesome, and would not mind some chaos coming out of nowhere with the support of unexpected events, this would be the movie for you. It surely has beautiful locations as much as it has beautiful people, with charming world being built not only in the present, but also in the past. This is that kind of a remake which after watched do not feel like that much similar with the movies which are called the originals, even after reading about it and the plot itself. Well, we all need another version of Oujia, with possibilities of sequels, as this one has left us with hope to see another movie in the franchise. This spirit board has as much a chance to have at least one sequel as many others from The Conjuring, The Nun and Annabelle to Sinister and Insidious – you will know the same. The world of movies with horror other than random haunting of houses needs to be there, after all.

Release date: 26th July 2024
Running time: 112 minutes
Directed by: Chuck Russell
Starring: Madison Iseman, Aaron Dominguez, Melanie Jarnson, Charlie Tahan, Antonia Desplat, Jamie Campbell Bower

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Winnie the Pooh 2

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Vampire Owl: I am aware of this guy known as Mr. Winnie.

Vampire Bat: Are you sure that he is really the one?

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein had talked to me about it.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein is not a doctor or scientist.

Vampire Owl: But he speaks a lot of truth and is a man of truth even beyond borders.

Vampire Bat: His truth has always been twisted.

Vampire Owl: So, do you think that this Winnie is dangerous?

Vampire Bat: He is a classic serial killer, and the secret is out now.

Vampire Owl: Uncle Dracula should be warned then.

Vampire Bat: Well, he has no access to our realm.

[Gets a thattu dosa and three cups of Kandy tea].

What is the movie about? :: A long time ago, Christopher Robin (Scott Chambers) was friends with a number of creatures in the Hundred Acre Wood whom he had left in the woods, and had attacked him on his return. They were friendly in the beginning and liked him as a child, but had turned feral and were starving after he left them there, which made them really angry at him as well as other humans due to abandonment and facing near death. After the capturing and following brutal massacres of his friends by these angry creatures, he returns to his childhood town of Ashdown hoping that he could find help, but Christopher is believed to be responsible by the people who do not believe in his story on the existence of such creatures which are part-human in looks and can even talk. He is not convicted due to lack of evidence, but common people do consider him as the killer of Maria (Maria Taylor), Jessica (Natasha Rose Mills) and others, and even vandalizes his family’s properties.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Soon, a movie adaptation based on the brutal murders is released, further damaging Christopher’s reputation in Ashdown. Even though he had started working as a junior doctor after finishing his medical training, he understood that nobody really trusted him. He has to visit the psychiatrist Mary Darling (Teresa Banham) as he continues to have nightmares about the main villain who committed the murders, Winnie-the-Pooh (Ryan Oliva) and his side-kick Piglet (Eddy MacKenzie). Meanwhile, in the forest, Pooh and Piglet are forced to hide with their former friends Tigger (Lewis Santer) and Owl (Marcus Massey) as a few people who believed in Christopher’s story burned down where they could be hiding. But the question remains about how long their will stay in hiding and not seek to unleash themselves on the unsuspecting humans. They start by attacking a group of women who camps in the area while searching for the spirts in the forest.

And what more will follow here as terror keeps waiting? :: Meanwhile, Lexy (Tallulah Evans) is the one person who shows interest in him, and she seems to genuinely like him. Owl feels that it is time to get into the town and finish the humans who do not care for them. Some of the people who come to the forest finds the creatures, and are killed in the process, except for Aaron (Sam Barrett) who is taken to a hospital. Christopher feels that Pooh and his friends are behind this attack, but the police only question him as the attacks seem similar to what had happened long ago with him as the major suspect. It is then that he comes across Cavendish (Simon Callow), a man who hides some terrible secrets. He has much more to reveal about Pooh and his friends, and it would not do Christopher’s confidence any good, and nobody in the town would believe the same. But the creatures have reached incredibly close to the town, and will stop at nothing. Can Christopher convince his people well enough to be vigilant, with the creatures already chasing Lexy?

The defence of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 :: Seeing the so-called cute childhood heroes as villains is priceless, because the inherent evil in children, as seen in Lord of the Flies is enough to fuel the pure evil of these creatures who become the great slasher champions who are capable of a lot more than the regular Halloween or Scream antagonists. The monsters are nicely designed, even with roots on the cute characters. The origin story is nicely built here, with an ending that would surely spawn a sequel one way or the other. There is a certain twist in between regarding that, even though that would not qualify as a shock and stays more personal for the protagonist. The kills are creative enough, especially the last moments of the party remain classic. There is creativity in that violence while staying close to the slasher mode itself. With new characters added, more are also expected to come. A fine flashback video would prove to be classic with some more budget added in the next film. The Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU) or Poohniverse shall come with more for sure.

The claws of flaw :: The movie’s hesitation to bring the perfect slasher horror elements of the past does keep it a step behind, especially with its main villains being such twisted characters who can bring terror out of nothing due to their deviation from the cuteness. The female characters do not prove to be that useful either, as their sequences just go on without making much of an impact. The earlier film seemed to have made better use of them, and the classic moments in it do seem to feature them. They did not seem to think about adding one to the evil side either. There seems to be some budget constraints which still affect the work – mainstream power seems to be missing at times. Those who are too attached with the childhood heroes will find it not good for their nostalgia either. In the end, predictability also stays around, even though more attempts are made here and there to twist things.

How it finishes :: The movie’s display of evil from children’s characters are very much relevant, as we already know the inherent evil of children from William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. As these creatures grow up, they display that evil in the purest forms, and they are powered by the pure evil that exists within children when they are not civilized or brought into any kind of order. It is clearly reflected in the main characters, and through this, the movie also shows us that we do not see the truth with things being about more than what meets the eye. As I have not watched the first movie, a comparison cannot be made, but a classic scene like being tied up in front of a car which has been going through forums, is not there in this movie, and the only one which can come anywhere close are those dead bodies lying in the night party. I would think that the first one which established this idea might be better, but that is to be decided by those who watched both movies – for now, enjoy the slasher power of this particular movie.

Release date: 7th June 2024
Running time: 93 minutes
Directed by: Rhys Frake-Waterfield
Starring: Scott Chambers, Tallulah Evans, Ryan Oliva, Teresa Banham, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, Alec Newman, Simon Callow

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Salem’s Lot

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Vampire Owl: I remember this as America’s answer to Dracula.

Vampire Bat: Do you think that Uncle Dracula would ever want to visit the United States?

Vampire Owl: Some parts of the nation are suitable for him.

Vampire Bat: You are talking about New Orleans where he won’t be an alien.

Vampire Owl: Uncle Dracula would need more than just one town or city.

Vampire Bat: You think that he still wishes to spread the undead curse?

Vampire Owl: I have read that it was the dream of the vampire elders.

Vampire Bat: Well, the vampire elders, even for a vampire lifespan, were too old to be alive.

Vampire Owl: They were still in their senses, even though tortured by light.

Vampire Bat: They are only that much in their sense as Dr Frankenstein during a science exhibition.

[Gets an egg puffs and three cups of tea with boost].

What is the movie about? :: In the 1975, a strange man from Europe opens an antique store in the town of Jerusalem’s Lot and starts residing in the long-abandoned Marsten House, which has a history of murders. It is then that Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) has returned to this hometown after a very long time, this time as a writer. He falls in love with Susan Norton (Makenzie Leigh), who also wishes to leave the town one day. The place seems to be a peaceful little town where almost nothing happens, and there is almost nothing of interest. But the new entrant from Europe has a huge coffin in there, and something sinister seems to be lurking in the shadows of the night. There are boys who go missing, and as no clue is found, the locals begin to be suspicious about Ben who had only recently arrived and after which these missing cases started. The police is unable to find any clue about the particular missing.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: After the disappearance of the boy named Ralph Glick (Cade Woodward), his brother Danny Glick (Nicholas Crovetti) is also attacked, and after spending some time in the hospital, the boy dies, and is soon buried. Mike Ryerson (Spencer Treat Clark), gravedigger who buried the boy is soon attacked by the undead version of him and gets sick. It is Matthew Burke (Bill Camp) who first notices and identifies the signs of vampirism in the gravedigger and is able to connect the same to recent disappearances, illnesses and corpses. But things are worse than he could imagine as this is not a case of a random vampire attacking a few people in the town. Kurt Barlow (Alexander Ward) is an ancient vampire whose origins go a long way back, and is a source of pure evil. He would stop at nothing as the intention is to turn the whole town into a vampire colony and spread the undead curse even further. Can anyone even come close to stopping him?

The defence of Salem’s Lot :: The movie takes us to the 1970s feeling, and we see that again, and most of us who were not alive during the time can only know them through movies – this one seems to show that nicely, and place the vampire curse right in between. Finding the vampires around would be more chilling at that time as it is displayed in the movie, because there is no friendly neighbourhood vampirism as it has been popularized now. The movie maintains that original essence, and has vampires as the true evil creatures of the night, all prepared for some nocturnal hunting of humans. The setting is really well-constructed and the world suits works with perfection. The vampire attacks are shown with all the required intensity and the fear elements get good dose as the movie demanded. With the old style vampires with the long-established weakness and fear generation, the nostalgia returns like it has wings.

The claws of flaw :: The movie struggles to rise from the tag of just another old-style vampire movie which offers nothing new, and do not even make the book feel better with its content. There is the feeling of lack of depth at times, and the movie struggles to maintain pace. The length of the movie does not seem to justify itself and we see a lot of lagging in between. The struggle feels real, but it should not have been the case with a film which has the base material set from a long time ago – the whole things should have been as safe as adapting Dracula and adding so many new things to it, and still having the vampire world to work like a dream. Some characters do not really develop and we do not feel for them, even when they are dead. The emotional strength feels to be lacking, and the establishment of pillars of the movie might have been the problem as they threaten to fall. The mystery could have been deeper and it is to be noted that the new world would never cease to be terrifying even without vampires, as there are already existing monsters.

The performers of the soul :: The cast nicely blends into the 1970s setting and their work and appearance give us the best feeling of the time period. The blending into that world and characters work like a dream. The journey is led well by Lewis Pullman, who plays the protagonist who comes across the least possible evil and has to react quick enough to survive. Bill Camp is solid in a role which could be this movie’s Van Helsing, even though he does not survive that long with the undead curse spreading faster than that of Dracula. Makenzie Leigh seems to be the one person best suitable for the age with the work, and the character holds on so well. Alfre Woodard also keeps the anti-vampire battle going on well. John Benjamin Hickey could have had even bigger role to play when we see how things have been going. And then, the master vampire works really well, reminding one of Nosferatu.

How it finishes :: Salem’s Lot could have improved on the content of the book, but here it seems like just trying to use the available content and do nothing much to add to the same. There were lots of opportunities to bring a classic touch or visualize better, but the same are not taken by the movie. But the horror arrives well, and we are ready to accept the same. After all, horror is the one true feeling that everyone experiences and believes in, unlike the movies with college romance which is more myth for people who do not experience them. As part of the one true genre of horror, the movie has managed well. We are not supposed to expect more than what meets the eye as a usual thing though. This journey is indeed in the right direction to bring more horror to the scene, and take us back to the original vampire world – not that of the blood-drinking entities that glitter and live in the house on the other side of the street.

Release date: 3rd October 2024
Running time: 113 minutes
Directed by: Gary Dauberman
Starring: Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Alfre Woodard, John Benjamin Hickey, Bill Camp, Jordan Preston Carter, Nicholas Crovetti, Spencer Treat Clark, William Sadler, Pilou Asbæk

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Neverland Nightmare

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Vampire Owl: Do you know this guy named Peter Pan?

Vampire Bat: Yes, he was chosen to be a vampire but was just not good enough.

Vampire Owl: So, he is a dropout from the vampire academy.

Vampire Bat: He never really tried. He just pretended.

Vampire Owl: I do not see why such characters need to be vampires.

Vampire Bat: There are more undeserving vampires in our realm.

Vampire Owl: Well, death is only the beginning of character detailing.

Vampire Bat: Yes, I have seen vampires developing characters different from their previous existence. They were never exactly the same.

Vampire Owl: Death hunts and separates characters, I see.

Vampire Bat: So does the purgatory as we know it.

[Gets a Milky Bar and three cups of Vagamon tea].

What is the movie about? :: Peter Pan (Martin Portlock) who has been working at a fantasy-themed circus performing a mime for children, is seen abducting children, and even murdering their parents or friends who get in their way. After many years post the abductions by Peter, Mary Darling (Teresa Banham) is a single mother who lives with her children Wendy Darling (Megan Placito), John Darling (Campbell Wallace) and Michael Darling (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney) who are all going through a complex family situation. On Michael’s birthday, Wendy promises to pick him up from school and go to a cafe, but gets distracted while talking to her boyfriend who visits her after a long time, and does not notice that Michael leaves home on his bicycle. As he has to go through a road with woods on both sides, he is chased by Peter in a van, and after causing an accident, abducts the boy and takes him to his lair. Wendy feels that the boy is still in the school, and keeps searching for him, but meets with no clues.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The search gets more frantic with a phone call as Peter calls and informs them that he will take Michael to a place known as “Neverland” which will serve children the best. The next day, Peter attacks and slaughters a school bus full of children including the adults who accompanied them. Wendy’s best friend Tiger Lily (Olumide Olorunfemi) offers her help and asks her to stay with them, but Peter also attacks the house looking for another school kid, who is taken captive. A transwoman with the name Tinker Bell (Kit Green) who is convinced that the children Peter kills are actually going to the fictional land of Neverland is revealed to be Peter’s partner in crime. Wendy who follows Peter to his hideout finds a locked James Hook (Charity Kase) who has a hook instead of one of his hands. Now, Wendy finds herself in trouble, as things seem to go out of hand, and Peter Pan is more than just a common human being.

The defence of Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare :: The dark twists never cease to keep us interested, as the world reminds of the terrifying reality that could hide behind every text, especially when they seem sweet and suitable for kids – the children who grow with inherent evil would still take it to hearts and then there is the pure evil which is unleashed as an adult. The change to Neverland into a nightmare world with dead children, corrupted fairies and horror-styled locations possibly housing a psycho killer makes this that kind of a situation where the original tales would stay away from. The slasher elements work strongly here, more than the usual scares, as this is that gory affairs which brings fear in another way. The new wave of horror films based on the public-domain characters which followed, would have a lot more as it seems here, and the sequel would also unleash unmatched terror if things are to go as we expect. The evil here feels very much of a pure dark side, and that works.

The claws of flaw :: There is a certain amount of weakness that the movie brings on itself, as there seems to be a lag even in a short movie like this one. Some of the trouble might be because of the lower budget as CGI never really goes for the extra. The usual elements of the classic slasher horror also go missing, as this one is rather too much on the safe side – trying to be too safe and by listening to everyone, the essence of a work is often lost, and that might be what is reflected here. The movie keeps focusing on the kills, but never really tries to make the same interesting, and even the biggest moment of the movie that includes a bus kill does not have the strength even when it is talked about, leaving it to the side as if the deaths are not shocking or even worth talking about. As there are so many things unexplained, the sequel is needed immediately, or there will be that emptiness that haunts the movie here. The characters are also lost in the gore at times. Then there is the predictability which very much there.

The performers of the soul :: Megan Placito comes up with an admirable scream queen and slasher expert performance, even though that kind of a classic horror feeling is not really there – she does not get that many opportunities to go diverse, but manages what is with her with ease. She should make it to more horror movies, and not just slasher, but also action horror. There is also an emotional side to her performance which we will note. Martin Portlock’s antagonist is strong, but required more explanations and better layered character, as we do not really get into the soul of the same. He surely seems to have the main requirement filled, but one would have to wonder if that was all that was needed. Peter DeSouza-Feighoney playing the child does his job well and Hardy Yusuf who plays the other relevant kids is okay too. Kit Green manages the avatar well too. Olumide Olorunfemi and Campbell Wallace should have been around for a longer time and should have contributed more to the situation, but just manages with what they have here.

How it finishes :: Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare is that kind of movie which could have done better, but instead just goes through what seems to be a normal routine. When turning childhood memories to nightmares, other movies of the same kind scored rather better without doubt. This one, despite having such a terrifying idea, struggles for some reason. It never reaches its potential, as limitations seems to be randomly created here. If you have watched Bambi: The Reckoning, you will know that the chance for going full horror was surely there. Maybe the sequel could bring much more, as there is more that could be revealed with a terrifying touch. Still, the horror stays strong enough, and as children have that inherent evil in them, they have lived through these characters who have also grown up to present the same evil to the society. These stories turned horror feels like that Lord of the Flies kind of treatment given by children on islands without civilization to control them – these will surely bring more evil as there is no world that cannot descend into chaos as long as children are in control; Willia Golding knew the same.

Release date: 24th February 2025
Running time: 89 minutes
Directed by: Scott Chambers
Starring: Megan Placito, Martin Portlock, Kit Green, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, Teresa Banham, Olumide Olorunfem,i Campbell Wallace, Nicholas Woodeson

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.