Tag Archives: thrills

The Astronaut

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Vampire Owl: I have dreamed about being an astronaut when I was a child.

Vampire Bat: You became a vampire hundreds of years ago. So that would have been long ago.

Vampire Owl: Considering in vampire years, I am still not that old.

Vampire Bat: That explains you being a child even when space travel started its job.

Vampire Owl: I was never thinking about human space travel.

Vampire Bat: You are looking forward to being teleported other realms?

Vampire Owl: Yes, Dr. Frankenstein has created a magical space vessel.

Vampire Bat: You should remember that nothing made by Mr. Frankenstein actually works.

Vampire Owl: It is a wrong accusation by his mortal enemies. He travelled back in time last week and brought proof from another period of time. Even aliens approve of him.

Vampire Bat: I am quite sure that he brought back that ancient thing from a museum and not from the past. It is his time machine that looks more pre-historical than that thing.

[Gets a poori masala and three cups of Wayanad tea].

What is the movie about? :: Sam Walker (Kate Mara) is the daughter of General William Harris (Laurence Fishburne) a veteran military officer who has worked in collaboration with NASA space travel, and has Sam going on another space journey in relation to communicating with extraterrestrial beings if there are any. But as she comes back from the International Space Station, some debris leads to her crash-landing back on Earth. After floating somewhere in the middle of sea, she is finally rescued by the United States Coast Guard and taken to the nearby hospital for recovery, even though not taken out of quarantine for some days. Her fellow astronauts and doctors keep visiting her at the hospital, while William assures her that he is incredibly happy for her, and hopes that she will get well soon for the next mission, with NASA and Pentagon working very closely together in making significant discoveries which would change the world as they know it. She feels that things are just okay as she only got a few bruises.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Sam does not remember most of the incidents in space, and continues in quarantine for decontamination. She is visited by her husband, Mark Walker (Gabriel Luna) and daughter, Izzy Walker (Scarlett Holmes). But for her own safety, Sam is confined alone to a rural cottage somewhere in Virginia, where diplomats and very important people are supposed to stay in secret when there is some danger with their lives, or just to stay away from media. It is seen that the next house or shop is kilometres away, and the place only has woods on all sides and some meadows in between, with almost no traffic at the closest road passing around. As Sam adjusts to her new lonely situation, she also goes through a series of medical tests to make sure that her mental and physical fitness are okay, with a new journey to the space station coming up. Sam and Mark are having some difficulties trying to cope as a family, due to her frequent journeys to space and the quarantine that comes before and after that. It is revealed that the child is also adopted, as they hoped that it would make things better between them.

And what more can happen here as there seems to be some mystery to be resolved? :: While walking outside and close to the nearby woods, Sam notices that the entire premises have some hidden cameras, most of them directed right towards the home. This makes her wonder about her location, as she had already felt that somebody did open the door and enter during last night, thus also making the floor a little messy. William shows her that the hidden cameras are linked to a certain underground bunker in the house, from where the whole place can be watched in detail. If anyone try to breach the property, it could be known with ease, and there could also be a lockdown which would prevent anyone from getting in. Strange occurrences continue, and later that night, the power is cut off, and the alarm system is triggered, locking her inside the house. A dark creature seems to have entered the home, forcing her to lock herself inside the bunker. Now, it is to be seen if she can survive these nights, and with nothing on the cameras, will people believe her theory that something followed her from back to Earth from space?

The defence of The Astronaut :: The twists in the movie are pretty much unexpected, even though not that interesting, and that surprise takes the movie to a higher level, even though slowly and steadily. The film builds on with a tense, eerie mood with its quiet, minimalist approach to horror, that seems to work for most of the time. The combination of psychological thriller, science fiction and paranormal horror got the arrangement right, as we look at it. The isolated safe house with dark woods all around and continuing psychological tension are effective with the possibility of twists always being present. Kate Mara has things in control here with emotional weight as she moves forward in a world of conflicts. Morgan–Fantastic Four actress seems to have changed a lot, and maybe it is we all ageing together. Her movement to the twists in the end works so well that we even hope for the world to be extended in a sequel at that moment. Laurence Fishburne is a big strong presence here, and his roles like this have remained too good in the past.

The claws of flaw :: The movie drags in between even in a one and half hour movie which deals with aliens – it would not have been that difficult to deal with such a safe topic during normal circumstances of Earth and space. The struggle with pacing feels so much, especially in the second half when it seems to try too much, and yet the narrative keeps its trouble going through. Some of these narrative changes and interesting developments come too fast and leave unanswered questions, as the science fiction elements continue to stay in the background without that much of a detailed happenings on the screen. One keeps wondering why it immediately took that deviation, even though it was the twist that came quickly – there could have been other ways to bring the same to keep on with the route of the overall movie. Sometimes, one would wonder if the combination could have been kept better coherent at all times. The predictability is also present in between, even though not with the final twist.

How it finishes :: This is one of those movies which were less known, and surprisingly, in spite of staying close to the genre, I never really knew about this movie’s existence. Despite losing the pace in between, and narrative also making that struggle, the movie maintains a level, not losing it on the way completely even when there seemed to be the chance. This would mean that the mixed reviews are quite justified, and its journey through Amazon Prime Video might also be complex. For a quiet, atmospheric psychological science fiction with strong leading cast performances and high-level tension coming out of the mood and atmosphere with dark woods ready to pounce upon the terror, this would be the right choice. There is no questioning that kind of an ability around here. But one can see that there are no clear explanations of these alien elements, and the lack of traditional horror thrills would continue to affect the interest of people. Otherwise, this would nicely work for a smooth, slow and steady journey with something coming in the background.

Release date: 17th October 2025
Running time: 91 minutes
Directed by: Jess Varley
Starring: Kate Mara, Laurence Fishburne, Gabriel Luna, Ivana Miličević, Macy Gray, Scarlett Holmes, Reza Diako, Daniel Quirke, Daiana Madeira, Christine Abernathy, Ezrael MacTire, Erin Gill, Gareth Battersby, Aidan O’Sullivan

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Paathirathri

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Vampire Owl: I see a movie about midnight here.

Vampire Bat: I do not think that this movie is about vampires drinking blood at midnight.

Vampire Owl: Yes, I know we are supposed to prefer the witching hour over midnight.

Vampire Bat: Witching hour has now been copyrighted by witches.

Vampire Owl: They cannot have that. They already have infinite access to all magic.

Vampire Bat: They control most of the demons of our realm.

Vampire Owl: There was a time when they only controlled animated skeletons.

Vampire Bat: According to the new pact, they have transferred them to necromancers.

Vampire Owl: Necromancers have always animated dead bones.

Vampire Bat: These are perfect skeletons, and not those created out of random bones.

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

What is the movie about? :: SI Jancy Kurian (Navya Nair) is the new Sub Inspector of a rural police station on probation, who is struggling with a certain amount of confusion as a beginner while also trying to cope with her personal life which is close to breaking down due to the possibility of a divorce, despite them having a much-celebrated love marriage some time ago. Her personal life keeps her detached from social life and her approach to different cases is also hampered due to her fear of being alone in life as they live separate from their families after the love marriage which came out of a college relationship. Civil Police Officer Hareesh N V (Soubin Shahir) is also facing divorce and is going through a custody crisis with his wife, who keeps asserting that their daughter should stay with her at all times. The inability to talk to his daughter and the hostility of his wife also starts affecting Hareesh as he becomes not interested in working with women. But on one night, due to a sudden requirement of leave for another policeman, Jancy and Hareesh are forced to team up for a night patrol together.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: On the same night, as they travel near the forest, they see a car parked in a suspicious manner among the greenery. As they approach, they see a man running away and the woman in car drives the vehicle away. They chase the man who jumps into a swamp area and vanishes. Hareesh tells Jancy that there is no point in doing anything now as the person would have gone through the swamp to the other side and escaped. At the same time, they get a call about a girl committing suicide and Hareesh tells her to just leave as this is just irrelevant search that could lead them to trouble. Returning to the swamp out of guilt and worries, she is shocked to find the area recently covered with sand and wonders if someone could be under the sand. This further affects her daily actions, as she wonders if someone was dead and buried due to them. He talks to Hareesh about the same, but he dismisses these concerns and adds that the man would have escaped at that point itself.

And what more is to happen as further complications arise? :: Her anxiety increases as her husband in a complicated relationship with her leaves home after resigning his job, just after leaving her a letter. As the swamp was covered illegally, the court orders for the swamp to be reverted to its original form due to environmental concerns, but it is then that a corpse is found from under the ground. The dead body is identified to be that of a well-known journalist and investigative reporter Ansar Ali (Sunny Wayne), who was reported missing on the night when the two cops had seen the unknown figure. After checking multiple cameras and conducting unofficial investigations, they understand the woman who was with Ansar, his former college mate Anjali (Athmiya Rajan). But as she is the daughter of the DYSP, Suresh Kumar Menon (Achyuth Kumar), and he would make sure that nobody would know that she was with a married man among the trees and swamps in a car, and Anjali is also not interested in talking to anyone about it as it would devastate Ansar’s marriage and reputation as a leading journalist. As Hareesh and Jancy were there at that time and with the same proven through their walkie-talkie and mobile locations, they become easy targets to be framed for this murder. Can they escape from this situation and find the real culprits?

The defence of Paathirathri :: Navya Nair comes up with a highly controlled performance as SI Jancy Kurian, as she shows the physical and emotional strain of a woman balancing a troubled personal life and a demanding job, but tries hard to maintain both. Soubin Shahir also balances both, but he is more of a police officer than a husband in this one, but the conflict is nicely shown by him too. Their chemistry on screen can also be considered as one of the film’s highlights. With the support of their performances, the movie goes through the fatigue and psychological burdens beneath the police uniform and this brings an engaging, realistic rhythm which never goes for an overdose which would keep it realistic to the core. The visual are interesting and suitable, as the foggy landscape is beautifully captured to create a moody, tense aesthetic that suits this world of mystery. The tension is always there and so is the mystery which is never really solved until the very end, which provides that much needed twist.

Positives and negatives :: The movie could have had a little more of conviction with its content, as we see this never really providing the feeling that there is danger around. Even though the pace is fine, there are moments when it could have been increased further. The movie does not have that much to go to a length about two hours. But we can see that Harisree Ashokan and Indrans who come only in small roles could also make a fine impact. Athmiya Rajan who is best known for Joseph, does incredibly well too, and she is one underrated actress whom we should be seeing more often in movies, and there is some stoicism in her character here which find close to life. Ann Augustine also nails her role in a way that we would remember her with a certain amount of melancholy of the character which we notice realistically. When the emotional and personal side of the police is shown instead of showing them as machines on case, one can feel that this goes the realistic path. The final twist is surely working, and we are able to connect with the main characters who feel real. The investigative side could have been more powerful though.

How it finishes :: Paathirathri remains a movie which needed a better attention that it managed to get, as realistic police investigations with focus on emotions of the focus is very much rare in the industry even though flawed cops like those of Memories, John Luther, Abraham Ozler, all are still there and hunting psychopaths. The mystery here does not point that much to danger and fear generation though. But we see that clear sense of empathy for people with some power trapped in a flawed system which allows those with even more influence to take advantage of them and even ruin their lives forever. Despite the thoughtfulness and the competence in a real world that we see here, the narrative does struggle at times. For those who are looking for a slow-burning, performance-driven work focusing on the vulnerabilities behind the people in uniform, this works, even in a slower pace. After all, we are not making those dumb Bollywood police movies which turn into a universe which has ridiculous buffoons as police officers, and have lady cops who are even dumb and brainless as Lady Singhams.

Release date: 17 October 2025
Running time: 128 minutes
Directed by: Ratheena P T
Starring: Navya Nair, Soubin Shahir, Sunny Wayne, Ann Augustine, Athmiya Rajan, Harisree Ashokan, Indrans

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

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Drop

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Vampire Owl: I remember that I once dropped bomb in the land of zombies during a lockdown.

Vampire Bat: It was a magical orb; you don’t call it a bomb.

Vampire Owl: In our worlds, the orbs replace the bombs.

Vampire Bat: We are no longer using that magic in our lives.

Vampire Owl: The dark magic has still spread enough in the realm.

Vampire Bat: Such evil has been limited to the lands of the northern witches.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein had ended the witches by himself.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein won no science vs magic battle.

Vampire Owl: Frankenstein will end all unnecessary magic with the use of science.

Vampire Bat: Now you know why Uncle Dracula banned him.

[Gets a sweet puffs and three cups of Kodaikanal tea].

What is the movie about? :: Violet (Meghann Fahy) had been suffering as she was unable to leave her alcoholic and abusive husband despite her being a therapist herself. But this had changed as the man committed suicide, but she was blamed for it, and people often told the stories about her killing her husband as she was unable to suffer his atrocities anymore, as even the neighbours could not stand the man. On an eventful day, after finishing daily work, she is startled by a metre reading man knocking on her window and she had guided him to the back of her home. Later, Violet decides to leave her young son Toby (Jacob Robinson) at home in the care of her younger sister Jen (Violett Beane) and go for her first date after the death of her husband. Jen makes sure that her sister wears the best clothes and manages to find her true love this time and get married to lead a good life. With everything set and with the best wishes of her sister, Violet reaches Palate, a grand restaurant at the top of a skyscraper for a date with a photographer named Henry (Brandon Sklenar), whom she has been messaging through a dating app.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As Henry is late, she spends some time at the bar and meets Richard (Reed Diiamond), a little elderly man waiting on a blind date, Matt (Jeffery Self), a server on his first day at the restaurant, Cara (Gabrielle Ryan), the friendly bartender, Phil (Ed Weeks), the restaurant’s pianist, and Connor (Travis Nelson), a young man waiting for his sister. Henry reaches, and as they start their date, Violet begins receiving messages on her mobile phone through a short-rage texting system. These messages from this unknown user starts with memes which gradually become more threatening. Henry tells her that it could only be someone seated in their section of the restaurant as the range would only be that much. Despite Violet trying to ignore the drops, the crisis elevates as the unknown person asks her to check her home security cameras. As she checks for the same through camera, she finds Jen being knocked out by a masked man who locks Toby inside a room, and she is warned against telling everyone about it, as the boy would be killed if anyone comes to know about it.

And what more is to follow here as lives seem to be at stake with time running out? :: The messenger tells her that only by careful actions, her son will be saved, and warns her against leaving from the restaurant, as she is to continue her date. When she moves, it seems that the man knows, and as she moves into the toilet, she finds hidden cameras near the wash, and the same was also seen on the side of her table. She pretends to be scared of heights and ask for the table to be moved from their location with the city view to anywhere else. Henry manages to have the same done with the help of the staff, but she is forced to come back as the messenger asks her to return to the same seat or her child would die. They return to the same table, which the staff says was particularly chosen for them through a call, but both of them remember none of it. The messenger further instructs Violet to find a camera in Henry’s bag kept on a side and destroy its SD card. Violet manages to complete the job and finds out that Henry, who works for the city mayor, has photos which would serve as evidence against the man. But this would not be the last thing she will have to do to save her son. How long can she survive like this?

The defence of Drop :: The movie is powered by a fine performance from Meghann Fahy who drops the anchor with a performance that requires some fine skill, as she has to continue fighting against all odds with control over her actions as much as the emotions. Brandon Sklenar also provides some fine support here as he plays the next significant character. These characters are placed in a situation which does not go much about one and half hours, and with such a short run-time, the movie leaves one with no wasted time. There are some nice situations which feels more real than the others. The anxieties about digital life and surveillance feels very much real as we never really move away from the same, no matter how much we feel that this would not happen to us. The suspense and thrills we feel here are more like taken right out of a world that we know. There is also that emotional side related to the life of the main character. Then there is the stunning world of the restaurant with a view and the tension that something big is going to happen any time soon, and the audience are prepared for the same.

The claws of flaw :: When we think deeply about the movie, we can’t help feeling that the villain’s plan depends on the near-impossible, requiring the best of timing and perfect surveillance that stretches the willing suspension of disbelief at times – this happens in such an area where immense possibilities are there, and just going for the same in the usual manner and then trying to hide the evidence would have been the better options however we look at it. The idea that the main character, despite being a person with skills related to the mind decides to stay with her abusive and alcoholic husband who does not have the right state of mind makes us wonder what kind of skills she has in her field of psychology. The flashback which goes there is not that much either, and we never really go that deep into past, and yet there is so much of talk about the same. Then the finish seems to be done in a hurry as the revealing is done and then the chase happens as if they were just put there to end the film as soon as possible.

How it finishes :: Drop takes advantage of the fear of being watched digitally with no idea of who is doing the same; it is indeed one of the scariest feelings that one could have, as this has become an inevitable part of our life in one way or the other. Meghann Fahy carries the same tension while not really out of the character’s long trauma right on her shoulders. Her performance that stands apart makes sure that the emotional stakes feel raw and very much human, even when the technology around her tries to take over. It is to be noted that all of these happens in the restricted space of the top floor of a skyscraper where the restaurant is situated. There, it expertly turns an everyday social setting into a terrifying nightmare, and for the same, it needs the applause, as some of us might think twice about talking to a digital stranger too. It could have still become something more, but it chooses not to, as the terror lies a little too much in the messages and a video cam rather than on the main location in real space, and we should have had a little bit more of the main character’s past and a less quick journey in the final stages. But we have everything that ends well, and we are left with messages, which is very much fine.

Release date: 11th April 2025
Running time: 95 minutes
Directed by: Christopher Landon
Starring: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jeffery Self, Ed Weeks

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

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Cheekatilo

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Vampire Owl: So, another Telugu movie after quite some time in between.

Vampire Bat: There have been long gaps between movies except English and Malayalam.

Vampire Owl: I thought we had enough Hindi movies in there.

Vampire Bat: Yes, but due to some reason, these OTTs are more into series and not movies.

Vampire Owl: Any work should end in a few hours and should not be stretched.

Vampire Bat: Yes, we are forced to wait for an infinite time to have the next episode.

Vampire Owl: Keeping people waiting for so long. Absolutely ridiculous.

Vampire Bat: The wait is never worth it when we have other things do in life.

Vampire Owl: Still, the blind and dumb fans will have other ideas.

Vampire Bat: No wonder Uncle Dracula said no to any more humans turned into vampires. Dracula Castle has no place for nonsense.

[Gets a blueberry cake and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: Sandhya (Sobhita Dhulipala) has been working as a journalist in one of the leading television channels in the city. She has been looking forward to report and talk about crime in the city and bring the less explored areas to light. But when the crime report which she was going to read is changed by her superior to bring a sexual and illicit relationship to the scene, she protests and submits her resignation, much to the shock of the Managing Editor and surprise of her co-workers. The intern who has been working under her, Bobby (Aditi Myakal), is still happy though, and she asks her to begin a crime podcast. Bobby finds Sandhya as a true journalist among TRP seekers and her role model in the field. Sandhya also asks Bobby to join her. But soon, Bobby is found tied up, raped and murdered while her boyfriend is also tied up and murdered in her apartment. Sandhya tries to solve this case with the help of her boyfriend Amar (Vishwadev Rachakonda) with whom her marriage has already been fixed by their parents despite him being two years younger than her.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The police inspector in charge of the investigation, Rajeev (Chaitanya Krishna) does not like her and her boyfriend trying to poke their noses right inside his case file and crime scene. But Sandhya manages to find her own clues and points to a man through his podcast, but it turns out that he was only the man who stole Bobby’s earrings, and a phone call from the killer reveals that more murders are to follow soon enough. Another police officer named Ananditha (Isha Chawla) is assigned the same case, but Sandhya is not ready to leave the case and connect it to similar rape and murders which occurred in the villages on the outskirts of the city. As she seems to connect the dots, the police officers are not that impressed, especially after her previous framing of another man, and her podcast and hashtag campaign seem to make the killer angrier. Can the police or Sandhya stop the killer in time, or will similar incidents keep happening to keep the common people in terror?

The defence of Cheekatilo :: Here is another murder investigation that works, and at no point does the movie losses its strength. The twists are there to come, and the thrills are sufficient. Along with the same, the movie remains a thoughtful critique of how society and ratings-driven television handle crimes, with focus on the need for trauma, healing and empathy for victims. The focus on the past of the serial killer is also something worth mentioning. The mood is nicely built with the atmosphere as much as an initial scene which serves a time period much earlier as it lets us know what is to expect in a classic manner, and the sound effects and music used work really well. There is no attempt to overdo anything for the fans, and maybe the release on Amazon Prime Video helped the purpose – the Hindi dubbed version which we watched could also serve the purpose well. The movie is also not that long, staying at two hours, which would be the best choice. The film actually came as a pleasant surprise, as we had not heard about its release and were looking for a new thriller movies and this one just came out of nowhere.

Positives and negatives :: The movie does seem to drag a bit with many tales and some repetitions here and there. The romance is also almost completely lost in the totality of things. We keep trying to find the love, but we get the killings, and as it is a thriller, we say that it will do for now. The red herrings work, and they remain constant reminders of the extra effort being put in here, and the predictability is lessened right there. Even though the final revelation is effective and brings the surprise really well, the motive feels too quickly explained by a very fast backstory, thus making the climax giving the feeling of being prepared in a hurry. But the same surprisingly works, and it is because the willing suspension of disbelief never really leaves us, and the flow is still there towards that surprise and the motive. There is also the feeling that there is something missing on the side of the characters, with some of them never really keeping us interested. Some of them might be responsible for making us feel deviated from the main thing here.

The performers of the soul :: Sobhita Dhulipala delivers the best performance of the movie, with a certain command over the narrative. As she plays a true-crime podcaster who gets personally entangled in a murder investigation, this one becomes all about a grounded investigation that never goes out of her control as far as acting is concerned. We have seen he in her first movie, Raman Raghav 2.0, and therefore we know that she is no stranger to psycho killers and brutal murders happening around her character with a true psychopath on the hunt and a police officer also on a grand search. Her subtle facial expressions and body language nicely brings her internal conflict into the picture, as the character also has the trauma from childhood to go beyond. She blends is as the podcaster as well as the journalist with remarkable ease. Vishwadev Rachakonda as Amar makes the lover believable, but not without those shades which work nicely in the process. Chaitanya Krishna as Rajeev makes a fine police officer. Isha Chawla as Ananditha is the other police character, and that works well too. The rest also works along nicely.

How it finishes :: The movie stands strong with its core and the thrills and twists which follow, as we have something which goes well like Memories, Dheeram, Anjaam Pathiraa, John Luther, Forensic etc with its investigation. This is almost among my favourite Telugu movies, as there is no overdose of anything here, going on a path which never tries to satisfy the blind masala fans, as we have seen in many other Telugu movies. This one goes on a fine path which we can accept without much trouble, as the balance is maintained with the investigation always leaving something for us, even in the form of interesting red herrings. As we see that this movie released on Amazon Prime Video, one can be sure about the blind fans of the theatres never really creeping in, and the same might have helped the purpose a lot. With the movie’s atmosphere and the smooth journey, it feels like a movie made in the further south, and even with some predictability and seemingly strange deviations, there is the feeling that we have watched a fine murder investigation thriller with some messages to go with it.

Release date: 23rd January 2026
Running time: 126 minutes
Directed by: Sharan Koppisetty
Starring: Sobhita Dhulipala, Vishwadev Rachakonda, Chaitanya Krishna, Esha Chawla, Jhansi, Aamani, Ravindra Vijay

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

<<< Click here to go to the biggest movie of last year.

<<< Click here to go to the most awaited sequel of the year.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Running Man

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Vampire Owl: I have been wondering why humans keep running so much in their lives.

Vampire Bat: They search for meaning in their lives, but finds nothing in the end.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that there is no hope for humanity.

Vampire Bat: Well, humanity never really had any hope.

Vampire Owl: I remember watching that old movie with the same name.

Vampire Bat: Well, we had also read the book with the same name.

Vampire Owl: Stephen King movies have often struggled to make an impact in the last few years.

Vampire Bat: Yet, Doctor Sleep was one of the greatest among them.

Vampire Owl: There are always It, Pet Sematary, The Monkey, Carrie, Salem’s Lot and others too.

Vampire Bat: We cannot expected all such adaptations to be classic horror stories.

[Gets one M&M McFlurry and three cups of mint tea].

What is the movie about? :: In a not that distant future United States of America, an authoritarian media network takes control of the nation while focusing on patriotism and the need to keep the country safe from its usual and common enemies, some of the inside and the others from outside. Most of the citizens of the United States live in poverty with minimal access to healthcare which leads to a high infant mortality and most children not even born among the majority who lives with minimum low wages. Most people are busy with the meaningless and unreal violent game shows and absurd reality television. The most popular programme running in the nation is The Running Man, hosted by Bobby Thompson (Colman Domingo), which has three runners selected with a big opportunity to win a billion dollars by surviving 30 days while being hunted down by five hunters selected by the media team itself. They are led by the furious Evan McCone (Lee Pace) as they are allowed to take any step to end the runners, while citizens are also provided with opportunities which would bring them rewards.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Starting with thousand dollars and a twelve-hour head start when they are not attacked by anyone, the runners are also required to video tape themselves and send to the media office or else forfeit their earnings and more viciously hunted with no rewards. The murder of the hunters would also bring rewards to the runners, raising their earning by a long way. This is where Ben Richards (Glen Powell) attempts to join, as he is not able to buy medicine for his little daughter after being blacklisted for union activism which had him standing for the other workers, leaving him jobless and not able to care for his family. He had planned to join a game with lesser risk, but was drafted into The Running Man with Jenni Laughlin (Katy O’Brian), a seemingly confident young woman in his neighborhood and Tim Jansky (Martin Herlihy), a nerdy character who seems nice to everyone. Despite trying to back down, Ben is made to agree to the offer by Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) with an amount which he had never seen in his life, despite his wife Sheila Richards (Jayme Lawson) warning him against it.

And what more can happen in this world of future chaos with no real hope for humanity? :: Despite giving a safe house to his family and also providing an advance, Ben is shown as an enemy of the state to the audience and his wife’s moral side is also questioned, much to his dismay, as he promises to be back and give them what they deserve. But he would have no time for anything, as his time started, with all three contestants keeping on running through their own paths. With the help of a disguise taken from a friend, he goes to New York City and manages to start there by staying in a hotel right in the middle of the city and blend among the crowd with his changed looks. He watches Tim wandering in the city as it is shown as part of the show in television, and as he just goes through a normal life, is shot dead by the hunters bringing excitement to the audience who call for the blood of the other two runners. Ben who gets scared about the situation, and not sure about his safety in the big city anymore, decides to escape to Boston. But would that save him from the hunt or will be able to finish the hunters instead?

The defence of The Running Man :: The dark and possible future of the world and with a feeling of Stephen King’s novel, this one makes us very much interested in the movie which also has some nice chase and fight scenes. The world has been very nicely created, and we see how will it suits the situation, and there is a certain amount of charm even to its dark side. The charisma and intense physicality of Glen Powell as the desperate hero of his family manages to keep the movie strong. He had to do something extra to match the original hero and he comes close. Josh Brolin becomes the true antagonist whom we will remember for that terrifying face within that visage. Colman Domingo’s energy makes this even more suitable for its premise and genre as that works so well. Among the ladies, it is Emilia Jones who scores the most, and she is that character whom the audience will fall in love and even brings a certain amount of humour here. They fit nicely into this dystopian society which is obsessed with the circuses of ultra-violent television while being told what to do and made to struggle by the ruling class with the help of the reality shows which reflects the world differently.

Positives and negatives :: There are some classic moments from Lee Pace, but that comes a little late for our liking. The fans of the original might not feel that this matches, due to the absence of Arnold as the man of unparalleled strength. There were still opportunities for more, as the other runners could have also had focus, especially that of the lady runner who was doing so well. The emotional side of the wife and kid works less here for some reason, and the wife role seems to be dismissed as an irrelevant one with Emilia taking over as the lady who decides to switch sides to save the hero. The 1987 version, despite its own deviations, had a more heroic version of the same, and it is only natural that people would prefer that Arnold version, as his work with the fights would also be more believable as he is provided with that kind of a past; the female lead in that movie also had that unparalleled presence in the film, but not anymore. The final battle in the flight could have also been bigger, and the lack of a huge spectacle makes sure that the movie struggles even further.

How it finishes :: Those who have watched that older version might wonder about the necessity of having this one around. There is the world that we have seen before, brought to the big screen again in a similar, but different form. There is the action and thrills in a fine world, and we are entertained enough to be interesting in the movie throughout its run. But when the familiar scenario keeps getting repeated, people will wonder if how much of the same returning to the screen and what all not being adapted from the novel would be the right thing for this kind of movies. The movie remains visually striking and adds to the Stephen King adaptations which have done a good job on the screen, but it was surprising to see it not going too good at the box-office – well, we never really go to know if the movie even released at this part of the world, and one has to guess that due to those lower quality imitations released in different languages in India, with even post-apocalyptic worlds cheaply imitated. This one is superior to those movies which ridiculously copies elements from Hollywood and other languages and presents them as their own, but does leave the audiences slightly wishing that the creative strength here had run stronger, but most of us would be happy with what is found here. Then there is the message against government control.

Release date: 14th November 2025
Running time: 133 minutes
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Starring: Glen Powell, William H Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, Daniel Ezra, Jayme Lawson, Katy O’Brian, Sean Hayes, Colman Domingo, Josh Brolin

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✠ The Vampire Bat.

Seetharam

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Vampire Owl: I remember hearing about the previous movie of this franchise.

Vampire Bat: Well, we have started hearing about more movies in different languages.

Vampire Owl: We have not reviewed enough Kannada movies either.

Vampire Bat: Well, we are still with a lot of chances to do the same.

Vampire Owl: Do you think that this is the twilight of our movie reviewing times?

Vampire Bat: Twilight and vampires are no longer related at all.

Vampire Owl: Still, nobody really reads the movie reviews. They only watch YouTube.

Vampire Bat: You know how lazy the humans are. They will stop reading completely.

Vampire Owl: As if they are reading anything right now.

Vampire Bat: Well, the lower number of students taking BA English clarifies on their lack of wisdom.

[Gets some Enchiladas and three cups of Agua Fresca].

What is the movie about? :: Seetharam (Vijay Raghavendra) is an honest sub-inspector who takes strict measures against criminals, and was only recently transferred from Haveri to a rural area where the Aanegadde police station is situated in Shivamogga district of Karnataka. The village appears calm like any other place which is far away from the busy cities and intermediate towns, but it has been experiencing a series of smaller crimes, burglaries and violent incidents that had created problems for him, but the biggest crisis was yet to come in the form of some gruesome murders. His investigation often suffered due to the lack of higher-level support and the reluctance of residents to cooperate with the police, but this time, everyone knew that things already went out of control and it was up to him to save them. This series of brutal murders without clear pattern except for the brutality continues to worry the village. As bodies continue to surface, forensic analysis suggests that these murders might be done by a psychopath and not by someone simply seeking revenge.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As Seetharam and his team continue to try and identify the motives along with the patterns which could establish some connections that could lead them to the killer, they arrest Sebastian (Gopalkrishna Deshpande), a former headmaster who lost his mind and murdered his daughter’s boyfriend, but still thinks that his daughter who committed suicide lives with him. But after they arrest him, they find out that more killings continue in the same pattern, and Sebastian seems like a man living in hallucinations and causing no harm to people outside except for filing fake cases in the police station. At the same time, Seetharam is having his problems with reconciling with his sister and brother-in-law. As each breakthrough only mean more complications or a dead end, his frustrations combined with his personal problems make it more difficult for him. Now it is to be seen if he can solve this mystery and find the killer before more people are dead.

The defence of Second Case of Seetharam :: The movie has its suspense maintained well, and the mystery holds its ground with red herrings nicely doing the job of bringing new paths. The serial killer mode has us interested since its inception. The village settings work in favour of the movie as the sinister feeling never leaves the environment and one can remember that there are many areas for a serial killer to be present, and the possibility of finding a serial killer in the darkness has never been this high. There is danger in every corner, with the clues that lead the police to a psychopath or the other never really ending the problem as the killings continue without any chance seemingly there to stop. With violent killings of unexpected people in acts which are not just of random revenge, this keeps on the level of Forensic more than any other, as random killings without any big reason keeps us close to the true psycho killer mode rather than the usual tales of vengeance which has lowered the level of movies like Anjaan Paathira and Pappan during the later stages. There seems to be something special about investigating such a case in rural area with fine visuals and all the greenery and a grand twist.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does make us feel that it is another version of similar movies, and there are moments when we feel that it is going to be another Memories – the family elements and some possible red herrings point to something similar, even though the same does not happen in the end. The feeling that we have seen these before seems hesitant to leave us. The movie does not have that much of a pace, and we often feel that the brother-sister angle did not help to improve on the same much. The stretch seems to have kept this movie at a longer run-time than it should have ever had. The emotions are not working at all times, and sometimes we feel that some moments were not used well enough to create that feeling of disgust and anger as in some other movies dealing with similar topics. The action is minimum and even a consistent talk about clues being found is rather minimum here when compared to other movies with police investigation at the core. When dealing with psychological elements, the movie keeps on struggling too, as we just have the killer established all of a sudden.

The performers of the soul :: Vijay Raghavendra as Seetharam goes through the police role with ease, and along with the investigation, we see the emotional side being safe with him, as such a man’s struggle with the unsolvable problems and a family which is not there for him. The flashback helps to assert the same very well as much as the past of the serial killer. Even though not the main antagonist, Gopalkrishna Deshpande as Sebastian makes quite an impact which would make him more significant than the rest of the characters, as he is also a tragic hero. Both of these characters have been performed with some fine maturity and intensity which makes them some perfect examples of their own kind. There are multiple layers to their performances too, as they are both family men as much as what they have become, one for duty and the other madness. Sagar Puranik and Usha Bhandary provide good support, contributing meaningfully to the emotional to the overall work. The supporting cast, even though much limited in screen time, performs their roles convincingly, never really moving out of the film’s realistic tone. They enhance the film, making the mystery and emotional moments more engaging and impactful to the audience.

How it finishes :: The mixed opinions for the movie might be more or less justified, as the movie seems to keep itself at a specific level, never really going above with innovations in the genre. It surely had the scope for future, even though that much does not get close to being achieved by the makers. A combination like this one which has mystery, suspense and emotional depth will work well for most of the audience, but it is to be noted that Malayalam movie industry has the best thrillers, and they are there to be watched. Before this, Movies of the Soul only had two Kannada movies reviewed, Murphy and Mythri, and the former was such a wonderful experience. The truth is that I have never managed to get that many recommendations about some good movies in the language except for those which have some action which does not work with the willing suspension of disbelief with seemingly superpowered people. Those would be less explored, less commercialized gems, and I would be looking for them rather than those big budget movies. Until then, there would be three movies in the same language from the industry and the hope for more would stay.

Release date: 20th February 2026
Running time: 120 minutes
Directed by: Devi Prasad Shetty
Starring: Vijay Raghavendra, Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Sagar Puranik, Usha Bhandary, Pradeep Anche, Madhusudhan Gatte, Aravind Shetty, Rajesh Keelambi, Mathew Surani. Ananth Bhat, Manjunath, Shanmugam, Nataraj Aralasurali, Sridhar Shimoga, Sudheendra Rao, Latha Rajkumar, Aishwarya Nagaraj, Sushma Honnalli, Fathima Rodrigues, Manaf

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Drishyam 3

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Vampire Owl: I did not think that this was ever going to have a third movie.

Vampire Bat: I consider the ending of Drishyam 2 as a classic closure.

Vampire Owl: Even the first Drishyam had a fine ending.

Vampire Bat: The second movie had kept its standard and everything came together in the end.

Vampire Owl: Well, they still wanted a third movie for some reason.

Vampire Bat: Maybe the wanted to have a very high grossing movie in the franchise.

Vampire Owl: An inferior Hindi version would always have higher collection.

Vampire Bat: I think this wanted to go on the Lucifer 2 model banking on earlier success.

Vampire Owl: Yet they are not planning to create a better sequel here at all.

Vampire Bat: There is rarely a sequel which is better than the original, not even Alien and Predator.

[Gets some burritos and three cups of hot chocolate with tea].

What is the movie about? :: Five years have passed after Georgekutty (Mohanlal) provided Varun’s (Roshan Basheer) remains to Geetha (Asha Sharath) and Prabhakar (Siddique), and Thomas (Murali Gopy) who had investigated the case had also felt that there was no scope in the case. Now, Georgekutty, Rani (Meena), Anu (Esther Anil) and Anju (Ansiba Hassan) feel that they are now in a safe zone, with assurance from their lawyer Renuka (Santhi Mayadevi). Geogekutty has also produced a movie with superstar Harikumar (Biju Menon) as the hero, inspired from the events of their own life. He even gets into good terms with the eye witness who testified against him earlier, Jose (Ajith Koothattukalum) and Mary (Krishna Praba). The other police officers involved with the same case, DySP Philip Mathew (K B Ganesh Kumar) and CI Antony (Antony Perumbavoor) are also not interested in taking the case any further, and Sabu (Sumesh Chandran) who was also involved in the case as an undercover police officer is under suspension and has no interest in anything.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: A former police officer Suresh Babu (Irshad) becomes friends with Georgekutty, who becomes confident that he has some contact with the police department. But at the same time, Yamini (Veena Nandakumar), an investigative journalist with the support of the cameraman Rony (Shiva Hariharan) becomes more interested in the same and starts asking questions about the incidents related to Georgekutty all by herself despite the channel not showing that much interest in the same due to Geetha and Prabhakar no longer pushing that hard for their son. Georgekutty has the other people involved in the case under his wing and payment in the form of Rajan (Dinesh Prabhakar), Mathayi (Royas Marmakala) and Shreya (Shraddha Gokul) as they keep his special secrets safe with them. The director of his movie, Aneesh Raj (Muhammad Musthafa) chooses Georgekutty for another movie and things seem to get even better for him, but an old rival Sahadevan (Kalabhavan Shajohn) once again comes to the picture. How will it change the overall situation?

The defence of Drishyam 3 :: The movie continues to have that suspense element, and twists are added right towards the end, with new opponents coming out of nowhere and desperate situations requiring desperate measures. The movie with fine visuals, tries to have a closure to at least one question of the tale related to the protagonist while leaving the options for even a fourth movie right there in the end which could have further manipulations. The performances work well, and bringing some new characters to the light works nicely to bring the much-needed deviations that lead to the twist that defines the journey yet again. The relationship between the main character and his family remains something of significance and as this one goes in that direction, appeals to the family audience really well, and as an emotional drama score without trouble. The feeling that friends are the one’s causing trouble from behind, and with opponents becoming friends, this is a tale that brings a lot of dynamic character changes. The characters who have been close to our hearts to get the attention that they deserve yet again.

The claws of flaw :: Compared to the previous two movies this third film is a step downwards indeed, and as we keep wishing for something special to be added, what we get is something that comes down in the overall quality. There doesn’t seem to be that much of an effort to elevate the movie, and coming after two fine endings in precious two movies which would not have demanded sequels, this one ends with the possibility of a sequel without a closure, and that makes one wonder about the future possibilities as much as why this one could not capitalize on the basics which were already laid. The difficulty in matching that final twists of earlier movies can be seen here. The movie had also taken a lot of time to get to the main area of the tale, with a lot of time going on to find some interesting points. The idea of depending more on coincidences or far-fetched possibilities does not serve the purpose that much as compared with the more realistic happenings – this one feel more of luck-based rather than anything else. There is the feeling that this one is less natural and beyond the common man or usual smart man and something often forced.

The performers of the soul :: Mohanlal once again comes up with a masterclass in restrained acting which stands above the rest. He excels even when the tale seems to go in the wrong direction, and we see him keeping things in control. Meena does seem to have lesser jobs to do in each movie of the franchise, and seems to have to go through the same, but the same is maintained well. Ansiba Hassan remains good in the one role in which we remember her, and Esther Anil manages the character’s moving on to maturity well. Kalabhavan Shajohn’s return is good, but it also feels a little strange in characteristics, and not maintained well to the end. Siddique character change is not that much believable and feels forced, even though it is performed well. Murali Gopy is one person who remains solid and maintains the level of his character, and it is one work that feels perfect. Veena Nandakumar is wasted after a fine beginning, while Irshad, Santhi Mayadevi and Dinesh Prabhakar leaves a mark. Ajith Koothattukalum also has more to do here and he does even better than the earlier movie.

How it finishes :: The movie remains somewhat a good continuation to tale which has kept us interested with two entries in the franchise and also spawned so many remakes in different languages. There is still the fact that it could not meet the grand expectations which is always associated with this particular franchise. In between, Jeethu Joseph had come up with other thrillers, a superior Kooman and inferior Neru, 12th Man and Mirage. The movie succeeds in keeping audiences interested in its suspenseful narrative, emotional family drama and strong performances led by Mohanlal in another work to remember. The exploration of the long-term consequences of the protagonist’s actions and the psychological burden carried by the man who is determined to protect his family at the expense of others, also gets something extra here. Just like Lucifer 2: Empuraan, this one has scored with the initial collections so well that it does not need that much of opinions from the audience to become the fourth highest grossing movie of all-time in Malayalam movie industry, but one would feel that Drishyam 2 would have scored even higher at the box-office if it had released in theatres as the quality was surely much higher there. For now, Amazon Prime Video has this one ready for your eyes and soul.

Release date: 21st May 2026
Running time: 160 minutes
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Ajith Koothattukalum, Kirshna Prabha, Asha Sharath, Siddique, Murali Gopy, K B Ganesh Kumar, Veena Nandakumar, Shiva Hariharan, Irshad, Santhi Mayadevi, Anjali Nair, Dinesh Prabhakar, Antony Perumbavoor, Srikant Murali, Sumesh Chandran

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✠ The Vampire Bat.

Sambhavam

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Vampire Owl: I have heard a lot of positive about this movie on the way back from silent hill.

Vampire Bat: This feels like a very divergent movie in comparison to others.

Vampire Owl: Yes, one of its kind, as what we understand from the opinions.

Vampire Bat: There seems to be something mysterious about this movie too.

Vampire Owl: I can feel the supernatural and science fiction at the same time.

Vampire Bat: I wonder if they will need science if the supernatural already works.

Vampire Owl: This would be one of its kind in Malayalam, I guess.

Vampire Bat: Every kind of a movie needs to begin somewhere.

Vampire Owl: So, the experimentation has started now.

Vampire Bat: And it seems like it is going the right way this time.

[Gets a red velvet cake and three cups of Ceylon tea].

What is the movie about? :: Anand (Askar Ali) is a civil police officer who had go through his early life as an orphan due to his father’s disappearance during his childhood. Many years later, he is taking charge in an area which is located close to the forest, and it is a punishment transfer to the middle of nowhere as he fell asleep on duty and did not salute a senior police officer. As he takes charge, his wife Neethu (Neethu Krishna) is pregnant, but she assures him that he can go without second thoughts as the full family is around there for her help and support. There he meets the other policemen in the station, the senior officer Ashokan (Assim Jamal) and the other officers Reji (Vineeth Kumar) and Rajamani (Senthil Krishna). Reji is an angry middle-aged man who gets upset about even small things during his duty, while Ashokan who only has a few years to retirement shows the best of maturity, with Rajamani living through some happy moments in his police life. The situation seems to be peaceful, and there seems to be no feeling of danger or crisis anywhere near the forest and village area.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The joining day seems to be an uneventful one, and as Anand comes to know that Neethu had given birth to a girl child, Ashokan asks him to go home and come back later as there is nothing much to do. Everything seems to go in a usual manner until they realize that Reji has caused a problem with a group of Tamil youth from the other side of border. This is followed by them finding an injured police officer on the way, whom they take to the hospital. From the walkie-talkie used by the officer, they find out that there is another police officer who is injured and lost in the forest. With these calls from the same person keeping on asking for help, they decide to search for the missing man. They make a call to the police station on the other side of the state, but the people on the other side denies having anyone in the forests at the same time. Despite Reji not being in favour of it, they decide to go into the forest and quickly have a look. As they step in and go deep into wilderness, there seems to be too many things that they do not understand. Who all can escape from these complications?

The defence of Sambhavam Adhyayam Onnu :: Despite dealing with a difficult topic, the makers of the movie seem to have a fine idea about what it needs to achieve, and therefore the whole thing is provided to the audience without much of a complication. From the beginning itself, we are given the idea that there is something coming, and danger is always around the corner with something strange awaiting to drop in. The time-bending elements are always ready to add more too. The twists are nicely worked with, and the suspense is well-maintained and unleashed at the right moment. They mystery makes us think early enough and there is more to it than what meets the eye, revealed with enough being held for the big revelation later. The setting of forest has been used to the advantage, and the choice of statue and backstory works well to add to the overall mood. Cinematography, background score and editing, all contribute well to the overall quality of the movie. With a bigger budget, one can only wonder what can be made if there is a second movie in this particular series.

Positives and negatives :: Despite how well this has been presented, there will always be some people who do not understand the whole thing, and will remain confused forever. The emotional depth, despite being strong with the father-son bond, losses its power with the repeated idea of seeing the newborn child. There might be similarities with other movies felt at times, but with the setting and background, this serves right in its own way. There is a little bit of stretching as the same thing is repeated in the name of showing different timelines, and incidents happening multiple times, often in the same way or with differences keep us wondering. For those who do not like the basic idea, this will hurt them more. The absence of the big names seems to have hurt the movie, and some more hype during its release would have helped to make this a big name in the theatres too – the experience is something which would work really nice for the big screen with a special feeling that never ceases to leave us. Still, you see how well this is presented, and can always have some time to enjoy the same.

The performers of the soul :: Known the best for Kamuki, Askar Ali comes up with an interesting performance here in a movie which requires some work from the cast due to its shift between timelines and the weird nature of the proceedings would make it even more difficult. The emotional side of the movie is mostly associated with him more than anyone else. Assim Jamal plays a fine police officer, someone who seems to be more responsible than others, and is committed to his duty with a humane touch. From the first introduction itself, we feel that he is indeed a likable character, and maybe he deserved a full run in the movie. Vineeth Kumar plays a serious police character, but we do not see much of him and the character is easily lost in the proceedings as we do not get a character development around there. Senthil Krishna’s small role remains notable, and keeps us feeling that there would be more to him, but he does not get that much of a screen-time to work with. Sidharth Bharathan’s small role should get developed further in the next possible sequel, as it becomes very relevant and well-played with a touch of mystery. As the only relevant female character, Neethu Krishna manages a fine job with the small screen-time.

How it finishes :: Sambhavam Adhyayam Onnu comes up with an idea which is not thought about in Malayalam cinema, and this lack of thought might be more about how people would take it rather than that botheration about the budget. The combination of loops with local myths and legends works really well around here, as the cinematic experience becomes something splendid as much as new, with everything working so well, and even leaves scope for something more to come in a possible sequel – there has been some good appreciation from the audience for this movie, even though early reaction was not much; another movie should be coming around. If you enjoy time-loop mysteries, this one is worth watching for its ambition, atmosphere and that unusual premise which is added to our world in a believable manner. The combination of multiple ideas to a believable mode works really well. This is certainly a step forward for Malayalam cinema and we need to appreciate the same, for Thamma–Munjya–Stree-like folklore developement should happen more.

Release date: 6th March 2026
Running time: 129 minutes
Directed by: Jithu Satheesan Mangalathu
Starring: Askar Ali, Vineeth Kumar, Assim Jamal, Sidharth Bharatan, Senthil Krishna

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

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Baby Girl

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Vampire Owl: I wonder who these babies in the movie are.

Vampire Bat: I have heard about a baby going missing in this story.

Vampire Owl: How can babies go missing? Who takes them? A succubus?

Vampire Bat: I am relieved that you did not say gargoyle.

Vampire Owl: The gargoyles are completely under the control of Uncle Dracula now.

Vampire Bat: I am glad that you did not assign them to Mr. Frankenstein.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein has better scientific plans.

Vampire Bat: What will he invent now? A fake time machine?

Vampire Owl: I have heard that Dr. Frankenstein is going to create an elixir of invisibility.

Vampire Bat: You mean like the elixir of immortality which increased mortality by a thousand times in multiple realms.

[Gets a Paneer Fried Rice and three cups of Nuwara Eliya tea].

What is the movie about? :: Meenakshi (Mythili Nair), a young student doing engineering graduation at Bangalore had just given birth to a baby girl, only to find out that her baby had gone missing when she checked. She had married her senior at college, Akash (Akshay Prashanth) who had just turned twenty one, the minimum legal age for marriage as she had already turned eighteen and was pregnant with his child. Sanal (Nivin Pauly), the attender and Sukumaran (Jaffar Idukki), the security, becomes the worst affected due to this situation as their lack of care for their duty time becomes known to the police force led by Sub Inspector Rakesh (Abhimanyu Shammi Thilakan) and Assistant Sub Inspector Akbar (Azees Nedumangad) who try to get to the bottom of this, despite not getting enough support from Circle Inspector Sujith (Sreejith Ravi) and City Police Commissioner Shameer (Major Ravi) who are focusing more on a political protest which is going on in the city. The protests get through the blockades and with the Chief Minister at the location, there is least police support provided to the missing case.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As the team send CPO Jeffin (Aswath Lal) to gather further information, Sanal tells them that he had seen someone in a purdah going out from the hospital with a bag, and he suspected that the baby was inside it. They keep searching for the same person in that clothing, and Sanal ends up getting a baby from a woman in the streets, but that turns out to be her own baby, making it an embarrassment for both the police and the hospital. As the hospital dismisses him with immediate effect for carelessness as much as recklessness, his wife Sini (Aditi Ravi), a nurse who had just returned from Saudi Arabia, asks him to return home and not to think more about what happened. But he is determined to find out what happened to the baby, but the situation is not like what he had been thinking, as Rishi (Sangeeth Prathap) and Rithu (Lijomol Jose) are the two people involved in this, but things had gone out of their control. Can there be some balance brought back to the situation, and will they be able to find the baby and return it to the mother before there are more complications?

The defence of Baby Girl :: The movie has the main incident coming into the picture right at the beginning itself, as not much time is wasted in a movie which had all the opportunity to waste a lot. It seems to be in a hurry in the beginning, as nothing else gets the care other than the baby girl gone missing, and the investigation is very quick to start and move on with hope. The movie needed an initial strength as it focuses more on the Passenger-model of common people going after a serious situation covered by the media, and that early boost helps the movie to keep moving forward even when pulled down. When the movie powers to an effective interval, that nicely gets to a point where emotions peak. The emotional side can also be seen as mostly working, and the deviations in the tale with more characters always seem to bring the emotions further. With realistic moments as much as performances, the movie never really moves away from our world. Cinematography and background score also adds to the overall quality of the movie. Then, the hype was always meant to keep the movie felt grand at the start itself.

The claws of flaw :: The movie’s attempt to bring the emotional side of losing a baby girl is lost in the process of getting emotionally attached to the other characters, who are not that much well-established. The movie seems to be keeping us close to different griefs and the abiding sadness here is more or less related to these people being sad for many other reasons which becomes more important than a lost child at times, and there are moments when we feel that the baby is just a missing package which has to be reminded as important by the police and the main characters through carefully crafted dialogues meant for some occasions only. The story keeps losing strength at times, as if there is some laziness which comes in here and there. The subplots often do not come up with that much of a strength, and a number of characters, fail to come up with the desired impact here. The ending is not that satisfactory, even though it is emotionally effective, for we did not wish to go the Game of Thrones finale way after a long wait. Well, this is a movie in which characters remain strange and act so, on too many occasions, as police characters also remains not effective in thinking.

The performers of the soul :: Nivin Pauly leads the way here not as the hero who would come out strong and prove that he is among the best, but as a flawed protagonist. He surely has a lot of screen time here, and is there from the beginning, and yet, I would consider the main character to be that one which is played by Lijimol Jose. One can safely say that it is her character that determines the real outcome of the movie, and scores like no other in the emotional scenes. It is also good to see Sangeeth Prathap getting roles like these, which have something far away from that usual humour. Even then, he does add a little bit of situational humour here too. Mythili Nair and Akshay Prashanth, the new faces also get some strong work to do, and they handle the same with some maturity which is to be appreciated. Abhimanyu Shammi Thilakan’s police role is solid, and Azees Nedumangad’s support is also to be appreciated, even though it comes as no surprise after watching movies like Kannur Squad. Aditi Ravi’s role is surprisingly limited to a few scenes at one house and so is that of Alphy Panjikaran at the hospital. Major Ravi, Aswath Lal and Sreejith Ravi plays their smaller police roles well as expected.

How it finishes :: As this one comes from the writers Bobby-Sanjay, the expectations were to be the much higher, and only some of the same is delivered here. There will not be the emotional power of Kaanekkaane or the investigative strength of Salute. After the success of Sarvam Maya, this next movie of the year with Nivin Pauly in the lead and with the addition of Lijomol Jose of Jai Bhim fame around was supposed to be a movie which helped expectations to skyrocket, but that journey to the clouds was surely short-lived, even though the movie does serve with entertainment and emotions as well as thrills and some twists also added here and there. The potential was so much, but movie confuses itself towards the ending which will satisfy only a small number of people. It had begun with such a compelling idea of a missing newborn case with a clear atmosphere of urgency and tension, which deviates, and feels like ready to lose its way, but then comes back, and feels like raising itself on occasions, only to end without that much of a real solution. But the journey remains memorable, and effective enough to have us go for it with the engaging moments.

Release date: 23rd January 2026
Running time: 124 minutes
Directed by: Arun Varma
Starring: Nivin Pauly, Sangeeth Prathap, Lijomol Jose, Abhimanyu Shammi Thilakan, Alphy Panjikaran, Aditi Ravi, Rudraksh, Azees Nedumangad, Major Ravi, Sreejith Ravi, Mythili Nair, Akshay Prashanth, Jaffar Idukki, Aswath Lal, Nandhu, Nisha Sarangh, Ranjini George, Prem Prakash, James Eliya, Kichu Tellus, Anoop Krishnan, Archana Prakash

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✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Housemaid

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Vampire Owl: We have waited for this movie to come in the OTT for some time.

Vampire Bat: And it is on Amazon Prime Video, which is for the best.

Vampire Owl: Well, we all needed our Amazon Prime deliveries.

Vampire Bat: There is no Amazon delivery in Dracula castle.

Vampire Owl: Well, we can always pick them up from the borders of the realm.

Vampire Bat: What we need are very much here, and at best quality.

Vampire Owl: The vampire apprentices are really working hard, aren’t they?

Vampire Bat: We have shifted to magic for doing the work for us.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein had invented enough to help with that.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein’s pseudo-science actually helps and saves nobody. Frank no longer has enough access to our work.

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

What is the movie about? :: Wilhelmina Calloway a.k.a. Millie (Sydney Sweeney) is on parole after committing a murder in self-defence. It is then that she is hired by Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried) as a live-in maid, much to her surprise as her criminal records did not stop her from being hired for such a big job after so many rejections. The home also has her daughter Cecelia Winchester (Indiana Elle) and husband Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar) who are surprised to see her around there, but Nina is determined that she should have a housemaid as she cannot manage household work even though Enzo Accardi (Michele Morrone) takes care of the work outside. Mille is given an attic bedroom that can be locked from the outside, much to her surprise, and she tries to get a key for the same. But she is so desperate to keep her job as it is a term of her parole; due the same, she just goes on with the process despite the problems that come in her way, and feels that there is something wrong with Nina and the family seems to be slowly falling apart.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Mille further learns that in the past, Nina was locked in a mental hospital for a period of nine months for trying to drown Cece in a bath tub under the effect of drugs and for has tried attempting suicide by overdose. Nina is considered mentally unstable by different people, and some of them seems to keep a distance from her too. Millie also finds her to be very angry towards her, and breaks things while keeping on shouting. It could also be seen that Nina says one thing to her and forgets the same later, keeping on saying that Millie decided to do that thing against her instructions. The neighbours consider her to be a dangerous woman, without a family, and has attached herself to her husband who is rich, handsome, and sweet to everyone around. Andrew’s mother Evelyn Winchester (Elizabeth Perkins) is also that high society lady whom everyone revered, and keeps telling the family about a few things which they should always follow without fail.

And what more is to happen around here as a crisis seems to be on the way? :: A similar case occurs as Millie books Broadway musical tickets and a hotel for the Winchesters in one of the richest areas, but later, Nina just denies having given her those instructions, and tells her that she will take the money out of her salary as the tickets are not refundable. But when Nina was talking her daughter to the ballet camp, Andrew tries to cheer Millie up by secretly taking her to the show, and after enjoying dinner together, they check into the hotel. Millie receives a large number of angry texts from Nina, but Andrew, and the two start and intimate relationship in the hotel bedroom. Then, when they return home, and Millie realizes that Nina has found out that she spent ten years in prison for murder. Nina uses this knowledge to make sure that police arrest her on stealing their car, after reporting a stolen car. But this would not be the end of it, as her plans might be more sinister, and the family secrets would mean more trouble. Can Millie survive this?

The defence of The Housemaid :: The movie maintains a certain level, with nice red herrings and the suspense always ready to come out, with thrills going on strong – the performances of the leading actresses are also to be noted, as Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried blends into the situation really well. Sydney seems to be very close to becoming the next scream queen in a horror movie, and we have seen her capability with thrillers earlier itself, through The Voyeurs. Amanda had a more complicated role, and she maintains a certain amount of skill to go through the transformation of the character. Brandon Sklenar also joins well here. The tension is nicely built, as the viewer gets curious with secrets to be revealed, mind games and twists which might not be the kind that one can predict with ease. There is the feeling that we are watching the kind of thrillers which we had during much earlier times. The dramatic side also works and entertainment is guaranteed, with most of the action set in a big and isolated house which is set far away from the city.

The claws of flaw :: The movie’s ending seemed to be too quick and forced. After that, there is another scene which feels like not relevant at all, as Sydney Sweeney’s character was surely not fit to that situation, and it is not a kind of job that one could take when on the list of police; strange that some fine endings feel the need to be made further complicated by an additional scene – even if it was created to bring hope for a sequel which also would not fit in. The predictability also comes in after the grand twist, and after that, the situation feels just going on and on, and nothing more. There was also the slowing down in between, and seemingly an attempt to divert the movie a little too much. The length of the movie is surely a little too much, as sometimes, time is just lost in the dialogues. With the movie becoming too much filmy, we can also see that the realistic side, despite being present, sometimes losses its charm. The flashback and the explanations are also too long, and the main character, without any prior knowledge of the predicament, seems to guess and thus understand everything with relative ease.

How it finishes :: This particular movie had successfully become more than what is seen on the outside, and we know that movies like this one and Deep Water, as well as Gone Girl, strikes because they have something more than what is seen on the surface. Compared to those titles, this one also ultimately stands as a highly watchable but not the best psychological thriller that leans more towards providing the old-style entertainment rather than focusing on the much-needed depth. Powered by the performances led by Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney, the movie could create an engaging atmosphere having tension, secrets and dramatic twists. It chooses the commercial side instead of the intellectual, and manages to work well in the same. It still relies on familiar tropes, some predictability and moments of too much talking about the past to reduce the overall impact. But you are sure to enjoy this one because the movie is made in a way that the appeal to the audience would be more, and catering towards the regular thriller fun side is here to be taken home, even if it is from Amazon Prime Video.

Release date: 19th December 2025
Running time: 131 minutes
Directed by: Paul Feig
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, Nicholas Galitzine, Julie Walters, Alex Wolff

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✠ The Vampire Bat.

Fall for Me

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Vampire Owl: I have heard about vampire penguins falling from the top of Dracula Castle.

Vampire Bat: I am sure that it is not exactly what they mean with the falling here.

Vampire Owl: All other types of falling do not happen around here.

Vampire Bat: Well, this is the kind of falling that happens more to humans.

Vampire Owl: We are not people who watch over the fall of humans.

Vampire Bat: Well, the human falls are just normal and natural in that realm.

Vampire Owl: Such a terrible realm to be born to, if you ask me.

Vampire Bat: Especially if you do not turn into vampires early enough.

Vampire Owl: We should not be taking more human turned into vampires.

Vampire Bat: Well, we also need more workers at the castle.

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

What is the movie about? :: Lilli (Svenja Jung), and auditor from Germany travels to the island of Mallorca in Spain to visit her younger sister Valeria (Tijan Marei). There, she is surprised to see that she is engaged to a French man named Manu (Victor Meutelet), and are planning to open a bread and breakfast establishment. The two had also planned to buy his uncle’s property for the same purpose, but for the same, there is the need to sell the property of the sisters’ mother, which was meant to be kept for Valeria’s university education. But Valeria who is too much attached with the idea of starting a life together with a supporting hospitality business that she no longer wishes to study any more. The university dreams just seem to be that of their mother, not hers. Lilli wonders if she was invited there so that her signature is required to sell mother’s property, and is worried that her sister has had too many lovers in the past, and wonders if this one is also temporary in nature, which would bring a new crisis to their world.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Valeria feels that Lilli is not happy about her, as her own relationships have been going terribly in the last few years. But things get different when Lilli meets up with the local club manager Tom (Theo Trebs) who is also from Germany, both share a romantic attraction from the flight sight itself. Soon, Lilli meets real estate investor Nick (Thomas Kretschmann) who offers an amount of €900,000 for the property, which he considers to be more than what would be given by anyone else, and Valeria along with Manu supports the cause. Nick’s wife Girasol (Lucia Barrado) also tries to make the transactions quicker, and tries to get close to Lilli to make her more interested in them. But Lilli is of the opinion that she requires more time with this, and at the same time, has her relationship with Tom going to an intimate level after he comes to her home to repair a broken pipe, with the rest of her making way for them having sex multiple times.

And what more can happen here as something never seems right? :: She places her trust on him and gets someone else to look at the plot to know exactly how much it costs, and gets an analysis of €700,000 for the property as most of it cannot be destroyed due to its historical past and location. He advises Lilli to accept the earlier offer, and she agrees. But it is then that Bea (Antje Traue), the former lover of Manu comes to their life, and she seems to be obsessed with him, even though Valeria is not that bothered, as she also had many lovers in her life, and she had gone very intimate with most of them, leaving some of the relationships just within a short time. Lilli feels that her little sister is in trouble, and tries to come to the bottom of it. But chasing Bea does not lead her anywhere, but she does comes to know that Manu has not worked in the hotel where he told her that he had prior experience. At the same time, Nick is forcing her to sign the deal, but with her doubt about Manu, will she do that soon enough?

The defence of Fall for Me :: The movie is shot in some of the most beautiful locations that we can get anywhere. Mallorca of Spain has that stylish, vacation-like vibe with scenic locations which keeps us so much interested throughout its run, and also makes us wish to travel, not just to one place, but any similar areas. The romance, deception, scam and relationship revolve around without that much of an overdose, as everything goes on through a simple path with smooth transitions. The twists are not that shocking, but they remain effective due to the performances and the emotional side that has something in store. The lead actors like Svenja Jung and Theo Trebs goes on well, and Svenja feels like too good in this role, as everything including the emotions are so well portrayed – she remains the loveliest part of the movie, and goes through the character’s troubles well as the central character. Then there is Tijan Marei whose performances feel even more realistic as much as cute in the form of a little sister. The romance here is never really overdone, and this is a movie which feels having just enough around.

The claws of flaw :: The movie just moves through what seems to be just the usual process, and the surprises and shocks do not count as among the most effective or memorable ones. It never gets to be that serious or with serious danger. The focus on the story is not really that much as we look closer – it just feels like taken from different earlier movies which deals with similar themes. The thrills go too smooth with the suspense and got enough predictability around. The focus on romance is sometimes not there, and at times, just comes out of nowhere. Some of the decisions of the characters also feel strange, and there is not that much of development among them – even the talks about the past just feels repetitive rather than bringing something special out of them. There is not that much of depth, and the strength of a classic thriller has gone missing. The ending also seems to have been done in a comfortable manner, not thinking about making it suited to bring a memorable finish. The absence of that much thoughts about the movie’s progress can surely be seen here and there.

How it finishes :: The movie seems to be that smooth journey like a journey through some beautiful areas with charming people all around. At a time when traveling has not been that easy in a world of chaos, we can keep wandering through different lands with movies like these which never really misses out on the chance to capture the location. There is romance and we also have those deceptions, and despite seemingly going nowhere at some points, brings the whole thing to an end, even though there is nothing special about it. For going through a tale that does not claim anything huge, but gives enough of a normal tale, this one is a harmless watch. One would feel that the lack of intensity is something that favours the movie in maintaining a cool effect throughout its run that does not feel too long even when it slows down. Getting some German movies on OTT is quite a rare thing, one has to acknowledge the same. We do get one more here, to add to the foreign movies list which has been dominated by Korean, Spanish, French and Russian movies.

Release date: 21st August 2025
Running time: 105 minutes
Directed by: Sherry Hormann
Starring: Svenja Jung, Theo Trebs, Thomas Kretschmann, Tijan Marei, Victor Meutelet, Antje Traue, Lucia Barrado

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Accountant 2

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Vampire Owl: It is time Uncle Dracula gets his own vampire accountant.

Vampire Bat: Why would he need an accountant when there is no cash here?

Vampire Owl: But he travels through human world for quite a long.

Vampire Bat: Can’t he get a vampire forex card instead?

Vampire Owl: We are now having forex cards here?

Vampire Bat: Well, there should be a way to convert blood money to cash.

Vampire Owl: So, the vampire blood bank accounts can be converted to currency?

Vampire Bat: Yes, even though the value after conversion is really low.

Vampire Owl: At least Uncle Dracula is the richest man in the realm. So, no problems.

Vampire Bat: Still, not that rich as the family of elders.

[Gets two orange cream biscuits and three cups of elaichi tea].

What is the movie about? :: Former FinCEN director Raymond King (J. K. Simmons) arranges a meeting with a mysterious assassin known only by the identity Anais (Daniella Pineda). While tracked by different gunmen who seems to be ready to shoot at them at any time, he asks her for some help in locating a Salvadorean family with an old photo of the parents and the son. Anais tells him that she usually just assassinates people, but do not harm children, so not sure if she would take this mission involving children either. As different gunmen open fire, King is killed, but Anais is able to escape from trouble without much problems as if she never really visited the place and nobody knows even her real name or further identity. King’s protege and Deputy Director of FinCEN, Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), identifies his body, and sees a message which goes as “find the accountant” written on his arm, and decides to do something about his death, as there seems to be something sinister about it.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Marybeth is forced to contact Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck), even though she doubts him for his illegal activities. Christian organizes a collage of information and tells her that the family in the photo fled from El Salvador to Los Angeles illegally, facing different hazards along the way. At the same time, Burke (Robert Morgan) further asks his enforcer Cobb (Grant Harvey) to somehow kill Anais, as she holds a grudge against him, and might end up killing him instead. Christian invites his estranged brother, Braxton (Jon Bernthal), working as an assassin, to help him with the case, as there is so much to be done. Justine (Allison Robertson), Christian’s old friend, works with a group of children to hack into different networks to help Christian. They manage to find a photo of Anais from a selfie which was taken by a woman who was present at that time – they are able to find her face, but are unable to identify her with any matches. Uncomfortable with their illegal methods towards truth, Marybeth breaks from the group and visits a hospital mentioned in one of King’s reports to find haunting secrets about Anais which would change their whole idea about the situation.

The defence of The Accountant 2 :: The film does have a nice twist as the movie nears the end, and the revelation here works nicely unlike what people have been expecting from what have been put in front of them. The movie has some intense gun fights, tactical combat and well-choreographed action scenes instead of the mass action scenes which are usually used, and this means that the movie remains more believable and never comes up with an overdose of the usual flying action stuff. The expansion of the world of the first movie works really well, as the returning characters and the relationships that come in between are explored further, and often with more detail. The combination of financial crime investigation with action and adventures, remains something that strikes different for a thriller with some classic divergence from the usual. There is physical action and there is intellectual action, both working so well around here. Everything that is required to create a big world of action filled with assassins and twists can be seen here, and this is one protagonist that we would continue to love.

Positives and negatives :: This also makes me remember Jason Statham’s Mechanic, both signifying professions, but meaning much more from the background. Well, some heroes do their work perfectly in more than one field, and we surely like to see them around. The movie does lose a little bit of power in the pacing in between, as this one is a reasonably long movie which has a lot of dialogues, some of them just providing deviation to the movie itself. There is also some complexity related to this movie, and those who wish to have things go direct, might have some other opinions about this particular movie. The originality might be a little bit lost around here with the base so much on the earlier flick. The final fight scenes are really catchy, and the talk about having pets, with the final adoption of a cat works very nicely for the movie, which also develops some emotions along with humour on the way. The sibling bonding idea had already set the premise for such proceedings. The combination could continue to score if there is a sequel, as the stage remains there to get more movies in the franchise.

The performers of the soul :: Ben Affleck once again plays the quiet, highly intelligent accountant who is also an assassin convincingly. His work as a socially awkward, but highly capable man with multiple missions remains the big highlight of the movie. I have always loved him as Batman, and found him to be the perfect superhero of the dark in the DC Universe, and also his different avatar in Gone Girl and that classic divergence in Deep Water. Well, here he is the accountant closing a financial account when all the transactions are finished, but also closing the accounts of life with a few people – that surely works with much effectiveness. Yet, the one whom we miss the most in this movie is last one’s Anna Kendrick who remained its soul then. But Jon Bernthal as Braxton surely with the action here, along with some brotherly bonding that brings the humour. Daniella Pineda is a lovely assassin by the way, and we hope to see her going through such missions in sequels too. Cynthia Addai-Robinson comes in, and just adds the minimal here. Allison Robertson adds on further while J. K. Simmons is missed rather too early in this one.

How it finishes :: When watching the second movie after watching the first one ten years ago, there would be something which would have been missed, but this one surely feels like good enough for a stand-alone film. The release of this particular movie has surely been missed by us, and most probably it never really came to the local theatres here, despite being a franchise with so much class over the usual mass – for now, it is on Amazon Prime Video, and it is good to see it around there. The movie will not come up with those big action sequences though, as it keeps closer to reality, and still around there, we have the action going on with the assassins wandering around and gunmen sent by crime bosses and gangsters also having a say. The basic idea of the movie itself had our attention, as it is something that provides a Hitman-like feeling, and even a little bit of John Wick seems to wander around here, as there are so many incidents happening in the background of a seemingly normal world here, with the man at the centre and his brother bringing something else too. This should be a long franchise like John Wick – I would love to see it going through the same as there is always scope for the others beyond such well-known assassins.

Release date: 25th April 2025
Running time: 92 minutes
Directed by: Gavin O’Connor
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, J. K. Simmons, Allison Robertson, Grant Harvey, Andrew Howard, Lombardo Boyar, Michael Tourek

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✠ The Vampire Bat.

Bloody Ishq

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Vampire Owl: It has been a long time since love was seen as bloody.

Vampire Bat: Well, all relationships beyond marriage are bloody.

Vampire Owl: Yes, people do fall in love and die.

Vampire Bat: It is quite natural, as we know the same news.

Vampire Owl: So many people die due to this romance.

Vampire Bat: Yes, such Ishq not in marriage is bloody and terrifying for sure.

Vampire Owl: Are they bloodier than Romeo and Juliet?

Vampire Bat: Well, at least they were really true to each other.

Vampire Owl: We cannot really have the dead people to talk, can we?

Vampire Bat: Not if they do not become vampires or at least zombies with a little bit of brain activity left in their heads.

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

What is the movie about? :: Neha (Avika Gor) is a young woman who has only recently had a near-death experience by drowning, and had lost her memory. She had fallen in love with Romesh (Vardhan Puri) and married her only a few months ago, and they had fallen in love when she was in Scotland, undergoing her studies. Now, they live in their large mansion on a deserted Scottish island, and as it is a grand old building, which he hopes to transform into a grand hotel by lakeside. Romesh assures her that she will regain her memory slowly and steadily as she goes backs to the same mansion and do things as she used to do. She also feels that she is going to heal in the mansion by herself while he goes to the mainland and work goes on in the building. But soon she feels that there is something hiding behind the grandeur of the mansion in its dark corners which seems to have something for her, as scary situations keep happening against all odds. She feels that there is something paranormal and that the house is haunted.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Now, it seems that she cannot go out of the island as she has developed a fear for water. But inside the house, there seems to be some spirits trying to communicate with her and there are doors which seem to be locked forever with the strongest of locks. There are arms coming after her with some of them bloodied, a naked woman is on her bed with moaning sound heard, and glasses of the house seem to break for no reason and there are weird noises which seem to suggest something out of this world and intending to cause her harm. It is then that she is visited by Devdutt Sinha (Shyam Kishore), an officer from the Scottish police department, who tells her that her husband is the prime suspect in the murder of her father-in-law. She feels that death is also wandering rather too close to her and her falling in water might also have some other explanation to it. Fear and confusion seem to be regular part of her life, with hope seemingly far off.

And what more would happen here as the supernatural is ready to have its final say, making humans feel irrelevant? :: A woman who claims to be her best friend Ayesha (Jeniffer Piccinato) tells her that her husband is a liar and has rather to many secrets hidden within him. She tells Neha to find out the truth before it’s too late. Abhay (Gautam Sharma), a paranormal investigator lets her know that he had come to their mansion with Tanisha (Arshin Mehta), a medium who was possessed temporarily by an unknown spirit at the same building, and he adds that it was a terrible experience. Tanisha was seriously injured during the incident and due to her lasting trauma, do not go for any paranormal investigations anymore. Soon, Neha comes to know about deaths that had happened in their mansion and also understands that the death of her father-in-law was not an accident. There is some mystery surrounding her husband and there is more to the place than what meets the eye. Can Neha find out the truth before time runs out or will the mixture of truth and lies consume her slowly and steadily?

The defence of Bloody Ishq :: There horror stays alive in this movie, and there is fear generation that stays strong. The setting of an old mansion on a remote island with nothing else around, is a location which supports the horror environment so well, and the building itself does the rest with the support of darkness, lighting and antiquity which stands apart. The choice of Scotland is even more interesting with that landscape and the Hollywood feeling provided on the visuals. It also remains a stylish world, and the spirit is also something that generates interest. There are some nice twists around here, and the paranormal suspense is nicely maintained around here. The use of twists over twists work, as they are not that huge and just following the flow of things. The psychological tension is always present and it becomes as significant as the supernatural which gets the support further. Avika Gor leads the way here, as the leading actress who try to find meanings out of lost memories. She seems to nicely suit the horror genre as much as romance. The background score keeps us interested, and the songs are soothing.

The claws of flaw :: The movie is not something we have not seen before, and the feeling of repetition is definitely there. There are moments which provides the feeling that it has happened before, and we have seen enough of this. A lot of things around are there to be guessed correctly, and the twists are not enough to keep us away from knowing some of these truths early enough, even though the protagonist is not smart enough to know the same. The predictability seems to have come from some inspiration that might be from the earlier movies. There are times when things get rather exaggerated, and there is too much of time in getting to that area which could have been reached with so much ease. There is a little bit too much of melodrama here, and that is also stretched towards ending, where the twists towards end lose the steam. There is no real grand terror on the screen by the end as one would expect after this big buildup. The loss of steam in between is mainly due to the romantic side being weak, and never really getting up after falling down multiple times.

How it finishes :: Bloody Ishq takes on the horror genre in that manner which makes one think that this one could have been another sequel to that good old horror genre – Murder with the supernatural or even Raaz. Love and deaths are common elements, and this one was also going to be a step closer to Hate Story it had come from another angle. In a perfect setting, this one tries, and even though never really managing to go in full power, gets an interesting thriller here – entertaining horror target has been achieved without that much of a difficulty. Even though there is certain lacking, this is not as bad as these reviews would say – this one is indeed a very much watchable romantic-horror thriller with good performances and a fine mood despite running predictability. If you enjoy Bhatt-style thrillers, this is for you, but not if you expect to anything new or even has the scope of innovation around here. After all, romance and blood come together in romantic thriller with added horror. Let us hope that Bollywood gains further power to improve on the usual and come up with something bigger.

Release date: 25th July 2024
Running time: 138 minutes
Directed by: Vikram Bhatt
Starring: Avika Gor, Vardhan Puri, Jeniffer Piccinato, Rahul Dev, Shyam Kishore, Coral Bhamra, Arshin Mehta, Gautam Sharma

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Artificial Justice

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Vampire Owl: This seems to be the next thing after artificial intelligence.

Vampire Bat: Humans seem to be addicted with their machines.

Vampire Owl: Well, they are the only ones they trust.

Vampire Bat: Human distrust among themselves is valid.

Vampire Owl: Our 12th Man Dr Frankenstein has warned us about the same.

Vampire Bat: Mr Frankenstein has not been a doctor since birth.

Vampire Owl: This is not about him being a scientist or doctor.

Vampire Bat: He is just not a source to be trusted.

Vampire Owl: His judgements have been seventy five percent accurate.

Vampire Bat: Humans might still come up with ninety nine percent with their machines.

[Gets a paneer uthappam and three cups of Mattupetty tea].

What is the movie about? :: In most courts of Spain, an artificial intelligence system called THENTE 1 has been serving as an aid to judges, as an analysis of the files and the expressions as well as way of talking of the accused are considered. Even though the system seems to be near-perfect, veteran judges like Carmen Costa (Verónica Echegui) trusts her own intuition and experience to make the final decision. She even goes against the system which predicts eighty two percent chance of a hacker committing the crime again, and sets the man free despite the suggested denial of freedom. Her belief in Artificial Intelligence is rather limited, as she even distrusts the medical analysis about her showing her as not fit enough to undergo pregnancy, and every time ends up aborting the fetus due to her declining health. Concerning the future of artificial intelligence, the CEO of THENTE, Alicia Kóvack (Alba Galocha) had been regularly trying to meet Carmen who was trying to avoid everyone, while government pushed for artificial intelligence to replace the judges.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: It is on the same night that Alicia meets with an accident, as the artificial intelligence which was installed in her car deviates the vehicle to avoid another car which was stuck on the middle of the road, leading to her death. A grieving Carmen is told that the artificial intelligence took the decision to deviate her car into the side to save the lives of two people who were in the other car, as a direct collision would have killed all three of them, and that this action saved two lives, and almost saved Alicia who died in the hospital. The government starts strongly pushing for the use of artificial intelligence as a substitute for judges in the form what was called artificial justice. Carmen is invited to work on the further development of the project, making sure that it is flawless. Alicia had noted down in her will that Carmen had to approve the whole thing before being implemented. This leads to Carmen doubting a bigger conspiracy behind all of these. Is Alicia’s death and the upcoming election related to this artificial intelligence implementation and more?

The defence of Artificial Justice :: The movie focuses on exploring the role of Artificial Intelligence in one’s everyday life, focusing deeper on how well the artificial ones can deliver justice. It asks how much the control can be provided to the machine, at a time when there would be the control of multi-national companies if there is such a programme. There is the idea that there would always be something which the machines cannot predict, including the nature of people and the changes that come across them, as the need to judge people by past would be more complicated than ever. The idea of having an artificial judgment instead of a human judge would leave so many things unattended as shown here, and so would anything driven by a machine which would consider some lives to be less important than others under some circumstances. The idea is nicely thought about, and the arguments are put in here nicely, as the feeling of unknown danger and mystery runs through here with slow thrills making impact.

The claws of flaw :: The pace of the movie keeps going down at times, and its inability to raise itself by the end of the flick makes it questionable as a thriller with a motive. The struggle of the movie is always present, and even when the main character is swimming or driving, the problem seems to be of the movie rather than of the character. The deep exploration of situations is not there, as the movie keeps on looking only at the ideas on the surface and keeps jumping from one to the other like a really irritated Tarzan or Mowgli. The ending feels too rushed, and in world where an escape would be impossible, a Joseph-type ending would have done perfectly alright, but we do not see the same with this one. There needed to be some emotional strength to support the efforts of the dead characters, but the movie just shows too much indifference to its characters that the viewer would feel that the real machines are the people in there among which some of them just dies like computers being shut down by others.

The performers of the soul :: Verónica Echegui handles the weight of the situation here really well. Her performance reflects the mood of the movie, and she remains solid even when movie shows some struggle. The calmness that she shows when facing all adversities, reflects the character very well, and there is a certain amount of freshness about her. Alba Galocha is the one person whom we miss during the journey here, as the character is gone too early, but we know that there was a lot more she could have done here if the role carried on to the end. She has the looks that would the present Spiderman as his girlfriend, seemingly a perfect choice in a battle against Mysterio or any other classic villain. The looks seem to keep making her feel younger. Tamar Novas makes it work and Alberto Amman adds on with his performance here. The villainy here is smooth and working from the background in an effective manner, as shadows seem to haunt. The supporting cast is also pretty good as we look around.

How it finishes :: Artificial Justice raises some interesting points while going through a journey that we would remember due to the questions which have been asked, and the so many answers which could be received. The lost point here is that it fails to develop on the same, and end well, with the finish going through such a struggle to even prove that it is the end, and there would be no more similar finishing points to follow. The ending is not just open-ended, it also provides nothing to the audience who have been waiting for a grand finish like in those usual science fiction tales with a grand underlying message. The conspiracy was huge, and that big ending was required. But with a fine beginning and with suspense and danger around, the experience of the movie remains good, even when the pace is reduced at times. There is the struggle, but we get most of the thriller that we wanted from this one. The Spanish thrillers have had the guaranteed thrills at least at the minimum for some time as far as internationally known movies are concerned.

Release date: 13th September 2024
Running time: 98 minutes
Directed by: Simón Casal
Starring: Verónica Echegui, Tamar Novas, Alba Galocha, Alberto Ammann, Lúcia Moniz, Paula Morado, Santi Prego, Ledicia Sola

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

I Heart Willie

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.