Tag Archives: investigation

Identity

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Vampire Owl: I have been thinking about changing my identity.

Vampire Bat: The vampire one or the owl one?

Vampire Owl: The undead one to be exact.

Vampire Bat: You are already dead and returned. That cannot change.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein has changed his identity multiple times.

Vampire Bat: He never had any real identity.

Vampire Owl: Yes, Frankenstein, the genius scientist.

Vampire Bat: The pseudo-scientist, to be exact.

Vampire Owl: He is more, for he has invented vampire mechanics.

Vampire Bat: The only thing he has invented is pure nonsense.

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

What is the movie about? :: A recently engaged young woman Emy John (Nilja K Baby) finds herself blackmailed by a man named Amar Felix (Arjun Radhakrishnan) with the help of a techie and occasional hacker Nakul Sachdev (Vishak Nair), as he had recorded her half-naked through a mobile phone kept in a changing room. He threatens to spread her nude videos all over internet unless she gives him three lakhs to which she agrees, but after many blackmails of random people, this time he finds himself facing a mysterious individual who kills him in his own warehouse which looks abandoned from outside. Alisha Abdul Salam (Trisha Krishnan) is the only witness to the murder as she had seen the person coming out of the warehouse after burning it, as she was passing through. CI Allen Jacob (Vinay Rai) is assigned the case, and decides to keep the witness in his home for protection, as advised by DYSP Dinesh Chandran (Aju Varghese). They feel the immediate need to get a sketch of the killer done as Alisha says that she has seen the face clearly, but protecting her is the top priority.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Allen is helped by his highly influential friend Supriya Gopal (Mandira Bedi) who provide him with much needed information. Meanwhile, Haran Shankar (Tovino Thomas) is a part-time karate instructor and a genius in multiple subjects who suffers from OCD, and lives with his sister Devika Shankar (Archana Jose Kavi) and half-sister Neerja Sudip (Gopika Ramesh). Allen, after seeing a sketch made by Haran, decides that he should be the one to bring the identity of the killer to light. As Allen asks Haran to make a sketch, and as he does so with the help of the description given by Alisha, a few more things come to light, including the fact that Alisha can no longer identify human faces after an accident which followed the murder. This makes things further complicated, as finding the killer seems almost impossible, and Amar’s past also seems to catch up to the situation. It seems that things are just getting more and more complicated, but for how long?

The defence of Identity :: There is a certain amount of style related to how this movie looks, and the visuals remain stunning throughout its run. The technical strength is visible right there. We have not seen such over-reachers among the movies of this industry, unless it is Lucifer and its Empuraan, but this one has managed that extra load quite well. The movie nicely builds the tension, which keeps us interested. The twists are always present, and some of them are rather too nice. The action sequences are maintained well and kept under control without being overdone. The beginning of the movie was so good that we are attached to the proceedings so early. We wonder where the connections would be made, and that happens nicely too. The final fights are also well-executed, maybe qualifying as among the best-done moments. The performances remain of top quality, not really holding back even because of character complications. There is a certain amount of polishing that is visible there, moving further ahead of the usual movies. The background music also remains something of interest.

The claws of flaw :: The movie just seems to have taken so much for granted. After starting so well, and ending with a deviation, but in an interesting way, the middle part seems to have lost in the process. There are so many moments which seems over-stretched, and we feel that there was no need for that much of a detail in between, and the explanations which go long, just gets longer as we see and experience less twists in real-time than what we hear and find in flashbacks. The big reveal about the main character feels like a rather forced addition. The characters are not given the importance that they need, and the hero is just given that push. Many characters just come of nowhere and become part of that world of twists, making us not that interested in them. Even the leading lady is not given that strength and feels misplaced as a character. The other female characters are also not given that much of a background. The emotional depth is not that much there, and the pace is also uneven, often also struggling with the pace. Then the antagonist is also pushed out of nowhere right after a twist.

The performers of the soul :: Tovino Thomas leads the way here in style. When thinking about that one action hero of the industry, he comes first to the mind. We have seen that even with superheroes of Minnal Murali and Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra. Tovino handles this role in a way that we will remember, and gets into the genre really well as expected. Vinay Rai becomes a fine addition around here as he shines in the form of a strong antagonist, someone who aligns with the overall mood of the movie and the twists. Aju Varghese’s serious police role is a joy to watch, and it is to be noted that this time, the character do not follow the stereotypes. Trisha Krishnan comes back to Malayalam after Hey Jude with Nivin Pauly, and here she plays a main character and has just enough to do as the leading actress. Shammi Thilakan and Vishak Nair have some interesting things to do here. Archana Jose Kavi and Gopika Ramesh shine in their comparatively smaller roles, and Nilja K Baby contributes well in a small role too. It was good to see Mandira Bedi around too while Giju John and Sujith Shankar gets the due in the final minutes.

How it finishes :: This one was that opportunity with scope for big heights to become one memorable thriller above many more. Known as The Sketch Artist in Hindi on Jio Hotstar, this one would work better with that particular audience. If you like such stylish thrillers having action, twists, and a lot of ambition behind, this will feel a lot grand, as you remember from movies like Christopher. But that big a plot and well-developed characters would not be there that much for your attention here. Creating characters our of nowhere and using them here and there with twists that sometimes work like boomerang might not be for everyone’s love. But seeing the cast of this movie, you know that the movie will always be capable enough. It is available in Hindi on Amazon Prime Video going by the name, The Sketch Artist, even though one would be wondering why that name even came into picture. Unlike some other movies, this Hindi version is very well-created, and you might wish to have a look at that one.

Release date: 31st December 2024
Running time: 158 minutes
Directed by: Akhil Paul, Anas Khan
Starring: Tovino Thomas, Trisha Krishnan, Vinay Rai, Aju Varghese, Archana Jose Kavi, Sujith Shankar, Nilja K Baby, Giju John, Gopika Ramesh, Shammi Thilakan, Vishak Nair, Major Ravi, Asha Madathil, Mandira Bedi, Arjun Radhakrishnan, Mahima Radhakrishnan, Shinu Shyamalan, Litty Thomas, Vriddhi Vishal, Mohan Thankam, Sethu Lekshmi, Adam Sadiq, Akhil Paul, Anas Khan

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous South Indian film review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous Malayalam film review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Eleven

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Vampire Owl: Do you know that there are not even eleven vampires in our team?

Vampire Bat: Well, we do not need that many vampires around here.

Vampire Owl: So, we are not building an army?

Vampire Bat: Why do we need an army right now?

Vampire Owl: To defeat an army of serial killer humans?

Vampire Bat: This movie only has one serial killer.

Vampire Owl: But humans are basically trained to be serial killers.

Vampire Bat: We do not see an army of serial killers in one movie.

Vampire Owl: There are many, but they show only a few of them.

Vampire Bat: Well, humans are meant to be born killers with inherent evil, and only one small push will do for even children.

[Gets a chicken cutlet and three cups of Wayanad tea].

What is the movie about? :: ACP Aravindan IPS (Naveen Chandra) is a police officer who has a near-perfect record of solving even the most impossible cases, and had recently caught a finance bank robbery group which had never failed in their crimes before with perfect calculations. This success is celebrated well on media, but a darker case was evolving in the background. ACP Ranjith IPS (Shashank) who is in charge of this new case involving serial killings almost dies in an accident after the body count reaches six, Aravindan is asked to investigate. Ranjith who barely survived, and is in the hospital promises to support him in any way possible, even though left out of service due to injury. For his support, SI Manohar (Dileepan) is given the duty, and both find themselves in a confused state as there was never any real clue found by previous investigatory and Ranjith. Aravindan discovers an interesting piece of evidence, an ankle-surgery plate in one of the victims, which helps them shortlist seven individuals based on age.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: At the same time, Sanjana (Reyaa Hari) who comes to a restaurant to meet her possible groom who was selected by her parents sees Aravindan who is wearing the same identification in the form of a grey shirt, and falling in love with him as he beats up multiple goons. She tells him about her desire, but he immediately rejects her and asks her to marry the person whom her parents had found for her. Aravindan reaches Sudhakar (Kireeti Damaraju) while tracing the ankle-surgery plate and Meera (Riythvika) while hearing about a beggar talking about a girl being abducted. The police also find a common group photo in both houses, finally finding a connection. Aravindan understands that the only connection between the twins is their school, Twin Birds Matriculation School, which no longer exists as it was burned down in a fire, followed by the death of its owner Ravi (Ravi Varma). This feels like a very strange connection with a past that they wish to forget from their childhood, which had a secret which was buried. Now, the question remains about who all will be targeted from that past.

The defence of Eleven :: This might be one of the most interesting versions of serial killer related murder investigations as it focuses on twins. At the same time, the visuals are nothing less than stunning, and the colours here especially at night seems to bring the best of Chennai. This is the kind of movie which quickly has us interested, and gets us through the journey with guesses, but brings those kinds of twists which come out of nowhere. But there is no overdose of the same like we had seen in Mirage, as things just went out of control. There are the twists over twists which works so well, and the suspense only gets stronger, while red herrings add on well. The shots of cemetery and the styling lacks in nothing. As the cinematography, background score and production values deserve praise, they keep us deeper in the movie here. The flashback tale is also very much interesting which reminds us that one has to pay for the heartless mistakes one makes, whether it is as a child or as an adult because humanity is not learned in old age, but part of human character rather early.

Positives and negatives :: The movie’s romantic side is a mess, and it is saved by the fact that the same is not given that much of a focus. There is something that makes us feel that it was not needed at all. There might also be the feeling that we have rather too many serial killers around, but in our world, one has to say that it is not a surprise to have such people hiding behind different faces. For some people, there might be points where there are missing connections, but it is seen that everything comes together at the end. It is always nice to see the inherent evil of man at work, like in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies – taking children as innocent is not the way to go; the actions of the kids could feel even more evil in nature than that of the adults as they are not forced into situations, but use them right out of their hearts. There are always the little demons in this world of chaos, and here we see that element coming back to haunt them as adults. This makes sure that there is always something different and divergent even in the nature of the movie, and revenge remains justified.

The performers of the soul :: The movie is guided by a solid performance from Naveen Chandra, who becomes a perfect police officer with that determination on his face that never seems to leave the character. The intensity that he shows in a quiet and determined manner, never going overboard, sets a fine example here, without also overdoing any action sequence. The different shades of his character work so well that we do not think about having any other perfect police officer during this time period. Reyaa Hari, the producer who is the leading lady is under-utilized, and in the role, does quite less – cannot blame her though, as the romantic side lags behind in almost everything and this approach does not suit her; yet she does fine in the final moments of the movie. Dileepan also remains solid as the supporting police officer, as his character also contributes to the twists well. Shashank plays the third important police man, and that also works nicely. Abhirami’s role is also an interesting one here. Riythvika also adds on to the proceedings here with memorable moments. The same can also be said about Kireeti Damaraju’s work.

How it finishes :: Eleven is one of the best investigation thrillers featuring a serial killer and twists remain very much effective with suspense all around. For the fans of investigative thrillers who wish to see murders coming out of a buried past, this one is surely worth a watch, as there is a good score to be taken for its strong lead, technical polishing and the satisfying second half which comes to an ending which it deserved. The ability to remain engaging from the beginning to the end is a skill that not many movies possess. There is nothing much that it misses, and we are familiar with some classic thrillers with serial killers from Memories to Abraham Ozler, Forensic, Anjaam Pathiraa, John Luther, Antakshari, Paappan and others which have kept Malayalam movie industry going strong. This movie could have surely used more hype and much more screens here, as we are the kind of people who like the twists and thrills with a serial killer around and a mystery which is soaked in revenge and best served cold. For now, this one serves the same well in Amazon Prime Video in multiple languages.

Release date: 16th May 2025
Running time: 135 minutes
Directed by: Lokkesh Ajls
Starring: Naveen Chandra, Reyaa Hari, Abhirami, Ravi Varma, Riythvika, Shashank, Dileepan, Arjai, Aadukalam Naren, Kireeti Damaraju

<<< Click here to go to the previous movie review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous Indian movie review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Long Legs

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Vampire Owl: Are we going to have serial killings returning to the screen?

Vampire Bat: We can have as many serial killers as we wish to see around.

Vampire Owl: Are they supplied by Dr. Frankenstein after research?

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein has no research truly running.

Vampire Owl: He has access to many serial killer scientists.

Vampire Bat: They are more of psycho killers who do not kill serially.

Vampire Owl: Still, they commit interesting scientific murder.

Vampire Bat: You should remember that Mr. Frankenstein is a pseudo-scientist.

Vampire Owl: The greatness of a monster creator shall never fade.

Vampire Bat: Even the greatest empires fade, and he is just shade.

[Gets a chicken samosa and three cups of mixed tea].

What is the movie about? :: A young FBI agent named Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) gets assigned a new case, and this one involves a series of killing and suicides, much to the surprise of her co-workers. This is also that kind of a case related to which not much of an inroad was made, especially with the same pattern repeating itself. These are basically understood as murder–suicides, and each case consists of a father killing his whole family the committing suicide, leaving behind just a letter with a writing “Longlegs” notes in strange language, with some strange handwriting which remains unidentified. Agent William Carter (Blair Underwood) feels that something could be done with her added to the team, as she seems to know things and also has a perspective different from others, as she is known to act according to the same. Yet, she is not someone who is that much confident about the same, and a certain amount of fear seems to be gripping her. It only seems to be getting stronger as she gets into the case.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: For some reason, the newly appointed detective shows a certain amount of psychic energy that seems to help her to solve a part of the mystery. She solves the mystery in part, but does get the threat from the unknown that she herself hunts and do not intend to stop in between. Further investigation leads to the information that each family had a nine-year-old daughter born on the fourteenth day of the month and that all the murders all occurred within six days before or after that birthday. This is something which she feels that she could connect with the missing elements well. It is then that a doll with a metal orb in its head discovered, much to the dismay of the detectives. It remains to be seen how Lee would be able to connect all these dots, and also save her mother from the threat from the unknown. But the evil force seems to know her, and as this connects well to her own life, it is to be seen how she deals with this situation, as time is almost running out for everyone.

The defence of Long Legs :: The movie has its moments, and it also got that suspense and twist maintained till the end, and a few moments right there would not be guessed that easily. The struggle of the protagonist is felt early itself, and the danger feels very much active here. There is the feeling of something not just terrifying, but also something unsettling ready to happen, with the atmosphere well-set for the same. It is applicable to both human and the supernatural side, as something is felt like lurking in the corners at all times. The devilish side is done with effectiveness, even though the same could have been scarier and closer to the core. The realization that the demons will come to us now or at some other point, and the supernatural in our world cannot be ignored, will keep us going. Even in the modern world, this presence is once again asserted, as required, as people have been deviating a little too much from even the neutrality between good and evil, as the latter always finds a way. The performances are good, and working well to support the movie.

The claws of flaw :: The movie remains too slow, and this lack of pace would affect any movie with murder investigations, not just this one. The struggle seems to be not of the protagonist, but of the movie to get its pace right, on many occasions. There are moments when the movie seems to sleepwalk, and this one is surely not required to go any minute over ninety, and maybe would stay perfect at eighty five. There will be doubts if the movie is pointing to where it is supposed to go, as it keeps slowing down, and at times, moves on with the feeling of going somewhere else. The first few moments itself do not bring the interest to the movie, and the ending itself does not satisfy those who have been watching that long and slow build-up. The world of murders with supernatural intent should also be that quick and clear as the works with serial killers and psychotic murderers, but this one is not twisted enough to justify those slow and often clueless paths taken in between. In Prime Video, that Hindi audio felt strange, and it is advised not to take that one.

The performers of the soul :: It is Maika Monroe who leads the way in a way that keeps us interested even when the movie slows down, and stops beside a snail at times. She is surely quicker than the movie in keeping us glued to the screen. There are moments of helplessness and that of determination that seems to work so well with her around. Nicolas Cage comes out of nowhere to make an impact too, even though he is not much there to extend beyond – his character should have surely meant a lot more than what we see here. We know that one reason for us to think about watching this movie was surely seeing him around again, this time as a much different character, something he might not do again in Hollywood. Blair Underwood makes a solid impact here, even though not that much in the later stages. Alicia Witt remains a strong force here, seemingly not that much in the early stages, but gaining in strength as the movie progresses. Michelle Choi-Lee adds on well around here too.

How it finishes :: Long Legs is that kind of a movie which will appeal to a smaller group of horror lovers, and most probably will not has one interested in a sequel, despite some scope being there considering the ending. There is no denying the fact that there is the effort to make it twisted, and the same is reflected in the title and right in the beginning itself – the same only works at times, but we are interested enough to continue and wait for the big revelation with that supernatural twist that hides and has sneak peaks in between. This is surely not going to be your Stream, Halloween or Scream killer, or the supernatural of The Conjuring, The Nun, Annabelle, Insidious or Sinister. Instead, this will be just another movie that comes with a killer with that supernatural angle which often feels forced, but still works. Long Legs is available on Amazon Prime Video, and adds to the list of horror movies that you can watch with the subscription to keep the horror world of your mind growing, and it is always good to have one more of the genre.

Release date: 12th July 2024
Running time: 101 minutes
Directed by: Osgood Perkins
Starring: Maika Monroe, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, Nicolas Cage, Michelle Choi-Lee, Dakota Daulby, Kiernan Shipka, Maila Hosie, Jason Day, Lisa Chandler, Ava Kelders, Carmel Amit, Peter Bryant

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Oddity

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Vampire Owl: I would like to say that we are all odd.

Vampire Bat: We are odd for the humans indeed.

Vampire Owl: We have called odd by Dr Frankenstein millions of times.

Vampire Bat: Mr Frankenstein knows nothing about vampires.

Vampire Owl: Yes, he is a man of science and an expert in the same.

Vampire Bat: He is a man of pseudoscience like no other.

Vampire Owl: Well, humans call us as part of this pseudoscience too.

Vampire Bat: The lack of belief in God is slowly eating humans from inside.

Vampire Owl: I have heard that the demons of the night are also burning them.

Vampire Bat: I know that there is a great war coming among humans, bigger than they have ever known, and the godless world of theirs which twists religion for politics is going to burn.

[Gets a masala bonda and three cups of tea by Fort Cochin Beach].

What is the movie about? :: Dani Odello-Timmis (Carolyn Bracken), wife of Ted Timmis (Gwilym Lee), a renounced psychiatrist, moves to a new country house which is located in the middle of nowhere. As Ted works during the nights, and as the hospital is short-staffed, she decides to stay at the new house through the night and arrange a few things even though there is a lot of work to be done. She tries to call her twin sister Darcy Odello (Carolyn Bracken), who is a clairvoyant, but is unable to get to her on the phone. Olin Boole (Tadhg Murphy), a former of patient of Ted visits Dani on the might and asks her to let him in so that he can help her with the people who had gotten inside her home. Even though she feels that she heard some sound inside, she is reluctant to get him inside and asks him to go away. Olin tells her to call the police and seems to walk away. She is scared, but decides to stay inside and not open the door. But in the morning, she is found dead, and Olin is believed to be the murderer.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Soon, Olin is also found dead in the mental hospital where he was admitted, and he seemed to have met his death in the most brutal manner. One year later, a woman named Yana (Caroline Menton) starts living with Ted as his new girlfriend. She is not happy about living in home in the middle of nowhere which had seen that one mysterious and brutal death. She feels that there is something sinister at work there, and she gets visions of the dead woman all the time. Even though she credits the same to sleeplessness, she wishes to moves to the city as her new boyfriend is always at the hospital during nights in the name of extra work and too many patients. Meanwhile, the twin sister Darcy, who has been talking to the spirits, seems to be in need of investigating the murder as she feels that there is something more to that particular murder. She decides to visit the house where the murders took place – what will she find there? Is there anything to find out?

The defence of Oddity :: The movie remains highly atmospheric, and this country mansion in the middle of nowhere is the perfect place to live as long as you are looking for horror. The setting justifies everything else, as we have the feeling that the supernatural is always around, even though the presence of a human killer or a psycho is also around to be felt. The movie has its own unsettling moments, and there are some red herrings which comes right out of nowhere. The movie does feel clean, with nothing unnecessary being put into use here. There is a lot of evil that runs through the background of the movie which can be used for a sequel too. The supernatural elements of this one can have another movie or even get multiple spin-offs. There seems to be a limitless journey like The Conjuring in store here, but due to the nature of this movie, we need to doubt such an existence. Maybe, this is only a beginning which will stay fine at the beginning.

The claws of flaw :: The movie remains too slow and continues to lag even with such a short run-time which could have been a boon here. There are too many moments when nothing much is happening, or at least make us feel so. Too many dialogues also send the movie into a struggle, as there are too much words and less action. There could have been some big action at least with those hallucinations, but that is not so. There are moments which are predictable, and at some point, we have already guessed a number of main things here – for a movie like this, it is not too acceptable. There are some elements and some characters who needed a detailed exploration, but that focus is certainly not here to be taken. The lack of focus comes back to haunt the movie at times, as the emotional attachment also leaves us on the way due to the same reason. Something at the centre of all these, also needed some explanation instead of coming alive in the end.

The performers of the soul :: The movie is led really well by Carolyn Bracken who plays two roles, one of an unsuspecting lady who is excited to move to a new house and loves her sister and husband very much, while there is the second sister who is blind, but is in contact with the supernatural as the one sister who is more determined than ever, and yet makes one feel that there is something strange as well as psychotic about her, along with being psychic. These are the characters so well-played that we fall in love with both, and there is that nice divergence from each other that we love to have. Gwilym Lee comes with the classic work as the man who does all the job, and is the man to look out for. Tadhg Murphy plays a memorable character and does it in a convincing way even though not present throughout the movie. Caroline Menton plays her character in a believable way with no pretentions. Steve Wall also stays in a notable role which becomes more relevant as the movie reaches the final moments.

How it finishes :: Oddity had so much scope to be something bigger, but it resists that tendency to search for grandeur with ease. The movie takes too safe a path here, and the same is evident at times. The movie could have been a psychological and supernatural masterpiece with elements from both sides, but that heavy load is not taken here, as there seems to a certain reluctance to go big. Therefore, as it is, this is one movie which works, and gives us some fine moments to remember, but there is nothing much that would extend its stay. This one is not going to be a Sinister, Insidious, Oujia, The Conjuring, Annabelle, The Nun or The Curse of La Llorna, establishing certain evil that we are going to remember for long. Instead, it is that common safe route horror movie which brings some innovation and shoots the scares that work with an abiding mystery all around. Let us watch this one and keep guessing on what is to happen next with its own suspense creeping into the classic space for horror.

Release date: 30th August 2024
Running time: 98 minutes
Directed by: Damian McCarthy
Starring: Gwilym Lee, Carolyn Bracken, Tadhg Murphy, Caroline Menton, Jonathan French, Steve Wall

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Sector 36

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Vampire Owl: Have you travelled through Sector 36 of the extended castle?

Vampire Bat: It is not an extension of the castle, but our graveyard.

Vampire Owl: Nowadays, we consider it as part of the building itself.

Vampire Bat: Why are you making the castle feel bigger?

Vampire Owl: A bigger castle means better respect.

Vampire Bat: It also means more taxes for all of us.

Vampire Owl: Aren’t we the government? So, we are paying ourselves, right?

Vampire Bat: It is not that direct. There is a procedure for it.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that we do not get most of it?

Vampire Bat: Well, we can only explain it as part of a system.

[Gets a sambar vada and three cups of extra light tea].

What is the movie about? :: In the busy city of Noida, the number of missing kids has been on the increase. A lot of cases reach the police station, but the cops are not much bothered about them as the lost children are of migrants from villages around the city. Inspector Ram Charan Pandey (Deepak Dobriyal), the corrupt inspector of the police station is not interested in anything, and does not even lodge an FIR for these cases, as the life of these commoners do not matter to him, and is of no profit either. His senior officers also ask him not to bother about the same and work with those which matter. Prem Singh (Vikrant Massey) is the house help of a wealthy and powerful businessman Balbir Bassi (Akash Khurana), and is involved in kidnapping the kids, whose bodies are not found later. He murders them and chops them into pieces without remorse, and no remains are usually found. When part of a skeleton is found, the police dismisses the same as the bones of a monkey which came through the sewers.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Ram Charan gets serious only when Prem attempts to kidnap his daughter, but fails. Prem had misunderstood that the girl was a migrant’s child, and leaves her behind when chased. This leads to Ram Charan going on a hunt for the person who has been trying to kidnap the kids, with the help of Constable Shravan Kumar Pathak (Ajit Palawat). But DCP Jawahar Rastogi (Darshan Jariwala) stands on his way, as he would not let anything bad happen to the owner of the house, Balbir. He asks Ram Charan to leave the idea of any investigation near that house, and soon gets him suspended. But he would not stop, and will come up with other plans. But it remains to be seen if he can stand against one of the richest men around, and get to his house worker. This also puts his own family in danger, and the cops of his own police station are now against him. Can he stand as one unstoppable force against them all or will he be destroyed like many others before him?

The defence of Sector 36 :: The movie follows a realistic mode from the beginning itself. There is nothing that seems to be not possible as far as this particular movie is concerned, especially due to taking inspiration from a real-life incident featuring killings. It keeps a chilling mood with the realism that keeps the audience expecting more all the time. There is also a grim, claustrophobic setting that brings the unease and dread with ease. The fear stays on, and the tentacles of the serial killer keeps the movie going forward, and with the police officer finally ready to face him, the audience is left with those high expectations. It also serves as a reminder that the poor never really stands a chance when the highly influential is on the other side. Even though it is not shouted about, the world indeed belongs to the rich, the ones who belong to the one percent or even ten percent. The middle class that tries to side with the poor, would also suffer, as shown here. Well, if you need support, you need money, and that is indeed the point here and the core of realism.

The claws of flaw :: The strength of thrills is low in this one, as the pace itself is low, and that seems to align with the need to keep the whole thing realistic. The transformation of the protagonist also sems to be too quick, and that pace also seems to confuse the writing related to the character, who does not become any smarter despite getting out of the chains that were binding him. The system feels like having no loopholes at all, as if there is no way to escape – there should be some flaw in the design to keep the optimism alive. The ending is also weaker than one would expect, and even if it was done so for the purpose of supporting a sequel, there would be better options. With serial killers or psychos in hand, even within the realistic mold, more is always possible. The absence of a real good figure outside the subaltern is rather disappointing too. The terror her is implied, but the escape is never shown as an option.

The performers of the soul :: The move rests on Deepak Dobriyal and Vikrant Massey to do the expected work, as they play the two characters getting the most screen time, and both needed to perform on different layers. Both characters undergo many changes and are not the same people that we see in the beginning of the movie. While the former is successful in showing the cop being the father and undergoing a positive change, which he emotes really well, the latter who is damaged from the beginning to the end, shows the different shades of his character. There is a lot of depth related to the two characters, and we see the effectiveness with which they are portrayed, and how the same elevates the movie to another level even when it is just going on and on in the usual manner. Akash Khurana plays his role exactly as one would expect from such a character. Darshan Jariwala plays the corrupt side that makes us believe with ease. Ajit Palawat also shows a similar side that works. In comparison, the female characters are to do less work.

How it finishes :: Sector 36 might not be as interesting as the other movies featuring psychos and serial killers, for movies like Memories, Abraham Ozler, Forensic, Anjaam Paathira, Kooman, Antakshari and others will always be above this one by some way. The pacing is slower, and there is no attempt to make it that thrilling. Yet, the fantastic performances and a realistic feeling runs through this one more than ever. As it is based on the 2006 Noida Sector 31 serial murders, that feeling will be more. I do not remember much of it, but the movie follows the realistic mode and the connection is not something that we can think about now. If you are looking for a slow-moving and realistic story about serial killings, this could always be the right movie for you. Then, it also gives a reminder about the system, and how it works, for there will always be something missing and something beyond repair, something about which it is good to be reminded at times.

Release date: 13th September 2024 (Netflix)
Running time: 124 minutes
Directed by: Aditya Nimbalkar
Starring: Vikrant Massey, Deepak Dobriyal, Akash Khurana, Darshan Jariwala, Baharul Islam, Saikia Ihana Kaur, Tanushree Das, Subir Bisawas, Kacho Ahmed, Ajit Palawat, Mahadev Lakhawat, Fareed Ahmad, Trimala Adhikari

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Smile 2

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Vampire Owl: Vampires are not really supposed to give good smiles.

Vampire Bat: Our smiles are the shadows of the smiles.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that shadows have smiles.

Vampire Bat: Yes, those are the perfect scares that anyone can have.

Vampire Owl: The shadow of a smile. Sounds like it would make a fine movie.

Vampire Bat: Well, vampires make no movies at all.

Vampire Owl: Dr Frankenstein once told me about a particular movie.

Vampire Bat: That vampire movie was not made by vampires.

Vampire Owl: Well, Mr Frankenstein talked about a half-vampire.

Vampire Bat: I warn you – do not trust anything that smiles, even a Frankenstein.

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

What is the movie about? :: Joel (Kyle Gallner), a police officer who was cursed by an evil entity tries to transfer the curse to a new person by killing someone in front of another, as it would make him commit suicide and transfer itself to the watcher otherwise. The curse passing in the usual manner past smiling hallucinations when he dies – right to someone he knew would be unbearable to him, and therefore he chooses a murderer and his brother, killing one and making the other witness. But in the resulting shootout after he kills a brother, the witness is also murdered. But a drug dealer named Lewis (Lukas Gage) is a silent victim to all of these incidents and the curse lands right up on him. With Joel getting hit by a truck while running away, nobody gets to know about this particular evil spreading to Lewis, and ready to bring the horror working through people and their smiles. Lewis is unaware of this, but begins to have hallucinations.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Skye (Naomi Scott) is a New York-based pop music star who is ready to make a reappearance to the public after a long struggle with substance abuse and a car accident which killed her boyfriend and severely injured her. She still feels her health, and with the need to get back to the drugs, she reaches the home of Lewis, one of her high school friends who continues to deal with drugs even after the incident. At his apartment, Skye witnesses Lewis screaming and panicking, but soon finds him smiling, and brutally killing himself. A scared Skye leaves the place, not wishing to be found near the corpse and the drugs. This makes her situation worse, with the hallucinations all around and seeing people with some terrifying versions of smiles feels like a natural thing for her. At the same time, she receives a message from an unknown number, talking about her presence at the apartment when the friend was killed, and about the knowledge of what is going on with her with the hallucinations resembling a supernatural presence. But can this smiling evil be stopped in time?

The defence of Smile 2 :: This one has a new idea, and even though shown in its predecessor, most of us might not have watched it. The franchise is indeed a setup for some new kind of horror, which transforms smiles into something terrible, the evil that needs to be feared. There are not many occasions when innocent smiles from children can be scary, but this one surely has that quality and keeps us in the lair of fear. The main character keeps us glued too, as the performance is of top quality and the same person works out of trauma. The creepiness never leaves the movie, and we know that from the beginning itself. There is the challenge to see beyond what meets the eye, and beyond the surface and the jump scares, this one raises the bar. The psychological elements and celebrity culture, all gets a few moments here. There is a certain emotional side here too, as the terror goes beyond everything that could be imagined. The smiles, you take them scared, and those scares coming out of nowhere with an even terrifying finish.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does not use its resources to the maximum effect, with hallucinations taking too much time than reality, and seemingly wasting time to make this movie longer than the usual horror flick. These visions could have actually been more terrifying and far away from reality, instead of keeping us in confusion. Too many false visions with incidents that do not happen only spoils the overall quality, and an ambiguous side helps nobody. This is also too powerful a supernatural force, and with all realities of perception changed, there is not much to fight with for the protagonist, making the movie feeling a world without hope, especially with that particular ending. When there are too many things shown, and with none of them happening or even leading to a change in the end, too many things feel to be unnecessary. In the end, the movie might be found guilty of overdoing certain things, and in the end, it remains not that movie which everyone, or every horror lover would like to watch.

The performers of the soul :: Naomi Scott does a perfect job in this movie, and she is the one person who elevates the flick by a long way – there are so many moments of her to remember, like Margaret Qualley and Demi Moore did in The Substance, another movie which had enough of the drug abuse and something far away from reality with hallucinations playing a major role. That movie had more to work with, and there is quality written all over it, but with the help of horror, this one surge forward led by Naomi. The movie almost completely rests on Naomi, and she makes sure that it stays that way. The next significant character seems to be the one played by Dylan Gelula, who stands strong to give her company. Lukas Gage makes a fine impression in the beginning stages itself. Peter Jacobson’s role could have been more significant to the incidents which were to follow, but it is moved to the backside, but we hope there will more from him in a sequel. The other performers also play along, even though the focus remains on the lady in the centre.

How it finishes :: Smile 2 makes one wonder why the first movie was missed, and it is strange that such a horror movie was not brought to the theatres here – the first one would have set a better beginning to the series, but watching the second one first feels fine too. The idea of smile itself is so well used here, and when we see someone smiling so well and when that makes us scared, it provides another level of scares. Smile 2 is quite a creepy horror movie, but remains predictable, with too much of hallucinations that deviate the movie from its original path and at times confuses people. The scares do work and the social commentary is effective, making it that movie which often stands above the usual horror movies with supernatural presence. With a third entry in the series, any confusion could be solved, and the ending is just nicely setting up for the same. This one surely adds to those nice deviations in horror.

Release date: 18th October 2024
Running time: 127 minutes
Directed by: Parker Finn
Starring: Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Kyle Gallner

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Anand Sreebala

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Vampire Owl: I have always wanted more murder mysteries to be solved.

Vampire Bat: We are not taking applications from catchers of serial killers.

Vampire Owl: We can solve them all by ourselves.

Vampire Bat: There are exceptions which can only be solved in the human world.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that it is that evil?

Vampire Bat: The serial killers of human world are the evilest ones.

Vampire Owl: I have heard that serial killers are celebrated in their world.

Vampire Bat: I doubt if this particular murder in the movie is a serial killer’s work.

Vampire Owl: You are underestimating the power of a serial killer.

Vampire Bat: As far as I know, we are talking about one particular murder in the movie.

Vampire Owl: You know that there can always be more than one.

Vampire Bat: You do not need to bring an extra killer to the scene.

Vampire Owl: They call us killers, don’t they?

Vampire Bat: Well, we have killed enough mosquitos to earn that title.

Vampire Owl: The suffering of blood-drinkers of many worlds.

Vampire Bat: This movie is based on a real incident though.

Vampire Owl: Reality has been a myth for too long.

Vampire Bat: Reality has been effectively created by media.

Vampire Owl: We know enough stories to get a background to the movie?

Vampire Bat: This was on the newspaper for long enough. You will know.

Vampire Owl: I often know too less about the human world.

Vampire Bat: You never know the humans enough.

Vampire Owl: So, the humans will kill their own people in serial killer mode.

Vampire Bat: We need not stop them until all of them are killed.

[Gets a box with caramel popcorn and three cups of cardamom tea and moves into theatre].

Vampire Owl: The movie seems to maintain the same power of flicks like Anveshippin Kandethum; that kind of a mood.

Vampire Bat: Along with Ozler and Thalavan, makes another fine thriller for the year.

Vampire Owl: Arjun Ashokan leads the way very well here.

Vampire Bat: He has always had the skills to play these kinds of roles.

Vampire Owl: He seems to suit the role of a young investigator with ease.

Vampire Bat: We have seen him doing the role of young cop before in Unda.

Vampire Owl: Aparna Das plays the journalist with ease, even though the role could have meant more to perform in the later stages.

Vampire Bat: Malavika Manoj plays her role in what seems to be a realistic portrayal.

Vampire Owl: I am sure that we will see more of her soon enough.

Vampire Bat: Then we see Saiju Kurup with the police role, done so well.

Vampire Owl: And it is always good to see Azees Nedumangad around, in any role.

Vampire Bat: The veterans, Siddique and Indrans do get something to do too.

Vampire Owl: The visuals might be the best thing about the movie.

Vampire Bat: I do remember some shots, like the one in archives and of the last fighting scenes outside the state.

Vampire Owl: The twist in the end seems to have had less effort behind it though, as things just seem too easy.

Vampire Bat: It still matches the overall mood of the movie, as the tale of the common police aspirant.

Vampire Owl: Well, there is nothing that matches the struggle of a commoner on the screen.

Vampire Bat: The movie could have actually used some moments of real danger.

Vampire Owl: Well, there are so many things that could have brought a terror that continued.

Vampire Bat: The movie feels more like mystery than the thriller, but there is still the certainty of thrills that hesitate to go away.

Vampire Owl: In the end, they make things work.

Vampire Bat: The cameos do feel out of place. They seem to be there for the sake of being present.

Vampire Owl: But we feel that they are suitable enough.

Vampire Bat: The humour does work well enough.

Vampire Owl: Well, we keep hoping for more, as that is what we do.

[Disappears into the darkness of the day because the clouds have done the trick, and awaits the darkest bloody night of the week].

The YouTube video features another film review here. The reviews aim to captivate viewers by offering engaging and thought-provoking commentary on the chosen movies. While the writing continues to play a significant role, the visual presentation takes on an increasingly prominent position. The YouTube channel Scholar Nomads seeks to expand its horizons, exploring diverse areas of interest. Both the blog and vlog will feature film reviews and explore fresh styles, offering even more intriguing content to viewers and readers alike.

Release date: 15th November 2024
Running time: 134 minutes
Directed by: Vishnu Vinay
Starring: Arjun Ashokan, Aparna Das, Sangita Madhavan Nair, Saiju Kurup, Siddique, Dhyan Sreenivasan, Aju Varghese

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous Malayalam film review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Thalavan

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Vampire Owl: So, you are going to do a video film review this time. How did we come to that from all the series of long writings which never seemed get even close to finishing?

Vampire Bat: Well, the YouTube channel has started. More videos are to be done. Otherwise, we will be left far behind.

Vampire Owl: So, something related to cinema has to be done?

Vampire Bat: Yes, we have travelled through other areas of interest already. There should be no area where we cannot touch.

Vampire Owl: So, the channel, Scholar Nomads has gone through multiple worlds? The different realms where strange creatures thrive?

Vampire Bat: It is interdimensional. It talks not just about cinema. The YouTube channel is like a creature of multiple worlds seeking energy and sustaining in all of them.

Vampire Owl: I am assuming that there is a lot of travel involved. You have been the best-known vampire traveler in our history.

Vampire Bat: Well, travel has always been a top priority among video makers. There is just no time travel in this particular channel though.

Vampire Owl: I am also confident that it will have literature. What is a Vampire Bat without language and literature in any form?

Vampire Bat: Yes, literature, as well as food journeys and cooking are part of it. I am still extending my world as we know it.

Vampire Owl: Well, I agree to the fact that you deserve more support. You have worked hard in the online human world for so long.

Vampire Bat: I am not going to get that because there are too many celebrities out there. Whatever they do, they get the support, and even if they do nothing, they gather the same.

Vampire Owl: I know a few computerized vampires through Uncle Dracula. We will try to get some subscribers and regular viewers.

Vampire Bat: There have not been enough vampires in the cyber world to be of support to an undead cause – not even Dark Elves could gather that.

Vampire Owl: You have been a faithless vampire for rather too long. You should understand that this goes against our ideology of faith, belief and hope.

Vampire Bat: I am just having some travel fatigue just like last week. I was almost dead last week and had to use two and half coffins for rest.

Vampire Owl: You traveled from one castle to the other within one forest which makes less than twenty-five kilometres.

[Gets a vegetable samosa and three cups of masala tea and moves into theatre].

Vampire Owl: This is undoubtedly a fine movie. It deserves more audience than it has managed to have in these theatres.

Vampire Bat: I am sure that this is better than the other bigger grossing films which have come during this leap year.

Vampire Owl: Those movies run due to superstars or fake word-of-mouth. Some people manage to turn the fake side to something more.

Vampire Bat: It is a shame that 2018 is no longer the highest grossing Malayalam movie. It had always deserved to stay at the top as one movie that is close to human hearts, inspiring them to survive against all possible odds.

Vampire Owl: And it is further shame when we understand what kind of movies overtake it in a disappointing manner – a terrible beauty indeed.

Vampire Bat: Then we have those mindless action, comedy and romance doing well. This seems to be the pattern this year.

Vampire Owl: Well, human taste has gone down the drains these days.

Vampire Bat: But at least we can support movies like this, and Anveshippin Kandethum and Abraham Ozler – two thrillers which will stay in memory for long. Then there are those even older thrillers which have made a mark, a group led by Memories and Drishyam.

Vampire Owl: Yes, this is a movie powered by performances. The thrillers have seen the best performances in the last few years.

Vampire Bat: Biju Menon and Asif Ali have done some really good job as the protagonists. They play two police officers who are not perfect, but are indeed straightforward. They have their egos and cannot stand each other, but need to come together in the end to solve a case, or it will cause the worst for the department itself.

Vampire Owl: Then they are not superhero-like officers who randomly beat up everyone because the dumb fans will like to see that.

Vampire Bat: And the supporting cast is a nice one, and unlike those big grossers, women also get something to do around here. Those big grossers had denied the existence of actresses. Then there are those superstars who seem to deny the existence of everyone else.

Vampire Owl: Then the twists are so well-managed, for we would not guess them that easily. And the final twist works even better. The villain is not someone whom we had expected, as so many other suspects were there to be taken.

Vampire Bat: Well, we are given those red herrings, and the divergence that comes in between works like a dream.

Vampire Owl: Thrillers in Malayalam have always deserved better due to their grand quality and memorable serial killers; more accolades would do.

Vampire Bat: Well, humans relate to strange things which are less real than we are. They do not realize the evil within them and the inherent terror.

Vampire Owl: They are strangely addicted to romance, drugs and alcohol, considering them to be forever to guide their lives.

Vampire Bat: Can you blame them when so many films show these terrible things to be feared as things of greatness?

Vampire Owl: They will need a cautionary warning to be displayed every time. These humans are too young a species to know. In a few centuries, if they continue to exist, they will know more about all of these in detail.

[Disappears into the darkness of the night because both are more nocturnal than ever].

This is the YouTube video with the first film review there.

Release date: 24th May 2024 (Theatre)
Running time: 131 minutes
Directed by: Jis Joy
Starring: Biju Menon, Asif Ali, Miya George, Anusree, Joji John, Dileesh Pothan, Jaffar Idukki, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Ranjith, Kottayam Nazeer, Bilas Chandrahasan

<<< Click here to go to the previous film review.

<<< Click here to go to the film review before that.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Anveshippin Kandethum

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What is the movie about? :: S.I. Anand Narayanan (Tovino Thomas) and his team of police officers (Vineeth Thattil David, Rahul Rajagopal and Pramod Veliyanad) faces two cases in two time periods. The first one is related to the disappearance and murder of Lovely (Anagha Maya Ravi) and the second one is a cold case related to the murder of Sridevi (Arthana Binu) whose death could not be solved by even the best of police officers assigned to the case. Regarding the first case, he faces problems from his seniors who do not wish to see him doing better than them, and neither can they stand him going against a priest Fr. Thomas (Madhupal) who becomes a suspect, but is revered by the locals. When his seniors find another suspect from the available clues, Anand decides the take matters into his own hands unofficially, and even creates situations which would help him to find Lovely, who was returning home from college after receiving her hall ticket. This would lead to a few twists, but can Anand finally catch the real killer?

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The second case which deals with the murder of Sreedevi would seem more twisted and placed at a higher difficulty level, as it occurred much earlier, and the police department is ready to stop the whole investigation. The locals are also very much tired of the investigation due to the earlier police officers pestering them and even resorting to torturing some of them ruthlessly. The panchayath president Philo (Baburaj) and the local landlord Sadanandhan (Shammi Thilakan) are hostile to the presence of any police officer for the purpose of finding anything related to Sreedevi, who is a lost cause for them. In this case, there is no restriction imposed by the seniors, but the unsupportive locals and lack of clues bother them. Yet, the team decides to go on with what they have, and extends their stay in the small village where the incident took place by a few days. But with time running out, can they do it without just randomly writing anything on the report to close the case?

The defence of Anveshippin Kandethum :: There is a certain amount of interest gained from the title of the film itself, as we are reminded of the Bible quote – “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened”. We are once again introduced to a world that our audience has embraced really well, that of murder investigations; the search is on for the police officers led by Tovino’s character, and we look forward to finding. This has indeed been the favourite genre of our people, and this one will only reassert the idea that we are more into thrillers and murder mysteries than anything else. The confidence which has been shown by the makers of this movie to keep things realistic enough, and in keeping the protagonist a character without those usual heroic abilities makes sure that this is one of those movies which will not be remembered for the nonsense moments.

Positives and negatives :: If the material like this was put before any of those overrated superstars or directors of Bollywood, the movie would have been unbearable, and except for the kind of audience who likes the terrible exaggeration, this movie will work like a dream. The blending of twists into a world staying so close to realism is not an easy job, but has been accomplished well. The music in the movie works pretty well while the visuals effectively add to the overall quality here. The journey to an earlier time period is nicely arranged without adding too much to make the world become more important than the other elements. The second investigation is more interesting than the first, as the twist is more effective there, even though the flashbacks are very well done – the characters in the first case should have been introduced earlier than we had first noticed them. The supporting police officers should have also been given more to do rather than keeping the focus on the main cop.

The performers of the soul :: Tovino Thomas continues to come up with at least one big movie every year, like 2018 last year, Thallumaala before that, and Minnal Murali in the year before that. He has been continuously impressing us with his variety, and even though we have seen him as an investigator of murders in films like Forensic, this one is indeed special. The way in which he moves through different roles of divergence has been setting an example for all the newcomers in the industry in the last few years. Vineeth Thattil David, Rahul Rajagopal and Pramod Veliyanad who plays his supporting do not get that much to do in comparison to what we had seen in Kannur Squad where almost everyone has something special to do. It does not happen here, even with Azees Nedumangad who was present in that movie here again – he would have blended into a team better than anyone else. Among the veterans, there is the certainty of strength. Baburaj handles the role very well with a touch of humour, while Indrans goes through a completely serious path, while Harisree Ashokan has a certain amount of sadness associated with his character.

Further performers of the soul :: Siddique plays a role with which he is not that much of a stranger. Shammi Thilakan is a fine addition to a world which needs his work to keep things going. The two main girls Arthana Binu and Anagha Maya Ravi who are murdered in different time periods, come up with some fine work, blending into their entirely different roles. One would remember Anagha from another thriller Eighteen Hours, and here the role seems to be so different, and she handles it with perfection. Aadya Prasad also comes up with a nice contribution here even though the role does not last that long, yet plays so well towards the twist. We would have still wanted more female presence among the police officers going through the investigation. Among the better known names, Alencier Ley Lopez only has very less to do too. Nandhu does some fine job from the beginning stages, while the roles of Sreejith Ravi, Prem Prakash and Madhupal are smaller, even though the last two contribute to bringing the twists leading to the conclusion quite well.

How it finishes :: We have not been strangers to thrillers of quality during the last few months, with Kannur Squad coming up as the one classic investigative thriller and Neru making a huge profit and Abraham Ozler following a serial killer with all the thrills that it can provide. The thrillers of the industry have only been gaining in strength during the last few years, a trend which seemed to be triggered by Anjaam Paathira, even though weakened by the corona virus pandemic for a small amount of time – the trend is back now, and the signs are stronger than ever. This particular movie here keeps it realistic and at the same time, has the thrills moving forward stronger than ever. This one is sure to make it to the list of some of the most interesting thrillers in the recent past, while never trying to overdo things to catch the attention of the audience. The same would be the reason why the movie has managed to rise so well in this week of multiple releases.

Release date: 9th February 2024
Running time: 142 minutes
Directed by: Darwin Kuriakose
Starring: Tovino Thomas, Arthana Binu, Anagha Maya Ravi, Baburaj, Indrans, Siddique, Aadya Prasad, Vineeth Thattil David, Alencier Ley Lopez, Harisree Ashokan, Shammi Thilakan, Pramod Velliyanad, Saranya, Nandhu, Sreejith Ravi, Prem Prakash, Madhupal, Rahul Rajagopal, Azees Nedumangad

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Kooman

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Vampire Owl: This man might be familiar to us.

Vampire Bat: I am sure that he is not the kind of night rider whom we can call here.

Vampire Owl: But he is surely an owl like me.

Vampire Bat: Well, you have to check for the meaning which is intended here.

Vampire Owl: I decide the meaning around here for all owls.

Vampire Bat: They belong to a different world though.

Vampire Owl: Yes, the world which goes for terrible evil while pretending to be good.

Vampire Bat: You mean like Mr Frankenstein.

Vampire Owl: Dr Frankenstein has always been a decent man.

Vampire Bat: Chucky has been more decent than him.

[Gets a choco-marble cake and three glasses of orange juice].

What is the movie about? :: Civil Police Officer Giri Shankar (Asif Ali) is a respected member of the police station in the village of Nedumpara who is known for finding those clues to the cases which nobody else is able to find. Circle Inspector Soman Pillai (Renji Panicker) and Sub Inspector Sukumaran (Meghanathan) appreciate his skills as a young detective, but not everyone in the police station likes him showing better skills than the rest. The others feel that all the focus on him means that they mostly go unnoticed, despite doing some good job as expected from them. Despite his skills which can be put to good use, Giri is also an egoistic individual, who becomes angry for simple reasons and holds grudges against people as if his life depends on taking revenge on them. He is that kind of a person who could become a psychotic serial killer bigger than the ones whom he might catch in his long career as the policeman which is to follow. He would get enough advice from his senior officers, but that would not bring that much of a change on him.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As Soman retires, the new Circle Inspector is Harilal Dev (Baburaj), and the situation becomes tense between him and Giri. As Harilal pushes him into the dirt in front of his childhood friend Lakshmi (Hannah Reji Koshy), Giri becomes really angry, and promises himself that he would have his vengeance against Harilal one way or the other. But that would take some time as his other opponents include Thampi (Baiju) and Suresh (Deepak Parambol) among a few more. To deal with the policemen, he seeks the help of the retired thief Maniyan (Jaffar Idukki). They decide to make the police circle feel the heat by increasing the crime rate. As more and more robberies happen in the area, Harilal feels the pressure, and Giri feels that he can nicely manipulate the situation to get back on his opponents. But as he takes one wrong step due to his ego, things go out of control. He understands that it is not really about him, as there are some other forces at work. There are deaths, and he needs to get to the bottom of a number of deaths which have happened in the last few years.

The defence of Kooman :: The movie works really well with its flawed hero who blends in to the situation with ease. The first half sets up things really well to that the second one which brings the mystery further. The weaknesses of the hero are explored well, but it does not bring the villainy to him, as he walks through the thin bridge that connects the two sides. It reminds one of the films like Salute which moves slowly with the protagonist who finds it difficult to solve cases due to his own limitations. The elements of darkness is nicely used, and there are enough red herrings around here to mislead those who make the guesses. The final twist gets another one attached to it, and the revelation reasserts that there is more than what meets the eye around here. As it points to something which has made the headlines in Kerala, the movie seems to have some prophetic skills too, with a release having a two week gap after the incidents became part of the television discussions.

Positives and negatives :: This movie is not for those people of the mass masala who who wishes to make all the nonsense happen on the big screen in the form action mass masala disguised as thrillers with all the dumbness. But it has managed be of better intellect in comparison. It does makes one feel that there is the need to explore the past of the protagonist further. Maybe, in a distanct future, some of these police officers in Jeethu Joseph’s universe played by Asif Ali, Prithviraj Sukumaran and Suresh Gopi could come together to investigate a case in a realistic manner, unlike the Bollywood cop universes where people fly around for reason and gravity gets no chance to prove its existence – much to the dismay of Newton. It is a fine relief that on this side, we have movies like Kooman which keeps its world realistic. We can always feel safe when a movie like this is taken at this corner of the country, and for those who want such films to happen elsewhere, would have the remake option to mint some money. Still, this might feel a little too lengthy in the absence of humour, and the robbery element gets a little overdose.

The performers of the soul :: Asif Ali gets a much different role to perform, and it can be seen that he embraces the changes to perfection. He was caught on the wrong side in Innale Vare, and this time, he is on that side where he can dictate terms, even though while staying within the struggles of a well-written character, the policeman with flaws, something the director created well with his another classic thriller, Memories. When we look at further performances, Hannah Reji Koshy has been a much underrated actress, someone who is capable of coming up with some big performances – she had supported well in Darvinte Parinamam, Theerpu and Rakshadhikari Baiju Oppu, something which she does nicely in this film too. Renji Panicker plays the likable police officer with ease, and it comes as no problem for someone like him. Jaffar Idukki continues to make an impression in supporting roles, and here we have no exception to him leaving a mark. Baburaj and Meghanathan are not far behind in being part of some moments to remember.

How it finishes :: After 12th Man which did not reach the director’s usual level, Jeethu Joseph gets strong with the genre of thrills and mysteries yet again, outside Drishyam 2 and its remake of Drushyam 2, creating something to remember outside the franchise which created the magic like no other. Kooman is a solid work which gets to the list of interesting investigative thrillers with ease. Even though Jeethu Joseph has not written the script in this case, there are high quality thriller elements still present here. I would feel that there are more indigenous elements elements added here. With its thrills, the movie is close to enough to horror and also connected to some of the incidents which were reported in news recently, making it having further contemporary relevance in this part of the world than one would think about it. There serves the reminder that even in the modern world, there will be people who are rooted in the ancient and the supernatural, which always find a way to reach the present with all the strength.

Release date: 2nd December 2022 (Amazon Prime Video); 4th November 2022 (Theatre)
Running time: 153 minutes
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Asif Ali, Hannah Reji Koshy, Baburaj, Renji Panicker, Baiju, Meghanathan, Pauly Valsan, Nandhu, Rajesh Paravoor, Karate Karthi, Adam Ayub, Deepak Parambol, Jaffar Idukki, Jayan Cherthala, Vinod Bose, Prasant Murali, Riyas Narmakala, Abhiram Pothuval, George Maryan, Ramesh Thilak, Pradeep Kottayam

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Heaven

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Vampire Owl: Do you think that Uncle Dracula is going to heaven?

Vampire Bat: I am sure that vampires have a different afterlife.

Vampire Owl: You mean beyond heaven and hell?

Vampire Bat: Somewhere in between, to be exact.

Vampire Owl: Are you talking about the purgatory?

Vampire Bat: I wouldn’t know before death, but there would surely be blood.

Vampire Owl: Well, as long as there is blood, I am okay with it.

Vampire Bat: You don’t really take the blood substitute anymore?

Vampire Owl: Until Doctor Frankenstein invents the perfect substitute, I won’t.

Vampire Bat: Then, be assured that it will a long wait, because that pseudo-doctor and scientist with fake degree is involved.

[Gets a paneer puffs and three cups of iced tea].

What is the movie about? :: A group of NCC cadets discover a dead body in the forest area where they were camping for the holidays from their school. The first police officer to the scene is Bijoy Kuruvilla (Sudev Nair), and the dead person is identified to be Fabian John (Deepak Parambol), with the help of the forensic experts who are led by Narayana Swami (Joy Mathew). According to the descriptions from the witnesses and circumstancial evidences, the police discover the murderer to be none other than Peter Kurishingal (Suraj Venjaramoodu), another police officer. Then, the movie gets a flashback when Peter is in charge of a police station in a village. He had only recently lost his wife, and has a number of cases for investigation, which he takes very seriously so that he can use them to forget the grief of loss. His mother Mariyam Kurisingal (Vinaya Prasad) takes care of his only son, as he remains mostly busy as a strict police officer. But things get worse as he comes up against a case which would prove to be personal for him, as a family is murdered, and along with them, he also find his son’s dead body, much to his shock.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Peter’s subordinate Sukumara Pillai (Alencier Ley Lopez) is posted in the case with the new officer in charge of the investigation, Inspector Kishore (Padmaraj Ratheesh) who seems to be solving the case rather quickly, and a man named Stephen (Jaffar Idukki) confesses to have committed the crime with an immigrant labourer from West Bengal, as part of an attempted robbery. Peter has his doubts, but as one of the victims is his son, his superior officer Revathi Subramaniam (Abhija Sivakala) declines him an opportunity to be part of the investigation team, but lets him have a look at it as part of a parallel investigation for which he would be solely responsible. Soon, he discovers that the man who is accused of murder, Stephen actually had nothing to do with it. This home named Heaven, where the murders took place, seem to have more than one secrets to be discovered. His discoveries soon lead to him taking over the case after joining back on duty. But it remains to be seen if he will like what he would discover.

The defence of Heaven :: Here is one more addition to the smart thrillers of our times with some fine red herrings. The investigation shown in the movie feels solid, and so does the emotional side. The movie achieves its motives without exaggerating anything at any moment. There are twists till the end of the movie, and we see that it has nicely solved the puzzles to come strong in the end with enough strength. The realistic mode is maintained while bringing up the thrills and twists, and it surely feels like something which could happen during these days when different crimes are part of the news more than ever. Even the police procedures seem to be much accurate, and it doesn’t seem to venture into those areas where the smartness of the audience is questioned; maybe it is because the film chooses to have no such superstars who have so many fans wishing for their favourite actor to destroy evil like a fallen angel. Well, this movie is also something with fallen angels, but it knows how to keep it realistic. This is the kind of film that can teach valuable lessons for Bollywood which has its non-performers coming out of nepotism, not able to emote.

The positives and negatives :: The visuals are really good, and the camera is particularly good in capturing the emotions of Suraj Venjaramoodu, with all the grief which is part of the character’s life. The moments after the son’s death is as emotional as it can get, and it is only matched by the determination in his face that comes up later. There are the inner and outer battle shown here are with their own relevance. Heaven does not hesitate in going through the emotional path of the police officer and his investigation, just like it was seen in the movie Memories which had that abiding sadness in it which would return to haunt the viewer. The movie could have actually focused on the darker side even more. The return to the initial moments come rather too late, and due to the same, people might have actually forgotten the events which had happened earlier. The movie does slow down after the deaths and following emotional troubles, and it could have used a serial killer instead of the usual vengeance ideas being repeated. The music doesn’t feel as that great in comparison to some of the other thrillers which dealt with similar themes.

The performers of the soul :: Suraj Venjaramoodu handles the regretful cop role really well, and it reminds us of his earlier movie Pathaam Valavu, where he had also lost his child. The helpless and lack of hope can be seen on one side, while there is smartness on the other. He is the police officer and father to remember. The emotional struggle which was best displayed in Kaanekkaane, and added with mass in Jana Gana Mana and Driving License works really well here too, as he is indeed one of the best actors to go through a strong emotional side. The biggest support to him is provided by Alencier Ley Lopez who makes a fine cop in a supporting role; I had felt that John Luther could have really used him as a police officer too. The actors like Sudheesh and Jaffer Idukki add more of an emotional side to the film with their shorter presence. Vinaya Prasad also has the emotional grandmother role. Padmaraj Ratheesh and Sudev Nair also makes some fine police officers. Abhija Sivakala as the superior police officer is also solid. Deepak Parambol’s as well Nimisha Sajayan’s smaller roles are effective too. The collection of performers here makes sure that there is something interesting about all of them.

How it finishes :: Heaven gets into the list of interesting thrillers including the recently released Twenty One Grams and Solamante Theneechakal, as well as many others which came earlier. After all, the thrillers of this world mean more than just Drishyam. The movie working a lot better than the heavily hyped movies like CBI 5: The Brain is a reminder that we have some new names who can do the same thing better. Well, this is the kind of film which can never work for Bollywood as the sons and daughters of superstars would not agree to act in movies which cannot progress without throwing hundreds of villains around. Movies like this should open their eyes to the idea that there is the need for more thinking differently, or the drought in Bollywood of blockbusters is going to continue forever. Bollywood’s fight with its own incompetence might be forever, but during those times, Malayalam movie industry, just like the other South Indian film industries, is coming up with some fine works of quality which are to be remembered.

Release date: 19th August 2022 (Hotstar); 17th June 2022 (Theatre)
Running time: 130 minutes
Directed by: Unni Govindraj
Starring: Suraj Venjaramoodu, Sudev Nair, Sminu Sijo, Sudheesh, Joy Mathew, Alencier Ley Lopez, Jaffer Idukki, Vinaya Prasad, Abhija Sivakala, Deepak Parambol

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Solamante Theneechakal

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Vampire Owl: Do you think that there could be honeybees in this movie?

Vampire Bat: I am sure that the bees are different in this case.

Vampire Owl: I was looking forward to see a vampire bee.

Vampire Bat: There has been no bee which has been turned into a vampire.

Vampire Owl: Doctor Frankenstein has transformed a few.

Vampire Bat: They are pseudo vampires. They won’t count.

Vampire Owl: You continue to show your prejudice against Doctor Frankenstein.

Vampire Bat: I have never shown love for dumb experiments.

Vampire Owl: You will surely love the vampire bee though.

Vampire Bat: You should see how the human bees turn out here in this movie which is noted as a romantic thriller.

[Gets a vegetable samosa and three cups of cardamom tea].

What is the movie about? :: Glyna Thomas (Vincy Aloshious) and Suja S (Darshana S. Nair) are police constables who are also best friends – they have also rented a place together in Cochin. While Suja is posted in traffic duty, Glyna is assigned the duties at the police station itself. CI Binu Alex (Addis Antony Akkara) is in the charge of the station, and Suja hopes to get rid of the traffic duty and somehow be part of the station duties. For the same, Suja tries to portray Sharath Balakrishnan (Shambhu Menon) as a nuisance for women, but fails miserably. She even falls in love with him later. Sharath works for Nikhil Davis (Sunil Sukhada) who runs a rent-a-car business, but also has other motives. Their love story continues well until one day Binu and Sharath comes across each other, leading to a fight. Binu vows to make Sharath suffer for laying his hands on a police officer, but it is then that a criminal named Arumughan (Manikandan Achari) makes an entry with a grudge against Binu. Then, on an eventful night, things go out of control, and Suja might be the one to suffer for it. Will at least Glyna stand with her during the crisis?

The defence of Solamante Theneechakal :: It is to be noted that Solamante Theneechakal is a movie that has been much awaited by people who had watched at least one episode of the talent hunt show from where the leading actors of the movie where selected. But considering the performances which we come across here, this is more than that – none of the leading performers show any signs of acting in their first movie. They cast indeed is the biggest strength of the movie, as the newcomers score so well with the elder stars like Joju George and Johny Antony. The thrills remain strong, right after the defining incident. The twists are also there to be taken, and the red herrings are very much effective, to make us wonder about them. The early scenes also remain cute, and the friendship is effectively portrayed, with romance almost having a role to be added. There is also a certain amount of realism in the way the life of the leading ladies are portrayed, as both Vincy and Darshana make everything feel so real. Until the life turns around, everything that they do is so natural and without hesitations – the audience falls in love with such portrayal without exaggerations or pretensions.

The claws of flaw :: The absence of the big stars might make this movie’s collections and early appreciation struggle a bit – most people are still slaves to the superstars, and there are other three already established success stories in the form of crowd favourite movies already running in the theatres, which could make this particular movie take a hit. The dark side that the movie adds, do not get that much of a strength as it was expected, and there is some predictability about a few things, even though not with the grand scheme of things. The songs are not that great, and none of them provides the feeling of romance or terror, two elements which seemed to rise above the others – one or two still provide the feel-good feeling though. The first fight scene might be the only exaggerated moment, but there is no following it up well enough. The investigating officer does seem to deviate from the main concerns in the case, but it is justified in the end. Some of the supporting cast members don’t seem to have been used with the effectiveness that they might have deserved – it is still understandable, as the focus is on establishing the new talent which did such a fantastic job on television and deserves to be in the focus throughout the film. Yet, at times it chooses to defy logic by a little bit

The performers of the soul :: It was news then that the main performers for Lal Jose’s new movie were to be selected through a talent hunt show called Nayika Nayakan which aired on Mazhavil Manorama. Darshana S Nair and Shambhu Menon were the winners of the show, and they play the lead with the romantic side in this movie. Vincy Aloshious and Addis Antony Akkara who were the runner-ups in the show also play the next important roles in the movie as expected. They were selected from sixteen contestants going through multiple rounds, and it was one of the high quality shows from which these people were selected, and they have shown the same set of skills reflected around here too. Along with Vincy, some other participants like Meenakshi Raveendran, Ann Jameela Saleem, Venkitesh VP, Amina Nijam and Malavika Krishnadas were already seen in small roles in movies. Thattumpurath Achuthan had served as a vehicle for most of them to make some relatively small appearances which would not be memorized, and this one was to become the bigger space for these four to perform in a memorable way.

Further performers of the soul :: The movie is supposed to be the next big platform for these performers to show their skills, even though their talent hunt show was something which was a memorable experience for the audience. Even the participants in that show who were eliminated earlier, like Ann Paul were enormously skilled – that left no doubt about what these people could achieve. To support them, as the centre of everything, there is also Joju George, who had his best performance in Madhuram last year along with that memorable journey through Pada this year. He feels very natural as the police officer whose portrait never gets exaggerated – we know what he can do with this from Joseph itself. The performers from the talent show makes us feel the professionalism and not the reluctance of the newcomers. Among them, Vincy Aloshious stands out as the star performer, and her moments with Addis are too good. Darshana gets into make things even better – her moments with Vincy are among the best, whether with a funny side or the emotional one, and the two make things work so well. Addis’ villainous side is a strong one, and a lot realistic, but could have used better voice. Shambhu feels perfectly suitable for this role.

How it finishes :: This seems to be a movie which should have released much earlier, if it was not for the corona virus spreading through the world. As it was intended, the movie serves as the fine platform to show the abilities of the performers selected from the talent hunt show, which would reach the bigger audience. I was still surprised to see the less number of audience for this movie, and I would hope for the numbers to increase as it has the quality – we are all admirers of good movies, as far as I know. The other successful movies at the theatre might be a reason, but this need to pick up the pace, and with some good opinions, it should surely do that – this would be one of the first such opinions. The movie has to depend on the content more than anything else with the big names being absent, and it does exactly that, with the thrilling moments and the twists that are added to the tale. With no exaggeration of action or life itself, the movie is something that has the special ingredient, which is the new young cast itself. Seeing them would make us believe that Lal Jose has indeed made the right decision once more.

Release date: 18th August 2022
Running time: 139 minutes
Directed by: Lal Jose
Starring: Joju George, Darshana S Nair, Vincy Aloshious, Addis Antony Akkara, Shambhu Menon, Shiva Parvathy, Johny Antony, Manikandan Achari, Shaju Sreedhar, Binu Pappu, Sunil Sukhada, Sivaji Guruvayoor, Abhinav Manikantan, Aurora Adya

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<<< Click here to go to the previous Malayalam film review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Pathaam Valavu

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Vampire Owl: So, there is the tenth turn where the twist lies.

Vampire Bat: We vampires are not worried about the turns. We fly over them.

Vampire Owl: Humans do not fly, but their spirits do float.

Vampire Bat: We don’t have the spirits. But we fly.

Vampire Owl: Where do you think a vampire’s spirit cross over to the other world?

Vampire Bat: I am expecting a river of blood there too.

Vampire Owl: So, you think that there will be blood on the way there.

Vampire Bat: Blood will be part of our afterlife as it is now.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that blood also has the spiritual significance.

Vampire Bat: Vampires have been spiritual for a long time.

[Gets a vegetable samosa and three cups of cardamom tea].

What is the movie about? :: Sethunath (Indrajith Sukumaran) is the officer who is in charge of the Kattappana police station. His wife Suja (Swasika) is pregnant, and Sethunath rarely comes home due to his busy work. After a long time, he finally decides to take a few days off. It is then that he is asked to bring a prisoner who got out on parole and did not return – Solomon (Suraj Venjaramoodu) was arrested as part of a sensational case, and him not returning came as a surprise for most of the police officers. Sethunath visits Solomon’s house with a few other officers in company, just before he goes on a fifteen days leave, as his superior officer as Shihab Ali (Major Ravi) asks for one last duty to be finished. The team gets to Solomon’s home and also finds him, but fails to capture him. But he is caught by Xavier (Nisthar Ahmed) who has a large estate in the area, and they transfer him to the police. On the way back to the police station, there is a landslide on the tenth turn, and the team is forced to stop and have tea and snacks. There, Solomon tells Sethunath his story.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Solomon was someone who survived one of the biggest landslides the highranges had ever seen, at the age of six. He lived as favourite of the locals, especially of the local priest (Sudheer Karamana) who has served as his local guardian. He falls in love with Seetha (Aditi Ravi), who elopes with him with the help of her sister, Anitha (Krittika Pradeep), and in the process, gets disowned by her rich and influential family. They soon have a child too. Varadhan (Ajmal Ameer), the local police officer who was supposed to marry her is particularly angry with them, especially as his next marriage reached the verge of divorce. He also gets transferred to the highranges soon, with a fight breaking out between him and Solomon, and this leads to Varadhan being relieved of duty and going home early. It is then that their child also goes missing, and the dead body is found between the rocks on the next day. Varadhan becomes the usual suspect for the locals, and there is fear in his eyes. His senior officer asks him to go on leave, but he is determined not to go from there. But where does this lead Solomon?

The defence of Pathaam Valavu :: This is a thriller that also goes on the path of a revenge with the support of flashbacks. There are moments of excellence, and unexpected elements of humour are also present with some flashbacks. The visuals give a beautiful feeling to the happenings around here too. The emotional side does the job well, and in between, the cute moments also get something to work on. It is the kind of the movie which could have gone The Great Father way, with the father of a child doing unbelievable acts in stylish dresses as if he was a rich monkey man, but manages to keep things realistic instead – well, you don’t want exaggerations when dealing with this kind of topics. Dealing with the life of the common man which is filled with simple happy moments of family, and turning it into moments of worries have been used effectively in Drishyam and Drishyam 2 along with the remakes – the same idea still continues to work. In the end, it also gives a social message, and finishes well as if poetic justice would return with a little help provided.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does start slow, as nothing much happens in the first thirty minutes or so, as it takes a little bit more time to establish itself. There is also some slow motion forced in there, against the overall mood of the movie. The loss of thrills to emotions can also be seen at times here. There is a lot of predictability that comes to the scene during the later stages of the movie, despite having the twists to provide the power. Some of the clues are also given in the early stages of the movie itself , which is re-established in the later stages too. The clues should have been hidden to keep the audience guessing. The red herring which the movie provides losses the steam because of the unexpected clues which are left in the process of moving the tale forward. The audience had the right to guess the killer differently, but such an opportunity is ruined too early. If the opportunity was better used, this movie could have been something bigger.

The performers of the soul :: Suraj Venjaramoodu remains the strongest element of this movie, and manages the emotional side really well yet again. He has been doing such roles with perfection for some time now, with its highest point in Kaanekkaane, and most recently in Jana Gana Mana. Yet, the one performance from him which would stay with me even more is from Finals. Indrajith Sukumaran has displayed a certain amount of skill in portraying the police officers, last seen in Night Drive – there is the feeling of not exaggerating the cop role when he is playing the role; it has been there since Angels. Aditi Ravi has been an underrated actress, and her realistic performance as a mother is a reminder of her skills. Her recent release, 12th Man did not give her enough opportunity, and it was only Alamara which used her potential well enough. Ajmal Ameer gets a good role in Malayalam movie industry after a long time, and he did come up with a fine performance until the character was just pushed to the background for seemingly no real reason.

How it finishes :: Pathaam Valavu becomes another interesting addition to the long list of engaging thrillers. It does have the moments, and there are other areas where it could have scored more. Yet, one thing I won’t get is that people call movies like these as one-time watchable; well are all movies not to be watched once? There is absolutely no point in keeping on watching a movie again and again, except for the jokes and songs. There have already been two fine thrillers in this year in the form of John Luther and Twenty One Grams, and this one, even though not that good as the two murder mysteries, still serves its purpose with effectiveness. It is also a reminder that we no longer need those big names to play the central character and make the movie a success. We are no longer in that age of superstars, even though fans can still disagree and go to the theatres as a crowd, providing money to their favourite heroes.

Release date: 22nd July 2022 (Manorama MAX); 13th May 2022 (Theatre)
Running time: 115 minutes
Directed by: M Padmakumar
Starring: Indrajith Sukumaran, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Aditi Ravi, Ajmal Ameer, Sudheer Karamana, Baby Kanmani, Swasika, Sohan Seenulal, Aneesh G Menon, Jayakrishnan, Major Ravi, Nisthar Ahmed, Abhinav Raj, Binu Adimali, Shaju Sreedhar, Idavelu Babu, Joy John Antony, Sudheer Paravoor, Nandhan Unni, Krittika Pradeep, Pria Menon, Thushara Pillai, Anjana Appukuttan

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Twenty One Grams

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Vampire Owl: I am sure that most of the coffins weigh more than that.

Vampire Bat: I doubt if this a movie about coffins.

Vampire Owl: I have only recently discovered that the coffins weight so less.

Vampire Bat: Why did you lift the coffins all by yourself?

Vampire Owl: There were no vampire apprentices available.

Vampire Bat: You should understand that the coffins feel like having less weight just for us.

Vampire Owl: Yet we have vampire apprentices carrying them for us.

Vampire Bat: They have to be trained in carrying the vampire elders.

Vampire Owl: But I have known that vampire elders can float.

Vampire Bat: They are too old to stay awake for more than five or six hours – coffins are important for transportation.

[Gets a marble cake and three cups of iced tea].

What is the movie about? :: DYSP Nandakishore (Anoop Menon) is assisted by CI Sunny (Anu Mohan) as they go after a series of murders which happened in the city within a small period of time. Anjali (Manasa Radhakrishnan) is the first one to be murdered, and it brought her brother Martin (Chandunath G Nair) back home after spending years abroad, as Father Joseph (Nandu) was the only person who was there to take care of her. But soon, Martin is also murdered, and his body was burnt really bad. CI Sreenivasan (Prasanth Alexander) who was in charge of the investigation had felt that Jimmy (Aji John) might be the one behind these murders as he was a former business partner of Martin, and wanted to settle terms after Martin came back to India. There was a problem between Jimmy and Martin related to a restaurant chains which they owned, and the police wonders if the former tried to bring latter back home and finish the problem forever. But Sreenivasan was not really that much interested in taking the risk against the rich and influential, and was only happy to hand over the case without being a target.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: SP Rachel (Lena) is confident that Nandakishore is the right person to solve this case which has no clues, especially as Srenivasan had kept himself too worried. A new recruit Abhirami (Mareena Michael Kurisingal) also joins the team. As the police check for the goons who were working for Jimmy, they reach a name – Tony (Bineesh Bastin) who seems to be connected. His wife confirms the fact that Tony and Jimmy had seen each other, and an amount of money was provided for some work of eerie nature. But even then, Anjali is understood to have been very much afraid of an unknown person, and there is no clue about who that one was. If the two murders are not related, they would be facing two different killers at the same time or even more. There is also an old contessa car which is seen on different occasions near the spots where the murders had occurred. Is there something more sinister at work? Are there other interesting games of murders happening around here? Can there be a psychotic serial killer at work?

The defence of Twenty One Grams :: We have another interesting crime thriller in store here, with its own fine twists. Providing twists over other twists is quite a difficult job, and this one does the same well, until things come together really well in the end. There seems to be a fine line of events being drawn here so that things could come to that end after drawing a good number of red herrings in between. There are so many characters whom we doubt as being the killer, and we also have so many motives – with the possibility of suspecting being endless, the guesses are to be mostly wrong; the movie seals some ideas in those dialogues which feels to be less relevant when spoken, but through flashbacks, we know that these things were basically clues. Predictability will not be an element here even though the film can trick you into believing that you know things better than the cops here. The movie is very well shot too, and the visuals, especially that of the city is impressive – it suits the movie’s mood really well too. The music used in the background here is really good and some effects nicely contribute to the totality.

Positives and negatives :: The pace at which the movie progress is very good, even though at times, it seems to talk more and do less – it still works as we look closer. Some background is predictable. You ability to guess the killer is so continuously tested that there are so many people you will note down as killers. A quality that this movie has, is to know how, when and where to hide, and how to reveal them all when least expected – it never uses the mass style to do that, and that makes this one a movie more for the OTT rather than for those theatres infested with mindless fans. This is certainly not a one killer or a killer with a helper movie like Forensic, John Luther, Anjaam Pathira or Antakshari. Here, we don’t have the star power of Drishyam, Cold Case or Memories, but the effectiveness makes sure that it won’t need that. The movie also has a conspiracy which needs to be brought to light, and we see that there is more than what meets the eye. This is one of those movie releases which I had actually missed – there were so many shots of this movie which could have made the film feel effective in the trailer; unlike those overhyped films, this one could have used more initial hype.

The performers of the soul :: Anoop Menon always feels like the right choice for a police officer like this – the intellectual non-CBI police officer works like a dream for him. He did play the role of superstar in Home, and there is a fine presence that he has at all times. One strong performance that we here is that of Leona Lishoy though, as the lady left in sadness due to multiple reasons. Anu Mohan provides some fine support as police inspector aiding in the case. Manasa Radhakrishnan, despite playing the character who is killed early, remains central to the plot, just like Chandunath G Nair who plays her brother here. Nandu has the role of a priest which comes well for him. Mareena Michael Kurisingal of Mumbai Taxi and Aby fame only gets a few moments to shine though. Shanker Ramakrishnan and Renji Panicker got some smaller roles, which won’t be remembered much. Bineesh Bastin has a little bit of work to do, but not for long. Aji John and Jeeva Joseph plays two characters who are part of the schemes well. Ranjith who appears only in the later half of the movie, also brings some moments of glory.

How it finishes :: Twenty One Grams might be a lesser known movie, but it manages to be a lot better than most of those higher budget films made with the bigger superstars and having those dumb mass elements for the fans. There are so many moments that keep us guessing, and after all those guesses, we feel that we had gone the wrong direction – there is a lot of skill being used here in bringing things together in the end. Maybe, one of those superstar movies can take some of those superior ideas out of this one. It seems that the movies that we less expect to be the big mystery is actually the smarter one – the best minds behind making thrillers are often hidden in the background, and to know them, we have to travel beyond the usual. There are so many movies which have gone rather unknown because they couldn’t marketed well, or the names of the actors were not part of any fan club – this one shouldn’t go lost in that manner. This is another thriller which needs to be celebrated for its smartness, and let it not fall into the deep abyss of avoidance – watch it and see how well it uses the puzzles.

Release date: 10th June 2022 (Hotstar); 18th March 2022 (Theatre)
Running time: 132 minutes
Directed by: Bibin Krishna
Starring: Anoop Menon, Leona Lishoy, Renji Panicker, Prasanth Alexander, Anu Mohan, Ranjith, Vivek Anirudh, Lena, Chandunath G Nair, Aji John, Jeeva Joseph, Bineesh Bastin, Manasa Radhakrishnan, Nandu, Mareena Michael Kurisingal, Shanker Ramakrishnan, Rajeesh Kartha

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

John Luther

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Vampire Owl: It has been 826 days. That is a long time.

Vampire Bat: 826 days after watching a movie in the theatre, and now we are back.

Vampire Owl: The OTT life was quite long during that time, right?

Vampire Bat: Yes, mostly of Prime Video and Netflix, and then others.

Vampire Owl: The last one we watched was Forensic.

Vampire Bat: That was a good end to the sequence before corona virus.

Vampire Owl: Well, we remain the same even now.

Vampire Bat: We continue to live in a world without hope.

Vampire Owl: There is no movie that can be close to the reality of hopelessness.

Vampire Bat: Well, we will watch this movie for now, and think about the meaninglessness of a hopeless life later.

[Gets a vegetable samosa and three cups of cadamom tea].

What is the movie about? :: Circle Inspector John Luther (Jayasurya) of Devikulam police station is someone who is very much committed to his duty. He is fully supported by Sub Inspector Felix Joy (Deepak Parambol) who also spends a lot of time dedicated to duty. The absense of John during the major programmes at his home has his wife Jessy (Athmeeya Rajan) and sister Leena (Drishya Raghunath) in sadness, and his parents (Siddique and Sreelakshmi) in disappointment. On the night before his sister’s engagement, John finds him in trouble due to two cases. The first one is related to a political murder and the second one is a man-missing case following an accident which kills another person. The first case leads to John getting physical with the goons and ends up getting smashed on the head with a tube-light, which leads to him going deaf on one year, and requiring to use hearing aid on the other. But with a boy also found to be missing, he has to get back to the case and solve it within a deadline of two weeks.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: He discovers that the two missing cases have no relation with each other, and there is soon a woman that goes missing. The death in the first accident, and the missing person of the same accident seem to have no common person behind them. Their only clue is a pickup truck which doesn’t have the registration number displayed on one side, which makes it very difficult for them to go forward. All of these incidents have happened in a certain area which doesn’t seem to have many people around. As this takes place in the high-ranges between the tea plantations, there seems to be a shortage of CCTV cameras too. But they hope that there could be that one witness who might have seen one of these victims just before or after being taken away by the criminal. Still, it is to be noted that the man who is behind all of these can’t be a common criminal – there might be a lot more to him. John and Felix have to be very careful in this case. Can they find out the mastermind before there are more victims?

The defence of John Luther :: As far as the thrills are concerned, they are here to stay with this particular movie. There is the grand mystery running through the middle, which never losses strength. The suspense could be maintained, and it keeps us guessing. There are red herrings which almost makes us think the other way. The quality that we see on the big screen is too good – the beauty of visuals is always there, whether it is about the long shots of the enchanting Munnar and Cochin or the classic shots of night with danger lurking in the corners. The final moments have us more in fear than anything else, as the villain is revealed, but not with further twists. The songs are interesting, and they support the happenings of the movie well. The background score is effective, and the use of sound effects to support the proceedings also need to be appreciated. The darkness in a very good ally for this particular movie, as much as the different noises used around here – the scene at the beginning is a nice example of the same.

Positives and negatives :: One would be right to find some cliches here, but we have always required most of them to keep the cinematic world moving forward with strength. The movie could have given more significant chances to its female main leads to perform, as they are pushed to the background rather too early. There is a little bit of horror touch to the movie at times, and that could have worked even better if the elements were introduced much earlier. The movie is a reminder to us that any person among us could be a psycho killer, and idea that could save lives – well, those who enjoy when we fall are no less of such killers either. After all, all human beings are born evil, and this film once again shows how effective in evil they can be, especially when they feel that they are done with the society. We blame the evil spirits and demons, and maybe even categorize vampires as pure evil, but humans have always been the root of all evil. The dark world of the investigation in this movie also points towards the same, and we can’t agree less.

The performers of the soul :: Jayasurya is someone who performed all alone in Sunny last year, and this time, he gets a fine team, and we have him with a fine performance here. We believed that he was indeed the actor to be trusted while booking a movie ticket after such a long time, and also at Lulu Mall; quite an expensive one in this case. One would think that after watching so many films in the theatre from 2013 to 2020 until corona virus brought the trouble, the celebrities will be supporting this blog, but that is wrong, because only a very few of my reviews like Meppadiyan and Luca have been shared by the leading actors of respective films. Anyway, coming back to Jayasurya, he looks and performs like the dedicated actor that he always has been. From the perfect police officer to the flawed one like we see in Memories, he is to be appreciated for how well he has brought the quality in here. It is to be noted that Deepak Parambol also brings some fine support in here, as the police officer who is not left far behind, but stays beside the main character. Athmiya Rajan and Drishya Raghunath are lovely, but has less screen time. The villain is really good, but can’t reveal more about him due to spoiler possibilities.

How it finishes :: You always have time to support a dark mystery thriller placed on an investigation. We did welcome movies like Anjaam Pathira, Antakshari and Forensic with much appreciation. Like the latter movie, this one also keeps its killer as the psycho and not a revenge seeker, which lets it have the advantage over the rest of the similar movies which attempt to turn themselves into random movies of vengeance. The time it takes to come to the final villain also needs to be appreciated, as the suspense is successfully maintained until then. This is also the first movie I have watched in the theatre after 826 – the last one was Forensic just before corona virus had made that big run. It is always good to watch thrillers as much as horror movies, as we are better prepared to face all the evil in the world after watching these movies, and we know when to be ready, and when to give up and just die. After all, evil is too natural for humans, and there is always someone trying to lie, cheat and steal, as well as murder us, or make our life a living hell; its in human nature.

Release date: 27th May 2021
Running time: 135 minutes
Directed by: Abhijith Joseph
Starring: Jayasurya, Athmeeya Rajan, Drishya Raghunath, Siddique, Deepak Parambol, Sivadas Kannur, Pramod Velliyanad, Sreelakshmi

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous Malayalam film review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.