Tag Archives: twist

Killer Book Club

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Vampire Owl: This would be an interesting book club.

Vampire Bat: You mean to say that there are new book clubs in the castle.

Vampire Owl: Who reads that many books these days?

Vampire Bat: Well, I do read many of them.

Vampire Owl: I am sure that you do not count as an external reader.

Vampire Bat: I do take external book club cards.

Vampire Owl: You can read all the best horror books in the castle.

Vampire Bat: I would read these books like a non-vampire would do.

Vampire Owl: So, it is a fine method to be scared of vampires too.

Vampire Bat: I do not see why we should not be scared of ourselves.

[Gets a butterscotch cake and three cups of tea with kulfi].

What is the movie about? :: Angela (Veki Velilla) is a college student who wishes to be a critically acclaimed and popular writer, now trying to write her second work. Her professor Antonio Cruzado (Daniel Grao) who used to help her with writing seems to have an infatuation with her, and makes advances to her. As Angela’s friends come to know about it, they suggest that they get back to him, and for the same, they choose a killer clown prank which would leave him scared enough for the rest of his life. The group which includes Sebas (Alvaro Mel), Nando (Ivan Pellicer), Sara (Ane Rot), Rai (Carlos Alcaide), Virginia (Priscilla Delgado), Eva (Maria Cerezuela) and Koldo (Hamza Zaidi), plans the whole thing perfectly after sending a fake e-mail to Antonio. But the prank goes terribly wrong, as they end up causing him to fall down from the top of the building and get impaled on the spear held by a statue of Don Quixote below, leading to his instant death.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Even though their instant reaction is to blame Angela for what has happened, they decide to keep all of these a secret and make a promise that they would never talk about this to anybody. The very next day, as everyone comes to know about his death, the popular opinion is that he committed suicide as his wife had left him, and the police also goes with the same conclusion, leading them to believe that things will get back to normal. But soon, they find out that a masked killer clown is stalking them, and wishes to take them down one after the other as the person wears the same mask as they were wearing. After murdering each person, the clown would write a chapter about the brutal death and post it online, and the readers also have a chance to vote on who will be murdered next. The readers do not have any idea what this is really about, as the original names are provided. The group decides to stop this madness from continuing, but has no idea about whom to suspect. Is this a silent stalker or someone among them?

The defence of Killer Book Club :: Slasher horror movies are welcome to bring new serial killers into a world of chaos in which humans have never hesitated to kill one another. There have been more classic slashers being produced in almost every language these days, even though Hollywood have come up with less interesting ones in the last few years. This one is based on a book, which means that it has promises to keep for the readers. The visuals are really good, and the setting feels like the right one, including the dark corners inciting horror and the architectural beauty that stays alive. The statue of Don Quixote comes as a fine reminder for the connection between the movie and literature, as the horror itself comes from writings here, and the publication of books and online content remains a priority throughout the film’s run-time. This also remains a short movie, as the run-time works to its advantage. The final twist over the twist remains interesting, and the power of mystery has run through this quite well without giving away the chance at predictability.

The claws of flaw :: Killer Book Club might feel like too similar with many other titles, and following the formula, but not well enough to elevate the same. There are enough murders happening here, but none of them creates a terrifying or divergent impact which could have made the environment better. The scares are not that much present as we would have wanted. A killer in a clown mask can achieve wonders – you know what the clowns do, whether in It and its sequel or in Terrifier; the horror in such cases is of a different level, with blood and gore assured. But this one seems to take the safer route, and the need to take the less travelled path among the diverging roads is not taken into consideration here. You are left with the feeling that there could be more, from the early stages itself. You keep looking for more, but that extra ingredient never really arrives. With the scope for a sequel still there, we can hope that this will arrive later.

The performers of the soul :: Veki Velilla leads the proceedings in the movie, and makes the scream queen who is intended to survive till the end, but has the realization that this has been caused due to her for some other reason, which makes the character more determined. She blends into this situation really well, from the author who has a certain amount of writing block to the girl who wishes to survive in a world of chaos created by an unknown killer. Priscilla Delgado remains a notable presence here too, and contributes to the whole thing even when least expected. Ane Rot and Maria Cerezuela also add to the interesting scream queen list here, and one would love to see them in more of similar flicks. Alvaro Mel and Ivan Pellicer become the main male performers here, and they remain important from the beginning to the end. Daniel Grao, even though present for only a few minutes, also leaves an impact. Carlos Alcaide and Hamza Zaidi also comes in as required. For most of us audience, these new names will be staying.

How it finishes :: Killer Book Club seems to be derived from other slasher horror movies that we have known for a long time, with Scream and The Cabin in the Woods being a few of them. The non-English movies were not far away from such inspiration either, as Poland’s Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight and A Classic Horror Story in Italian along with the Indonesian Ivanna are some of the examples. Here, in Spanish, we have a similar work of slasher horror. The group of friends from a college being murdered one after the other, especially after doing something they were not supposed to do, comes as nothing new. But this one also maintains the entertaining and thrilling side well enough with the final twists to keep things interesting. You are always looking for more addition to slasher horror, as they have not been that easy to create effectively during this time period. Based on the Spanish novel El Club de Los Lectores Criminales by Carlos García Miranda, the films becomes another interesting adaptation which brings us back to watching Spanish movies again on Netflix.

Release date: 25th August 2023 (Netflix)
Running time: 90 minutes
Directed by: Carlos Alonso
Starring: Veki Velilla, Alvaro Mel, Ivan Pellicer, Hamza Zaidi, Ane Rot, Priscilla Delgado, María Cerezuela, Carlos Alcaide

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Pendulum

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Vampire Owl: I have heard a lot about this movie being different.

Vampire Bat: One of the most divergent movies in Malayalam indeed.

Vampire Owl: I earlier had the feeling that this would be horror.

Vampire Bat: A mystery thriller need not be horror in any way.

Vampire Owl: Nothing would be better than a combination of all of these.

Vampire Bat: When it comes in Malayalam, there is a special feeling.

Vampire Owl: We need all the variety that we can have.

Vampire Bat: Let us thrive on such variety like never before.

Vampire Owl: The acceptance of audience would remain a question though.

Vampire Bat: The best movies would not be accepted well by our audience.

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

What is the movie about? :: A truck driver named Antony (Shobi Thilakan) finds a strange man named Amir (Binoj Villya) on his vehicle, and despite his best attempts, the man does not get down, and seems to be mentally challenged and without most of his memories. Alex (Sunil Sukhada), the owner of the warehouse to which the truck supplied the goods tells them to keep him with them, and let him get down where he wanted to. Antony is surprised to find a number of snails around when Amir is there. Amir also predicts a number of things which would happen including heavy rains and hitting a dog on the way. Antony becomes more careful as Amir continues to reveal more. At the same time, Dr. Mahesh Narayan (Vijay Babu), a reputed surgeon returning from Australia after many years of service, joins a famous hospital in Kerala. He is accompanied by his wife Shwetha (Devaki Rajendran) and daughter Thanmayi (Aavani) who are happy to be back home from the concrete jungles of Australia’s cities. One day, he meets an old man in the hospital who tells him to find out where his son is, a case which he refers to the psychiatrist, feeling that the man is crazy.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As Mahesh and his family goes on a short trip to Marayur, he gets a feeling of déjà vu for no reason, and Thanmayi locks the key of the car inside the trunk while they were having tea on a roadside shop. They decide to stay there, and while he was trying to get signal for his mobile phone, gets hit by a truck, and this is proven to be the one driven by Antony with Amir in it. Shweta finds him unconscious on the side of the road, and only he remembers that he was hit by a truck. Just before he was hit, he had found him in a dream of Amir and his friend Angel without invitation, and the old man had also asked him to find his son again. There seems to be something strange about all of these, but only he feels that all these have actually happened. His friend Dr. Jain Joseph (Ramesh Pisharody) seems to have some belief in what he has been saying. He asks Mahesh to talk to a man named John Master (Prakash Bare) who has had some interesting explanations for strange events which have happened all around the world. But as the incidents of the dreams have happened with a huge time gap in between, can there be an actual solution and a chance to extract what is required from the dreams?

The defence of Pendulum :: The ideas of time travelling and lucid dreaming come as new concepts to Malayalam cinema, and they have been used with effectively to create an impact like never before. This entry of the elements of science fiction into our movies with quality is to be remembered for long, as we hope for more of similar movies after watching this one. We should always be looking for experimentation here, and hope that this is only the beginning of some fine variety which is to follow soon enough. Maybe such movies will be made in big budget instead. The quality of making is also to be noted here as we move forward. The dreams are presented very well, and nice visuals support them. The mystery that prevails in this movie keeps us going, like no other similar film. After all, we are all set in a series of time loops in our own lives, and there seems to be no end or chance to escape – the realities that we create do not come to our help. The film often feels like a reflection of our meaningless lives which seem like busy realities. The music serves the purpose well enough as the mystery only gets sharper and thicker as we move forward.

Positives and negatives :: There is no doubt about the fact that the movie could have used more refining as some more of attention to details would have helped this one to connect to its audience better. There are times when the film seems to be confused about where it is heading. After all, there was the need for more explanation as the concept is new for the audience – we do have a lot of explanation here for sure, but not in the way that there is a perfectly defined conclusion to things. As time is not linear in this movie, such an explanation could have done a lot of good to the non-complicated, unsuspecting viewers. There is still the need to understand how the main character is involved in all of these, and how things have actually turned out in the end. It leaves us with the feeling that we have watched something special, but the chance to become a classic movie is not there because of the absence of some focused writing in relation to the complication between time and dreams in a world that walks on a bridge between real and unreal.

The performers of the soul :: Vijay Babu nicely leads a complicated movie with twisted characters all around. The sinister and seemingly unsolvable problems faced by the character is nicely shown by Vijay Babu who seems to blend in to the doctor facing unexpected terror. He has to go through an Inception-like world living through magically created world, and at the same time, relive his life multiple times like in Edge of Tomorrow. The helplessness is displayed really well by the actor. Ramesh Pisharody comes up with an interesting role here, as a doctor and support. Devaki Rajendran plays the main lady character here, and keeps us hoping to see her more around. Anumol is playing the other lady character of relevance, and handles her moments really well with a touch of mystery following her. Prakash Bare has another strong role well played here as we go deep into a world of mystery. Indrans plays a strange character without enough attention provided to characterization, but it is nice to see him in another classic role. Shobi Thilakan also has a strong presence here. Sunil Sukhada and Neena Kurup also have some small, but notable roles.

How it finishes :: With lucid dreaming and time travelling making its way nicely in here, this becomes a landmark movie in Malayalam movie industry. It is just strange that it had gone unnoticed among the common audience – one can blame the absence of the required kind of advertisement and also the missing superstar at least in the form of a leading lady for the same. The cast that we see here is surely able to hold the movie universe together, but we needed that special ingredient which could have appealed better to our audience, and in its absence in advertising has left this film mostly unwatched, which is rather disappointing. Maybe some people still fail to understand the basic idea behind this movie. Yet, it is brilliant as the attempt, and I would say that this is a fine New Year movie which one could watch with the presence of what seems to be a blend of science fiction and magic. So, we go on and watch this one and wish each other a Very Happy New Year. May this new year bring the best moments in your life, as world never ceases to have enough to offer.

Release date: 8th December 2023 (Saina Play); 16th June 2023 (Theatre)
Running time: 106 minutes
Directed by: Rejin S Babu
Starring: Vijay Babu, Ramesh Pisharody, Devaki Rajendran, Anumol, Prakash Bare, Indrans, Shobi Thilakan, Deepu Navaikulam, Sunil Sukhada, Neena Kurup, Jolly Chirayath, Aseem Ibrahim, Biju Sopanam

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

<<< Click here to go to the previous full sci-fi review.

<<< Click here to go the review of latest thriller.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Terrifier 2

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Vampire Owl: We are the most terrifying ones.

Vampire Bat: I don’t think that we are that terrifying as we used to be.

Vampire Owl: It is due to Twilight and Vampire Diaries. They don’t count.

Vampire Bat: They do count for the humans.

Vampire Owl: Well, sometimes I feel that only they count for them.

Vampire Bat: Humans are not that aware about true vampires.

Vampire Owl: There are no true and false vampires. There are only us.

Vampire Bat: We have been children of the night for too long.

Vampire Owl: There are no vampires of the day.

Vampire Bat: Well, the vampires that sparkle have other opinions.

[Gets a chicken biryani and three cups of cardamom tea].

What is the movie about? :: Miles County Massacre was one of the most traumatizing events for the people of the town. Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) who was responsible for the brutal murders does return though. He was considered dead, even though the body was not found – he is once again here though. The police had only provided the statement that the body had just disappeared, and some people do spend the legend that the clown is not dead and might return at some point. The Little Pale Girl (Amelie McLain) is another mysterious entity which wears similar clown costume, and seems to join forces with Art. Meanwhile, a teenager named Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) is finishing the Halloween costume which was designed for her by her father who recently died due to brain tumour. Sienna’s younger brother Jonathan Shaw (Elliott Fullam) is obsessed with Art the Clown though, and wishes to dress like him for the Halloween, after finding details about him from his father’s sketches. Sienna ends up having a nightmare about the clown, and wakes up to find the room on fire, yet has a sword from her father as the same as it used to be. She had also seen people being murdered by the clown in her nightmare.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: On Halloween, Jonathan sees Art and The Little Pale Girl at school playing with a dead animal, and he is held responsible for bringing the creature to school as they disappear without a trace. As the school calls the parent, he is grounded at home. Sienna goes to the Halloween costume shop to buy a replacement pair of wings to fit with her costume as the earlier one was lost in fire, and there she encounters Art who stalks her without mercy, and later brutally murders the shop vendor who is left alone in the store. He also manages to make the later customers believe that it is all part of a Halloween show. Sienna is the only one who believes her brother and that the clown might be real as she had seen him in the shop. Sienna’s friend, Allie (Casey Hartnett) finds herself in trouble too, as Art gets to her home pretending to be trick or treating. Allie who is rude to him for asking for candy at an old age is brutally attcked by the clown and left in pieces. Allie’s mother is also killed in the same way, and her head is kept for putting sweets for Halloween.

And what more is to follow with this brutal adventure featuring a clown? :: Art is well-supported by the clown girl in his actions, even though the brutality is committed all by himself. He also resorts to cannibalism at times, even though the act of brutal murder seems to be the one thing that satisfies him more than anything else. He also seems to display a supernatural side to him after returning to the seemingly unstoppable killing spree which goes mostly undetected as the victims are not found. Jonathan shows the paintings of his father to his mother Barbara Shaw (Sarah Voigt), but unhappy with his obsession with the clown and not believing in his stories, she tears them off. She feels that his son requires some serious counselling. At the same time, Sienna goes to a Halloween party dressed in the costume designed by her father, but it seems that Art has other ideas about this particular celebration, and it would involve her family. She becomes drunk at the party and begins to see the clown girl, while the clown attacks their home. Jonathan runs away from home only to find the clown girl in the way. Art seems immortal evil, but how far will he go?

The defence of Terrifier 2 :: For a slasher, the character development of this movie is at an all time high, especially with Lauren LaVera playing Sienna Shaw. She leads the movie here, and as a battle angel, becomes the last hope for a family and the town in general, a role into which she evolves really well. This is one character who rises above the horror tropes with ease, and promises to continue the peformance into a sequel too, if such a thing happens. Lauren in the Halloween costume fighting the clown is a joy to watch. Elliott Fullam who plays her brother also does a fine job. The movie, with blood and gore as well as the representation of the evil on screen lives up to the name, as a work of terrifying nature. The ambience is very well used too, and the Halloween world as well as the carnival attraction works like a fine nightmare here. As you get transported into the world of a seemingly immortal evil clown, the feeling is forever, and here, the grand clown rises above Stephen King’s It as a movie and its second part as the demonic clown of the century.

Positives and negatives :: Terrifier 2 blends into its genre really well. It has some of the very gory scenes which might not be that good for everyone. The signs of such brutality can be seen in the beginning itself. The border lines for gore has been crossed here and most of the natural horror film fans who prefer only those works like Ouija, The Conjuring, The Nun, Annabelle, Curse of La Llorna, Insidious, Sinister and other would not go further with this after the first scene. A murder on the bed might feel to be too brutal even for the best of fans of the genre. The final moments have a little bit of of too much of the supernatural side added to it, which could have been kept to the minimum, especially as both the protagonist and antagonist deserves more in the form of two people going at each other. The movie does remind of those older slasher films with moments which takes us back to the past memories of slasher horror, a genre which has kept us close to the darker side of humanity, the horror which has been inherent in human beings since the beginning of time. While doing the same, the scares work so well.

How it finishes :: Terrifier 2 is the nice slasher horror which we rarely see around these days. After all, it is easy to lose the way whenever a slasher gets a chance to make it big. The movie delivers most of what it promises, and in the end, leaves an open door for a possible sequel, as death does not come easy for antagonists like this, as proven by many slashers including Halloween which has overused the idea. Most of us around here did not hear about the first movie, and a lot of people still need to hear about this movie. It is the kind of movie that has raised the level of slashers in a decade when it hasn’t scored much. With a third movie, things can get even better, as characters are better developed here. Well, we need to celebrate the horror in raw forms when we see them, as this is one example of the same. One can be sure that Terrifier 2 will have its fans, and can develop into a cult classic horror as most of the old slasher horror films have stopped bringing reboots and remakes of relevance to keep the legacy moving on.

Release date: 6th October 2022
Running time: 138 minutes
Directed by: Damien Leone
Starring: Lauren LaVera, Sarah Voigt, Elliott Fullam, Kailey Hyman, Casey Hartnett, David Howard Thornton

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Orphan: First Kill

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Vampire Owl: Do you remember watching the first Orphan movie earlier?

Vampire Bat: I do not remember like that. I remember back in centuries.

Vampire Owl: You are not supposed to go that long back with memories.

Vampire Bat: Well, Uncle Dracula goes back longer than that.

Vampire Owl: He can go back as long as the vampire elders can go infinitely.

Vampire Bat: You know the elders. They don’t count.

Vampire Owl: They have been further violent during these years.

Vampire Bat: It is quite natural, considering their loss of fangs.

Vampire Owl: The lost fangs can be recreated with the help of the witches.

Vampire Bat: I hope it is not left in the hands of Doctor Frankenstein.

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

What is the movie about? :: Leena Klammer (Isabelle Fuhrman), a thirty one year old woman with the appearance of a ten year old child has been locked in psychiatric hospital in Estonia for a long time, but has been planning an escape for a long time. She finds a way by hiding inside the car of Anna (Gwendolyn Collins), an art therapist, whom she kills after breaking into her house. She temporarily finds a new home in her place. She looks up for missing girls in the United States of America, and finds that she looks similar to a girl named Esther Albright. For her, it also seems to be an interesting home to live. This gives her a new idea, and she pretends to be the same American child who had gone missing a few years ago. She gets herself found in a children’s park by a police officer who has absolutely no doubts about her, as she has planned the whole thing really well. Allen Albright (Rossif Sutherland) and Tricia Albright (Julia Stiles) get the news that their disappeared daughter has been found in Eastern Europe, and couldn’t get any happier as they were sure that she was lost forever.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As Tricia brings her home, she begins to have doubts about her soon enough, as she has forgotten that their grandmother died, and has developed some painting skills which she never really came close to possessing. Detective Donnan (Hiro Kanagawa) and the child psychologist Dr Segar (Samantha Walkes) feel that there is surely something wrong about her, but they don’t really know what it is. She seems to be rather too different, and doesn’t act like a child at all times. She doesn’t seem to get along well with the brother Gunnar Albright (Matthew Finlan) either. Soon, it turns out that there are family secrets that are being hidden in the house. Leena keeps getting closer to her newly discovered father-figure, which upsets the others in the family. Soon, she will be facing her family which suspects her, but she has her plans to rise above those doubts. But how long can she go on playing this role which only seems to get more and more difficult for her? She would have to get rid of the detective soon enough, but is that an easy job to do? How can she achieve this without being deported back to the mental asylum back in Estonia?

The defence of Orphan: First Kill :: This movie is powered by that antagonist who continues to be a favourite among the horror lovers, and that stays as an advantage. The atmosphere here is interesting, and the setting provides an assurance that there will be some nice moments to remember. The early setting of the mental asylum is more than just interesting. We keep feeling that there could be something more coming up at all times in the first half, the big reveal only set things up well for a grand battle of women. The movie’s hesitation often has it lagging, but it does manage to make things better in the very next scene or so. The cast members do manage to overcome them all, and this selection of the leading performers comes as an advantage. The movie is also a reminder for us to not fall a prey to the cute ones, especially children who are not too far away from the Lord of the Flies situation of William Golding. Well, the cutest among them all might be the one diabolical evil creature which needs to be feared at all times.

The claws of flaw :: Orphan: First Kill doesn’t raise the level from the original movie at all. There were so many opportunities with this idea when going back, but that much is not taken here. This one has also come too late for anyone’s liking, as the gap between the original and this prequel is rather too much. The antagonist does seem to have a more artificial look in comparison to the looks in the first flick. Yet, there are also too many similarities with the first movie, and we also have the absence of surprises here, with twists not getting the required strength either. We know too much about the main character as we have watched the earlier film, and bringing a certain secret ingredient was a necessity. We could have also had some creepy sequences around here which could have managed to balance the situation, but such an attempt is also not made here. It is only with another prequel set almost completely in a mental asylum in Estonia that the bar can be raised now.

The performers of the soul :: Isabelle Fuhrman continues to make Esther an interesting character, a role which she had performed at a young age, and made it a thing of quality. Isabelle does have a challenge in here, as despite the experience that she may have earned through the years, she is still not of that same age anymore. In comparison to her other roles, her work as Esther or Leena is something that has her raising the bar each and every time. Julia Stiles makes another strong character here, and two main lady characters show their strength even further when they are standing against each other, even when not showing the hatred that much. Rossif Sutherland also has his moments here. Matthew Finlan comes out strong in the later stages of the film, and that too when less expected. Gwendolyn Collins makes an initial impression well, and it is sad that she had to disappear too early. Hiro Kanagawa also leaves a mark, and needed more time on screen.

How it finishes :: Orphan: First Kill cannot be compared to the original movie which set something up so well, and it was also something which felt much innovative at that time. The fans would have been expecting a film which would score better than this one. After all, Esther has become a horror icon like no other, and the earlier movie’s twist was something which people didn’t really except. But the prequel has been organized well, and we can see that at the end of the movie, things come together well to bring the possibilities of the next one on to the scene. This one does deserve to become a much longer franchise with a deeper idea about the origins of the main character given. A fine psychopath of the antagonist’s level can do magic for the genre. After all, movies like these serve as those the reminders that we cannot trust anyone, especially someone with the cute side on display – this is a mad world indeed, and has the worst in store for us.

Release date: 19th August 2022
Running time: 99 minutes
Directed by: William Brent Bell
Starring: Isabelle Fuhrman, Rossif Sutherland, Hiro Kanagawa, Matthew Finlan, Julia Stiles

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Enkilum Chandrike

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Vampire Owl: Are we going to have more of feel-good?

Vampire Bat: I am expecting the same with a better touch of humour.

Vampire Owl: Feel-good often destroys the possible humour.

Vampire Bat: There is still something called feel-good humour.

Vampire Owl: It is because there is nothing like feel-bad humour.

Vampire Bat: We can always feel bad with the humour.

Vampire Owl: Well, there can always be exceptions of all kinds.

Vampire Bat: But we are always expecting more and more.

Vampire Owl: We keep having the problem of awakened expectations.

Vampire Bat: Expectations do not begin or end with immortality, or work towards infinity.

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

What is the movie about? :: A series of interconnected events happen related to arranged marriages in a remote village somewhere in the district of Kannur in the north of Kerala. Among the simple people of the village, Pavithran (Suraj Venjaramoodu) is a chronic bachelor who is desperately trying to get married, as if it delays anymore, he would not be able to be in a wedding alliance for even a longer time period according to his horoscope. He is only recently rejected by a young lady whom he sees as part of a proposed alliance from their families, Sujina (Tanvi Ram). But she calls him back on another day to meet in private. He has a certain amount of infatuation for this particular lady whom he finds to be the most beautiful among the women whom he had seen for the purpose of marriage. She tells him that she wishes to marry him as she knows that he is a good person. But she adds that she wants him to get the arranged marriage of her younger sister cancelled in one way or the other; otherwise, Sujina will be forced to marry immediately before her younger sister is to be married. Her younger sister Chandrika (Niranjana Anoop) is also not willing to get married.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Pavithran is infatuated by the beauty and words of Sujina, and is determined to stop the marriage of Chandrika from occurring at any cost. At the same time, Abhi (Saiju Kurup) has been in love with Chandrika since his schooldays, and wishes to break this marriage alliance a long time before the date of wedding. He even has her name tattooed permanently on his upper arm. It turns out that the person whom Chandrika is going to marry is Bibeesh (Abhiram Radhakrishnan), and they have been keeping this upcoming wedding as a secret because Sujina is not married yet. Kiran (Basil Joseph) decides to help Abhi to win his love, as he is interested in scriptwriting and direction – he would write some twists for his good friend. The plan which begins with the use of a stranger named Shambu (Maniyanpilla Raju) to spread rumours becomes a failure, but they come up with other ideas. At the same time, Pavithran has other plans to stop the marriage, but it would require more. The question remains about what awaits Sujina and Chandrika in relation to their weddings and future lives.

The defence of Enkilum Chandrike :: This is the kind of a movie that has the side of humour which makes us smile rather than laugh, as the comedy itself has something more than the usual. It takes the simple things in life, makes it bigger, and has us feeling the impact. There is also the beauty of the visuals of this particular village that adds to the charm, as we are never away from the charming nature that lies with a rural area that is caught in camera. It is with the beauty of nature that Tanvi Ram also steals the show as the village beauty who provides the words of wisdom to Suraj Venjaramoodu, the man who holds the movie together. Along with the cuteness of the village that Tanvi provides, and is supported by Niranjana, the performances are to be remembered for the lovable nature of them. Along with the humour, there are the fine emotions which runs through as this becomes a feel-good on the lines of films like Thattathin Marayathu which have multiple elements of feeling better including humour and romance which run parallel to one another. The climax with feel-good twists does leaves one satisfied as there is the goodness factor working well out there too, with the fine slang.

The claws of flaw :: Enkilum Chandrike doesn’t try that hard with the material that it possesses, and it often feels like a restriction. It often makes something bigger from the simple elements, sometimes more than what is needed. It could have focused on speeding up things too, as we do feel that it losses the focus at times. The movie could have also become a Kunjiramayanam with the humour in the village, but that much of a strength is not there in the funny side. The movie does not try to push the comedy or the emotions too hard, as it just moves forward with the available strengths. One would feel that the female characters played by Tanvi Ram and Niranjana Anoop would have more to do, like the former talks about regarding their lives – Tanvi should have surely had a full song, something which could have stayed with us for long. Despite the movie being about the titular character, it is Tanvi’s charm from the beginning that started the series of events of relevance. It is a movie about two women who surprisingly have so less screen space. There are moments which could have elevated all of these too.

The performers of the soul :: Suraj Venjaramoodu leads the way once again, as there is something serene about his character here and the way he plays it. We feel the seriousness here as much as the humorous side that lies in waiting. This is also the one character for whom the audience will feel throughout the movie’s run-time. Basil Joseph also runs through his strengths in the movie, and we know his capabilities with comedy as he has displayed earlier too. Saiju Kurup also runs in strong with the comic side, which is given the boost with some of his fine mannerisms, as he has done so well in earlier films. Niranjana Anoop is the female lead, and the lady of concern for which everything happens around here, but Tanvi Ram has all the dialogues and moments which have our attention. With some different looks, she has effectively transformed into this role in multiple ways. She has all the points to be noted down from her words, and blends into the character in a lovely manner. With this work, even though with smaller screen space, we can be sure that she is indeed capable of playing those bigger roles in much bigger movies consistently. Neeraj Madhav’s cameo nicely works by the end of the movie, and Maniyanpilla Raju does a similar thing twice in the movie.

How it finishes :: Enkilum Chandrike might be a lesser known film on the long list of movies which released during the same time period. But it has a much bigger soul within, staying close to the life of the commoners from a cute little village. When you have Suraj Venjaramoodu around playing both a funny and serious work together, you know that much can be expected. Then you never doubt the capabilities of Basil Joseph to make it funnier. And you also realize that Tanvi Ram is an underrated actress who can work wonders even with the divergent roles provided to her. This is another movie which comes from Vijay Babu and right out of Friday Film House like those much memorable Adi Kapyare Kootamani, June, Aadu, Philips and the Monkey Pen and Home, and we remember that these are the type of cinema which catch our attention in one way or the other, despite not having that much of hype or the boost of superstars. Enkilum Chandrike nicely uses its strengths to its advantage, and it is how it rises above the other movies which deal with the same situations – you see the scope to improve, but you also see how well it has managed its resources to create something so simple, yet so enjoyable with its core unlike films like Romancham which often depends on silly and not so clean humour.

Release date: 1st April 2023 (Manorama MAX); 17th February 2023 (Theatre)
Running time: 126 minutes
Directed by: Adithyan Chadrashekar
Starring: Suraj Venjaramoodu, Basil Joseph, Saiju Kurup, Niranjana Anoop, Aswin Vijayan, Tanvi Ram, Rajesh Sharma, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Maniyanpilla Raju, Unni Raja, Neeraj Madhav (cameo)

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Jalsa

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Vampire Owl: I am glad that they are still releasing movies on OTT platforms.

Vampire Bat: Yes, otherwise, we would go to some air-conditioned theatre and catch the corona virus pandemic.

Vampire Owl: And we have Amazon Prime Video getting one more.

Vampire Bat: It is indeed the best platform as more people have Prime.

Vampire Owl: Well, the theatres can have the mass masala movies.

Vampire Bat: Yes, we can have the dumb fans limited to the theatres that way.

Vampire Owl: Well, we all know the taste of the brainless.

Vampire Bat: Well, the human brain is more ridiculous than ever these days.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that you have ever trusted a human brain to be good.

Vampire Bat: If you are talking about good as in good v/s evil, the answer is a clear no.

[Gets a vegetable puffs and three cups of black tea].

What is the movie about? :: Maya Menon (Vidya Balan) is a very successful journalist based out of Mumbai. After many years of success, she continues to be among the biggest names in the field, as her name is on many hoardings and she also brings trouble to the big names which she interviews. Ruksana Mohammed (Shefali Shah) works as domestic help at her home, and focuses the most on cooking. Shefali’s daughter, Alia Mohammed (Kashish Rizwan) happens to be that kind of an eighteen year old daughter who pretends that she is always studying very hard at night, but spends most of her time with her boyfriend, as her father also works at night like her mother. On that eventful night when she hopes to enjoy her life on a lie, she is hit by a car after running away from her boyfriend all of a sudden and landing in the middle of the road. The boyfriend gets on the motorbike and gets away as soon as possible, and so does the person who was in the car.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Rohini George (Vidhatri Bandi) is a trainee who works at the same online news portal where Maya is leading the team. She joined the team just recently, and is hoping to crack some case which will make her really popular, and lead to an increase in her salary. Hailing from Cochin, Rohini wishes to bring her mother to Mumbai after she has settled down there. She lacks in confidence, but is determined to make a difference. She follows the same case, and gets to know about the boyfriend. Maya is angry about the same and asks her to stop investigating the case. But it won’t move out of Rohini’s head at all. At the same time, there is the remorseful boyfriend who wanders around, and Maya’s boss who is adamant on letting this episode go behind. The police officers ask them to take some money and leave the case. Everyone here seems to be worries about something, but Maya and Ruksana are more worried that anyone else – where will this problem end?

The defence of Jalsa :: There is a certain amount of serenity about this movie even though the tension is there at all times. It deals with the moral conflict in a very smooth manner, as none of the characters here seems to be evil, with everyone trying to come up with a solution which is good for everyone. Everyone is facing that moral problem due to different reasons, and we can feel the strength of the anxiety related to the same. The emotions are running strong in the background for sure, even though it never comes to the front that often. It is also that kind of a movie which starts strong, and then focuses on the proceedings slowly, and bring everything back to where it started by the end. The performances are what makes things better, as there is always someone around here to raise the level of the movie. The movie also keeps away from the usual Bollywood things, and without adding those extra unnecessary elements, it becomes something realistic, and a movie which is for the intellectual emotions.

The claws of flaw :: The movie has a little bit of complicated collection of events which seems to be stuck together. It gets quite slow at times, and often has moments which we could have done without. It also comes to a much expected end too slowly, and one often feels that there is a little bit of too much time taken to reach this particular end. A stronger and more emotional ending was the need of this film. The movie is also not something that can run for more than two hours – this is the kind of thing which should be over in one and half, and the rest is just a stretch. With this length, it keeps adding something or the other without strengthening the stronger points. Even though this is a fine deviation in Bollywood, it should have more courage to get it deeper, and with the same, a few dull and unnecessary moments of not much worth could have been removed. It could have also explored the story of the young and inexperienced reporter even more. Some better visuals of the world other than the very expensive flat could have also helped.

The performers of the soul :: Vidya Balan is once again doing the job so well with sincerity and quality. He plays the confident journalist who leads with a trauma with morality tormenting her more than anything – it is something which she seems to do with ease, and if the pace of the movie was better, she could have come up with something even sharper. Shefali Shah plays the mother figure to many children really well too – duped by her children, but always seeing the best in all kids. But these performances were quite expected, and the one which stands apart is that of Vidhatri Bandi who plays a young girl from Cochin who has come to Mumbai to become a famed journalist – the girl does remind one of so many similar people in Kerala itself, those who needs a boost of confidence while going through the tough times. I do feel that I would exactly be like here when caught in such a situation. The movie begins with Kashish Rizwan’s work, and despite playing a character in bed for most of the film, she remains notable from the beginning. The actors who play the police officers also come up with some believable work.

How it finishes :: Jalsa makes a solid point with its proceedings. There are moments that make one think and wonder about different elements. Kaanekkaane is a movie which dealt with similar themes, as its world also revolved around one accident. It was a much more emotional tale with even bigger performances, as we look back at it. If you have watched the movie C/O Saira Banu, it also deals with a similar accident from another point of view – these are the movies which you should watch, and you will feel that this particular movie has surely had some inspirations from there. Just like those two movies, this movie is also an emotional thriller, and has the emotional moments helped by a few twists which serve as interesting subplots. Well, the tale that we have at the centre will surely remain something of relevance, and can bring more movies in Bollywood – we can hope that there is no superstar leading the way in them though, as in that case, it would get to be really absurd, leading to a wrong turn.

Release date: 18th March 2022 (Amazon Prime Video)
Running time: 126 minutes
Directed by: Suresh Triveni
Starring: Vidya Balan, Shefali Shah, Rohini Hattangadi, Vidhatri Bandi, Manav Kaul, Iqbal Khan, Surya Kasibhatia, Shrikant Yadav, Ghanshyam Lalsa, Gurpal Singh, Shafeen Patel, Kashish Rizwan, Vijay Nikam, Junaid Khan, Trunshant Ingle, Monu Gurjar, Uday Vir Singh

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Woman in the Window

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Vampire Owl: There is a vampire in the window if you look around from here.

Vampire Bat: It is only a picture of the vampire in that mansion.

Vampire Owl: Why would someone put a picture up like that?

Vampire Bat: Maybe it is someone who wishes to be popular.

Vampire Owl: I should put my picture on the window too.

Vampire Bat: We are not that kind of vampires.

Vampire Owl: We are still the kind vampires around here.

Vampire Bat: Why should vampires be kind?

Vampire Owl: Kindness is a quality which can be used to fool people easily.

Vampire Bat: Vampires do not fool people. Humans do. They lie, cheat, steal and murder all the time.

[Gets a vegetable puffs and three cups of white tea].

What is the movie about? :: Anna Fox (Amy Adams) lives alone in an apartment in Manhattan, New York after being separated from his husband Edward Fox (Anthony Mackie) and daughter Olivia Fox (Mariah Bozeman). She always try to cheer herself up despite the loneliness, and has good support through the phone. Anna suffers from agoraphobia, leading to a lot of anxiety about her surroundings and she observes her neighbors from a second-story window, and that includes the Russell family who recently moved in across the street. She has a large number of medications to take on a daily basis, and also goes on with a lot of alcohol consumption. David Winter (Wyatt Russell) is her tenant who lives in the basement area of her home, and often helps her with some househould work as well as repairs. She does feel lonely at times, and has talks with Ethan Russell (Fred Hechinger), the boy who lives as part of the Russell family, and is upset for some strange reasons – she tries to use her skills as a former child psychologist here.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Anna continues to see the world around her in suspicion and feels that her neighbours are up to something all the time, and that Ethan suffers due to the same. Soon, she also comes across Ethan’s mother, Jane Russell (Julianne Moore), who has some good moments of talk with her, making her happy and relieved. This leads to her believing that Ethan has an abusive father. One night, Anna hears a scream from the Russell family home and then sees Jane being stabbed to death in the living room, but she is not able to find who exactly did that. She has a camera, but forgets to take a photo in panic. She contacts the police, but they do not believe her, and tells her that everyone in the family is just fine. At the same time, Alistair arrives at her home along with his wife, who is a different woman from the one she had met earlier. The police as well as the neighbours tell her that she is hallucinating and making up things, and David also has the same opinion. But she decides to keep spying on the Russells, but it won’t be an idea which will help her.

The defence of The Woman in the Window :: Here, we do have a murder happening, without the surety that it is real, and one would wait for the twist which is to happen at some point of time, as there is the feeling that something is not right, throughout the movie. It puts almost everyone in the line of doubt, and one keep guessing, only to find out that there are not enough clues to completely focus on one suspect. The movie does mix agoraphobia well with the happenings, and we know that it is something that needs serious attention. It is the kind of thing that many of us do feel, and while reading about the same, I have felt that I did have similar problems on many occasions too. I have felt my world to be unsafe with no escape, and had continuous fear and discomfort with regular nightmares for months, as I kept at home for a very long time, and very rarely, I did go out, and that too only with people by my side. Therefore, I was able to connect to this lady very well, and there are moments which make us believe that one of them could be speaking the truth, but that person actually changes as movie progresses.

The claws of flaw :: The Woman in the Window is quite a slow movie, and that is indeed strange, because there were so many occasions here where some more material could have been added to strengthen it further. It could have also focused completely on agoraphobia, and also divide the world into reality and hallucination – it instead focuses on dialogues and what the main character is doing without focusing on the relevant. The time that it takes to start moving is also a little too much, and the revelations could have been made in a more powerful manner, for here we just have it done quickly. It could have also speeded up things at least during those moments which are rather thrilling. The focus on the killer is also a little too less, and we end up not watching enough of his actions of terror and the murders also stay a little too much outside focus. The whole movie focuses on one place with one type of action being focused, thus maintaining the unity of action and the unity of place among the three classical unities talked about by Aristotle, but by doing the same, this movie doesn’t really focus that well on both to elevate the movie, and thus rather brings it down.

The performers of the soul :: If there is a movie starring Amy Adams, I would rarely choose not to watch it, and a thriller does suit her as much as the many genres which she has explored in the past in her career. Nocturnal Animals and Arrival had some fine work being done by her, and both of them were movies which were slow enough too, and you do remember her as a Disney princess too. The superhero movies fans would recognize her more from Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League – well, she is a well-known actress in this part of the world too, and she surely deserved a quicker movie rather than this one. Gary Oldman plays the man who seems to be full of mysteries, and also the one the protagonist feels, is a murderer. He surely has his secrets, and the role is played with a certain amount of class being added there. Julianne Moore seems to be there more as playing a guest role rather than anything else, but we remember her for that scene. Fred Hechinger plays the boy well enough, while Wyatt Russell has his moments. Brian Tyree Henry has memorable times as the detective too.

How it finishes :: The Woman in the Window is the slow thriller that just manages to keep you interested by throwing something in here and there, serving well as the psychological thriller that it is. You do have the doubt about whom you should doubt, even though there is no specific assertion on where you should concentrate that particular feeling. My first thought was that this could be a movie like The Voyeurs, but that is not the case – being a psychological thriller, that path could have also been taken, but The Woman in the Window takes the safe one, lacking in courage and thus being not ready to take the tougher step. But it is nice to see that it still works, and has enough steam to keep it going – the usage of the word “steam” is more relevant than it seems, as it is not innovative or better equipped as some of those newer films are. Well, it can always do better, and if you are standing at the window, witnessing something terrifying, this won’t be the rest during most of the times. The Woman in the Window doesn’t seem to think that further on the same.

Release date: 14th May 2021 (Netflix)
Running time: 100 minutes
Directed by: Joe Wright
Starring: Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Fred Hechinger, Wyatt Russell, Brian Tyree Henry, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Julianne Moore

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

No One Gets Out Alive

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Vampire Owl: I used to say this to some of the vampire apprentices.

Vampire Bat: How long ago was that? We haven’t had apprentices for a long time.

Vampire Owl: I don’t count the centuries anymore.

Vampire Bat: You can still count the years well enough.

Vampire Owl: The years mean too much counting for my liking.

Vampire Bat: Well, you don’t really get older every year. You are immortal.

Vampire Owl: Immortality only stops the body from getting old.

Vampire Bat: You cannot continue to take it as a curse.

Vampire Owl: We don’t get to be that evil as humans. It is a curse.

Vampire Bat: We are better without human level of evil. It is too much to handle.

[Gets a sweets puffs and three cups of mixed tea].

What is the movie about? :: Ambar Cruz (Cristina Rodlo) is an undocumented Mexican immigrant, and has no id which restricts her. She moves to Cleveland after the death of her mother, whose illness hadn’t allowed her to lead a normal life. She finds a place to stay at a cheaper rate than usual, with Red (Marc Menchaca) as the caretaker of the boarding house which has a few floors where only her and Freja (Vala Noren) are staying. It seems that Freja is not the kind of person who wishes to talk to people much, but Ambar does hear her crying from her room. She has to pay a good amount of money in advance for the apartment and gives a co-worker the remainder of her savings to obtain a fake ID that will allow her to continue working, but her newfound friend cheats her and leaves with the money. It also seems that Red has a sick brother Becker (David Figlioli) who bangs his head against the door all time, and it is not that only strange sound in the building.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Ambar’s slow working speed doesn’t allow her to get any appreciation from her boss, and as she continues to ask him for some advance pay, she is fired from the job. Now, with no money to pay, the only way forward for her is to get a refund from Red who is hesitant to provide the same. She doesn’t have anything to do with the building either, as she begins having some strange visions, which are nothing less than nightmares. But she returns to ask for the refund again, as she needs the money after being left on her own, not able to contact her distant relatives and having no money to survive, after losing the job. Soon, two Romanian women also seem to join the boarding house, and Red assures her that he will get her the refund from their deposits. She has some relief when she hears that, but that doesn’t stay as a few sinister secrets about the boarding house is revealed to her. Now, this will no longer be all about money and job.

The defence of No One Gets Out Alive :: This movie manages to be effective in more than one way. It is indeed an effective horror film with its own twists, but one can also safely say that No One Gets Out Alive is more than that. It also shows the struggles of an immigrant, which is depicted on the other side of the horror in a way that we appreciate the same. The movie plays with the lights and uses darkness effectively to make the horror effects get better. The eerie feeling is maintained well throughout the movie, and so is danger lurking at the corners of darkness. The film provides the scares in not just one way, but further, as we know that hopelessness can lead to desperate measures being taken. connects the whole thing to the monster nicely, and we see the creature as the movie nears the end. They seems to have worked with this one seeing a possible sequel, as there is that box, and a monster which is nothing less than an ancient demon which reminds us of how Sinister had prepared its premise and proceedings.

Positives and negatives :: There is always something special that can be done about strange houses with secrets, and this boarding house could have brought more innovation to the same. This one has a few things predictable instead, even though it does bring the much unexpected twists too. It also brings to us, some of the creatures from myths which we have no idea about. The creepiness that this movie maintains remains worthy of appreciation at all times, thanks to the atmosphere and surprises that one boarding house brings. The movie is based on a horror novel by British author Adam Nevill which was published in 2014. Having such basic material means that there has been something to work on, and develop all the time. The human antagonists in this movie are more disturbing than the creature that does what it is supposed to do – it is basically a good turn towards truth, as we knew this all time. Demons are evil because they have no choice, but humans are evil because they choose to be evil, for their selfish needs – that much is once again clear, as depicted in this movie. You can often trust a demon more than a human.

The performers of the soul :: Cristina Rodlo plays the lead here, and it seems only perfect that a Mexican-born actress is chosen for the role. There is something that makes her suitable for all the horror too, seemingly suiting the scream queen situation really well. Other than that, she also deals with the emotional sequences with great skill. I had earlier read the name as Christiano Ronaldo, with a spelling mistake – now that sounds as strange as the monster that we see in this flick. The monster is an entity in itself, and maybe, we can use it as another character of interest, with its origins tale also being told from an archeologist’s point of view. The girls other than the main character could have been used better, especially the Romanian girls who do seem good to contribute further towards the movie – they all look perfectly suited to live through a horror film. Marc Menchaca as Red does come up with a strong performance too, while David Figlioli as Becker manages to be all about muscles, becoming a near unstoppable villain.

How it finishes :: No One Gets Out Alive works well with its horror options, and serves more than what meets eye. The title nicely serves the purpose too, as the film deals with that kind of a monster. Moving away from the usual demonic spirits of The Conjuring, Annabelle, The Nun, Insidious, The Curse of La Llorna and others, we have the variation of a creature here, that makes grand appearance as the movie moves towards the end. Here, we have a horror movie with a human touch, as it shows the struggles that the main character, an immigrant, has to go through. We don’t usually get such a good, detailed background story for the protagonist – here, the focus is mostly on her rather than anyone else. Even though Corona virus pandemic might have other ideas every time, we are always looking for some horror with monsters too. After all, the big monsters from other worlds are as significant as the human monsters and the little viruses causing trouble. As you understand the same, you take this horror into heart.

Release date: 29th September 2021 (Netflix)
Running time: 87 minutes
Directed by: Santiago Menghini
Starring: Cristina Rodlo, Marc Menchaca, Joana Borja, Victoria Alcock, Phil Robertson, Moronkẹ Akinola, David Barrera, David Figlioli, Vala Noren, Alejandro Akara, Mitchell Mullen, Jeff Mirza

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Nobody Sleeps II

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*Full title: Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight Part Two

Vampire Owl: I don’t sleep much these days at night.

Vampire Bat: Vampires don’t really need to sleep at night.

Vampire Owl: We have the right to sleep whenever we want to.

Vampire Bat: What about sleeping in the coffins during daytime?

Vampire Owl: We have evolved much beyond that, right?

Vampire Bat: Yes, but it is more than that. It is a custom.

Vampire Owl: Well, we are not people of customs and traditions anymore.

Vampire Bat: Yes, but at least during the blood moon, we don’t sleep.

Vampire Owl: I would partially agree to that.

Vampire Bat: Let us see how Uncle Dracula thinks about it. He is now holding on to traditions more than ever.

[Gets a chocolate cake and three glasses of oreo shake].

What is the movie about? :: Adam Adamiec (Mateusz Wieclawek) is a rookie police who has just reached the police station after completing his usual job of buying the groceries, after the terrifying events of Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight. There he finds Zosia Wolska (Julia Wieniawa-Narkiewicz) and the two monster-like big men locked up in separate cells. The men look like they don’t care about anything, and sits there peacefully, while Zosia is clearly disturbed. He comes to know that the girl came to the police station last night, bloody and dirty, with a strange look in his eyes, and she was also saying that the guys in the cell were murdered by her in self-defence, while also talking about the strength of a meteor or comet. She had also accused the guys of murdering her friends, and cops had found bodies out there. Special Forces were coming from Warsaw to investigate the matter. With one police officer dead, the cops really need the answers, and they take her to the crime scene to get some idea about what happened last night.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: When Sergeant Waldemar Gwizdala (Andrzej Grabowski), the police officer who is with her has a stomach upset, and returns from the restroom, the comet breaks, and it seems that he was brutally murdered. Nobody has any clue of what happened there, as he is not reachable on the mobile phone, and there is no reply of the police radio either. This means that Adam has to go and check there with the police officer at the desk, Wanessa (Zofia Wichlacz). Even though Adam wishes to go back to the police station and wait for the Special Forces to arrive, while Wanessa calls the Territorial Defence Force, and they slowly move to the location. Wanessa’s deduction is that the girl killed the police officer and escaped. But Adam feels that there is something more at work as the senior officer was ripped apart into two pieces. The two understands that more people will be killed now, as there is a killer running around, and the forest makes it easy for the person to hide without being detected. The earlier incidents could be repeated many times. But can they stop the seemingly unstoppable force?

The defence of Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight Part 2 :: The movie nicely uses the one probability of having a sequel, even though it seemed to have ended with the first one. It can also have another sequel as things seem to end here. The slasher elements of the first movie are carried over here, and goes on as a regular slasher with its monsters at work. The movie’s shorter length also comes as an advantage, as it gets into action very soon, and there is no time wasted. This film also seems to go a little bit divergent with its monsters, and even though the idea is good, it never really gets the strength with was required. It also provides some explanation to the transformation of people into evil monsters, and the dark atmosphere is interesting, even when not used to the best advantage. Even though it might look strange with the twists, they are there to make some impart. Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight Part 2 is surely having the idea of building a franchise, and for that more focus on the storyline might be needed, but I would expect that to arrive anyway.

The claws of flaw :: We have already watched Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight, as the first movie had also released on Netflix, and this one doesn’t have that much of slasher strength as it had. The previous movie’s quality as a slasher movie is somewhat taken away by this sequel which focuses on some strange things instead. The elements of fear are replaced by just random gory moments which also pales in comparison to the first movie. The shift of focus brings light into a few other things, but by doing the same, some other elements do suffer from a loss in quality – the basic slasher things needed more. Bringing elements of terror when least expected, required to be in focus too, especially with one monster wandering around through all areas. The killers from the earlier film could have also been used, as it doesn’t seem to work that efficiently by turning new people into monsters. After establishing something, the film seems to take it away, decreasing the strength of the franchise itself. There is also not much of performances here to elevate it otherwise.

Performers of the soul :: The movie misses Julia Wieniawa-Narkiewicz in her original state – she was more or less the perfect scream queen, and her work with action as well as emotions proved to be advantage for that particular film. Then there was also Aniela Turek and Michał Lupa, a group which could perform in a way that was suited for a slasher horror better than any other. Mateusz Wieclawek leads the team, but not as the leader. He manages to work on the character okay in the beginning, struggles later. Zofia Wichlacz plays the police officer with all talk about being brave, but is actually a selfish coward – it is established pretty well by the middle of the movie, and she does the job okay in beginning, but is wasted later. The performances don’t really raise the level that much at any point though, and with a shorter run-time, we don’t really get to know these characters much either. It is more or less like going through the usual slasher horror with gore as fast as possible instead of taking care of the characterization. There is also some trouble with how the transformed characters are dealt with.

How it finishes :: The movie should have kept itself very serious, because the whole thing has been established already. It seems to have the base, but from there, the deviation losses its effectiveness soon enough. There was scope for grandeur, but the same is not taken. One has to remember how Fear Street: 1994 came up with perfect sequels in the form of Fear Street 1978 and Fear Street 1666 – this required such treatment, for one never know when there are thoughts about coming up with sequels. Humour, when not used effectively, can only prove to be negative in a violent horror movie. Well, the fact that it still works is because it has tried well enough with the base set in the first movie. There can always be more to be done with this particular idea, and we can only hope that a sequel can make things better. After all, some sequels which was part of long lasting franchises have been very effective. This Polish film franchise deserves to make a comeback now, or later.

Release date: 27th October 2021 (Netflix)
Running time: 96 minutes
Directed by: Bartosz M Kowalski
Starring: Zofia Wichlacz, Julia Wieniawa-Narkiewicz, Wojciech Mecwaldowski, Mateusz Wieclawek, Sebastian Stankiewicz, Andrzej Grabowski, Izabela Dabrowska, Lech Dyblik, Robert Wabich, Michal Zbroja

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

<<< Click here to go to the other Polish thriller review.

<<< Click here to go to the first Polish film review here.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Whole Truth

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Vampire Owl: There is a lot of talk about truth going on around here.

Vampire Bat: It is something that humans never try to speak.

Vampire Owl: Humans haven’t been close to truth for a long time.

Vampire Bat: Truth just doesn’t suit them. They are basically liars. You cannot blame them for going back to their basic nature.

Vampire Owl: Their basic nature is related to robbery and murder.

Vampire Bat: It is really difficult to talk about human nature. They are pure evil.

Vampire Owl: Yes, which is why many witches travel to their world and try to kill a few of them or transform them into better creatures like cats and dogs.

Vampire Bat: It is the same reason why we don’t have Vampire Cats anymore.

Vampire Owl: Human existence has no real meaning related to anything other than evil.

Vampire Bat: If Corona virus makes them go extinct, it can be called a pure evil thing.

[Gets a marble cake and three glasses of mango shake].

What is the movie about? :: Mai (Nicole Theriault) is living happily with her two children, Pim (Sutatta Udomsilp) and Putt (Mac Nattapat Nimjirawat) in the city of Bangkok, until she meets with an accident on her way back home from office, on the same day that she received a promotion at her office. She is now in a coma, and even though out of critical situation, has to stay in the ICU. It is then that their grandparents come to visit them – Phong (Sompob Benjathikul) and Wan (Tarika Tidatid) takes them to their ancestral home. The house is quite a large one, and Phong says that Wan is not really well, and due to her dementia, she also needs some taking care of. At the same time, Mai has some severe injury to her brain, and it will take some time for her to get better. Until then, the two siblings will have to stay in their ancestral home, even though they are not really comfortable about it. They take everything from home, and place them at the new place, as they feel that they are for a very long time. But this doesn’t seem that good a place for them.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Soon, the cat which they brought there from the original home is no longer found. They are also able to find a hole on the wall, which the grandparents don’t find to be present. They blame the children for making up things which are not there, and advises them to stop looking for cats. There is something going on in the house, and it feels really strange for the siblings. When Putt looks through the hole, he sees a strange girl on the other side, and it does seem like a strange house on the other side there. At the same time, Fame (Sadanont Durongkaweroj), a boy who studies with Pim, comes to the house and warns them about leaking a video of her showering in the gym. He is also not able to see the hole on the wall either, but is pulled to the wall, hurting his nose. He leaves the place with a broken nose, telling Pim that he will leak her naked video on the internet. As the grandmother reaches home, she sees the blood on the floor and losses her mind for a few minutes. Pim and Putt understand that things can get only worse from there, as there are some secrets out there.

The defence of The Whole Truth :: Even though this particular movie is from Thailand, there is the feeling of watching a Korean film – that kind of quality is here with the visuals. It also gets into action quite fast, and we are glad to follow it around early enough. The idea of the hole in the wall which provides some strange visions is nice, especially with the arrangements on the other side. The feeling of danger is always effectively there. This does bring some scares, but the film is more about mystery, revealing a few things about human nature, rather than anything else. The theme of the movie is related to how people only give half truths, manipulating everything to suit their own versions. The film also has a nice way of revealing everything, through visions and incidents. The way that it keeps us in suspense is good, as we are not really sure which way it is to go, not just about the ghostly figure, but also about how the leading lady’s situation would be, in the school – there are even twists about her life there, and the supernatural only comes later.

Positives and negatives :: The Rings creature feeling is there for sure, as if to provide something like a repetition, for that is one demonic presence which everyone has liked for a long time. There were also so many more possibilities for the incidents of the movie to progress, and it could have used better clarity at some parts. The ending could have also been more direct. There are moments when it makes us feel that this is going to be like The Visit, but it is surely not going that way. Also, the movie’s drama feels a lot like Indian films at times, and therefore, it is more relatable to our audience. The ghost here more like the past which continues to haunt us, reminding us of a few dialogues in Crimson Peak. The idea of the ghost trying to tell the truth, or rather the whole truth is not something new, but this one takes different steps towards it. The way in which this movie changes your expectations in between, is also notable. There is no early clue about what we have in the end, for the twists work in that way, and make this one effective.

Performers of the soul :: Among the performers, it is Sutatta Udomsilp who stands the strongest, as the elder grandchild and sister who has to stay strong in the absence of her mother. She reflects a number of scream queens which we have seen in Hollywood movies, and still has a lovely touch of divergence that relates her to horror movie stars of Bollywood too. She expresses herself incredibly well throughout the different events, from the emotional ones to the scary ones. Nicole Theriault has only the first few minutes as the mother, as she gets to face the car accident too soon, waking up much late. Mac Nattapat Nimjirawat plays the young brother figure who is weakened, pretty well. Sompob Benjathikul plays the grandfather figure with a lot of strength, while Tarika Tidatid fits into the grandmother role with ease. Sadanont Durongkaweroj plays the usual creepy boy who reminds one of the Drishyam boy who got buried under the police station, after capturing the video of the showering girl. Thasorn Klinnium, who is only there for a few minutes, also has her contribution.

How it finishes :: The Whole Truth is the first Thai movie at Movies of the Soul, and it did come late, when we look at the foreign language movies at the website. Even though there have been many movies which came close to becoming the first, this one finally made it way here through Netflix. It is rather surprising that we have already had Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese and Indonesian movies here to add to a South East Asian list, there hasn’t been any from Thailand. This movie changes that in style. Movies like Furie, Impetigore, The Wandering Earth and Train to Busan were all movies which had something special in their own ways, coming from different countries and languages. The Whole Truth proved to be a fine example with which to start Thai films. When we had visited Pattaya and Bangkok, we did really want to watch a movie or two, but that didn’t happen because of the busy schedule of the trips. At least, that desire is fulfilled for now. As we go through the beginning of the new year, let us hope that more wishes can be fulfilled in 2022.

Release date: 2nd December 2021 (Netflix)
Running time: 125 minutes
Directed by: Wisit Sasanatieng
Starring: Sutatta Udomsilp, Tarika Tidatid, Sompob Benjathikul, Sadanont Durongkaweroj, Steven Isarapong, Thasorn Klinnium, Mac Nattapat Nimjirawat, Keetapat Pongrue, Nicole Theriault

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Pale Door

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Vampire Owl: How pale is the door?

Vampire Bat: It cannot be that pale as the door to Uncle Dracula’s door.

Vampire Owl: It won’t be as pale as life itself.

Vampire Bat: Life will get better after Corona virus ends.

Vampire Owl: There is no life after COVID-19 ends.

Vampire Bat: How can you be so sure about?

Vampire Owl: The world has now become more evil, you know that.

Vampire Bat: Yes, but that is related to the humans only.

Vampire Owl: The realms are going to collide at some point of time.

Vampire Bat: When they do, we will be ready to face the evil humans and their weapons including hatred and fear.

[Gets some French fries and three glasses of pista shake].

What is the movie about? :: One day, a home is raided by a gang of thieves who are heavily armed. Two children survive the terrifying incident, while the parents are shot dead. The house is also burnt down, but the two boys decide to move on with the help of an acquaintance. The younger of the two brothers, Jake (Devin Druid) is working in a saloon, while Duncan (Zachary Knighton), the elder brother is leading the Dalton gang, a group of robbers who come up with some big heists all the time. When one their gang members die in a gang fight, they are in need of more manpower for a train heist which might be the best of their career. Even though Duncan is not sure about allowing his younger brother to involved in anything related to guns, Jake doesn’t back down, and the gang finally decides to take him because of the urgent requirement. They find the train heist to quite an easy job, and they find the chest which was being guarded there, and manage to escape with the same.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Instead of finding any gold or money in the chest, they end up finding a young lady tied up inside. The girl introduces herself as Pearl (Natasha Bassett), and tells them that her home is in Potemkin, from where she was taken by these people. She also promises them some fine reward if they take her home. As the gang also wants to have some treatment for the wounded Duncan, they decide to go to her town which is closer than the rest of the civilization. As they reach the town, they try to find a doctor first, but there is nothing in the place, but woods with one small cottage in between, much to their dismay. Pearl does offer them help, as they are forced to follow her deep into the woods, and she tells them that they live in a brothel. As they are welcomed at the brothel by the one who seems to be their leader, Maria (Melora Walters) also promises that they will have the reward soon enough. But soon they realize that there is something different about this brothel, and they won’t really like that.

The defence of The Pale Door :: The movie does have a lot of action with the gun shots, and the witches are also there, which makes this a divergent type of film in comparison to those usual films which have one of these. The transform between the western heist and the world of magic and witchcraft is nicely done with the surprise working well. The message of evil being present at all times, and the final moments after building the atmosphere works pretty well, even though it doesn’t become a full horror movie at any moment as expected. There are moments which come back to the main characters as revelations about the past, and the setting within the forest brings the need for being frightened, in a strong enough manner. Placing the outlaws against the witches is a pretty good idea, as we look at it, and can also have an extended version of the same in a sequel, as the latter can go on forever, and be back for more innocent blood to sustain them. A successful mixing of these genres is exactly what has helped around here.

The claws of flaw :: The problem with this film is that it is too slow for our liking, and there are more dialogues than action on many different occasions. The movie is also really slow to go through its problems, and the beginning moments have too many scenes which keep on dragging the film until we reach the much needed action. Even though the witches are shown in their true forms, there could have been more especially related to one of them bathing in the blood of the victims, a moment that reminds of the ancient legends. The moment required an extended version, and also the hunting which the witches come up with. Just like the vampires, the witches are always capable of more, and this one doesn’t touch those abilities enough around here. The idea of witchcraft always have enough strength to rise as strong as the vampires and zombies who have ruled the world of cinema for quite a long time, and this time, they don’t go for where the strength lies the most – instead, the safe side seems to have more of an attention than anything else.

Performers of the soul :: Devin Druid as Jake and Zachary Knighton as Duncan are given importance in brotherly bond, but beyond that, they don’t work that much within limitations. Stan Shaw as Lester makes a strong impact among the group in comparison. Bill Sage and Pat Healy are fine in what they do. Melora Walters does make a fine witch with a mission here, and there is the past that is related to her, and works fine enough. Natasha Bassett makes a fine witch for the future, and might be one of the most charming of the group. There are other witches added around here, and Ashley Couch appears in the blood bath, the one which had the scope to be the most notable scene in the film, but the same gets limited – she still has one’s attention there though. As a film which deviates to witchcraft early enough, there could have been more focus on each witch character here, but the same is not provided that much of a significance around here. But the witches don’t get their due, and that is somewhat a shame, considering the possibilities.

How it finishes :: The movie seems to have done pretty well as a low budget horror movie, and has enough to keep itself strong with the big reveal that comes later. There is not that much to make a heavy entertaining impact, but the film manages well enough with what they have. Maybe, if this had left idea of the wild west behind, and focused on the witches and their past, with the forest being the permanent setting, things could have been better. Even a medieval setting in England could have lifted this one better. Yet, there is something about the film and its witches which will keep it going. During the time when the Corona virus pandemic is coming up its omicron variant, one can say that this kind of a variant can also serve the purpose. At a time when the supernatural are going down due to the strength of COVID-19 and the evil that the humans are bringing, we all need our original demons, witches, vampires, werewolves, ghosts and zombies – let us take these witches for now and enjoy what we can, while staying safe during the omicron-active Christmas season.

Release date: 21st August 2020
Running time: 96 minutes
Directed by: Aaron B Koontz
Starring: Devin Druid, Zachary Knighton, Melora Walters, Natasha Bassett, Tina Parker, Ashley Couch, Bill Sage, Pat Healy, Stan Shaw, Noah Segan

<— Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Don’t Listen

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Vampire Owl: We, vampires don’t really need to listen because we know.

Vampire Bat: Still, we don’t know everything.

Vampire Owl: I know almost everything, and I am sure about that.

Vampire Bat: Your certainty of knowledge only creates doubts.

Vampire Owl: My doubts are the results of me knowing, and nothing more.

Vampire Bat: You should at least listen to Uncle Dracula.

Vampire Owl: Uncle Dracula is no longer a proper source of knowledge.

Vampire Bat: I feel that you are thinking about starting a revolution.

Vampire Owl: Nonsense. I am not a revolutionary. I am beyond that.

Vampire Bat: Okay, let us see how far you can take that.

[Gets a vanilla chake and three glasses of blackcurrant shake].

What is the movie about? :: Daniel (Rodolfo Sancho) and Sara (Belen Fabra) moves into a new house with their son Eric (Lucas Blas), and hopes that they would have a happy time there, as it is a big house in the beautiful countryside. But things don’t turn out to be that good as they had expected. In this old house in a rural setting, they are not longer happy. Daniel and Sara still plans to restore and sell the house, and they don’t care much about the voices which Erice talks about, and the fact that he cannot sleep much either. Soon, a psychiatrist who comes to help Eric dies, seemingly in the same way as Eric was drawing. Eric also had the feeling that the voices were making him draw things. The boy continues to make problems at the school too, and keeps waking up at night, screaming aloud. The problems continue in the house with further weird occurrences, and soon Eric is found dead in a swimming pool just outside the house on a strange night. This separates the two who can no longer handle the pain of losing the child.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Sara is not able to handle it anymore and moves to her parents’ place, but Daniel decides to stay in the house and renovate it to sell it some day. Sara hopes that he will leave the house with terrible memories and follow her back to the city soon enough. That night, when he records a voice message and sends it to Sara, there are many voices in it. Right in there, he hears the voice of Eric, asking for his help. The same frightens him and he meets a supernatural investigator specialized in electronic voice with a paranormal touch. He is the one who is supposed to have gone through so many of similar paranormal events and have written books related to the same. Even though he is reluctant to believe the depressed father in the beginning, he finally decides to have a look, and travels to the place with his daughter, hoping to find something. Everything seems normal from a distance, but as they go inside, there are a few things that need to be taken care of.

The defence of Don’t Listen :: The atmosphere is well created for the movie, with everything happening in a house in the middle of nowhere. This is a house with a past, and it is located perfectly away from civilization for the people other world to make an appearance. Visually, it has a fine score, and it also scores well with the sound effects that asserts the supernatural presence strongly. The movie had also got into action quite early. It does have its scares, and there are some effective ones around here that does have the repetitive elements, but do work as we would have wanted it to. There are some interesting moments in the end, and there is a twist to go with it too. The haunting of this particular house and the people associated with it does have a different touch at times, along with the added history. It is to be noted that the movie has managed to achieve most of its positive things without using much of the gory elements, and with a simple tale. You have watched Hollywood do this before, and now we have the same in Spanish.

The claws of flaw :: This is another movie which reminds us of the usual horror films of Hollywood, even though not exactly the same as The Conjuring, The Nun, Annabelle, Sinister or Insidious – the common ones of our times which people try to watch all the time. It doesn’t move that much away from the usual path here too. The ideas of witchcraft and possession could have been much stronger here. The tale could have been twisted at many points, but they go for the safe background story yet again. The film is also slow in parts, and when there were so many opportunities to minimize such problems, it doesn’t make the best use of them. There were moments of horror which could have been better used, and the atmosphere could have been heavily worked on. After all, we have gone through so much of horror already, and there are enough resources to elevate the level of horror. Without thinking enough about the same, a horror film is more of a work of mystery, and that is the pothole where the movie almost fell during an earlier point.

Performers of the soul :: Rodolfo Sancho plays the father figure, and the one who is looking to get his son back in whatever way possible – the good father is played well, and he goes through the horror elements well too. The final moments have him at his best too. Belen Fabra plays the mother with less to do, but the two make the family well enough. Ana Fernandez is the one who catches our attention the most though, and she also plays the smarter character around there. She takes on the supernatural rather sensibly, and there is the bond with the father that runs through. She should give a try with Hollywood horror too. Ramon Barea is more or less the usual paranormal activist that we see around, and he suits the role very well – very much with experience. The kid has very less to do in comparison, as death comes rather too fast for him. As it is in most of the horror films, it is the demonic presence that maintains the scary work.

How it finishes :: Don’t Listen makes an attempt at the usual horror, with some differences which comes with the “voice” idea. One would have wished for it to bring more horror, but it does have some fine points. We do need our horror movies at regular intervals. It is good enough to watch one more horror film, while waiting for Ezra to be remade for Bollywood. We cannot be sure about that remake’s quality, but from the trailer, it is certain that it is done well enough. Corona virus pandemic has unleashed a different kind of horror into our world, and the usual horror is currently of lesser significance, but we await the return of the monsters of the night, as well as the demons which are part of our life. As we are certain that they will slowly and steadily return to haunt us, Don’t Listen is a pretty good reminder that we can go back to that at some point. Until we get to that particular horror, let us be safe from the present terror, the COVID-19 pandemic. We do have too many horror movies to watch in our short life time.

Release date: 24th July 2020
Running time: 97 minutes
Directed by: Angel Gomez Hernandez
Starring: Rodolfo Sancho, Ana Fernandez, Ramon Barea, Bethlehem Fabra, Lucas de Blas, Nerea Barros, Javier Botet , Viti Suarez, Ruben Corvo, Jorge Oubel, Peter van randen

<— Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Aarkkariyam

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What is the movie about? :: Ittyavira (Biju Menon) is a retired mathematics teacher who is spending his time alone in a village in the district of Kottayam. At the same time, his daughter Shirley (Parvathy Thiruvothu) and her second husband Roy (Sharafudheen) are living in Andheri, Mumbai, and are planning to come back to Kerala after some time, despite the COVID-19 restrictions being further imposed everywhere. The coming of Corona has kept all of them in their own space, without much contact with outside world, and the spread of Corona virus had also brought some financial crisis to Roy and Shirley. The former’s business was already failing and there is no success in mutual fund either. The two manage to come all the way to Kerala to Shirley’s hometown and meet Ittyvira, who is really happy to see them. But they are also not able to meet their daughter, as the borders are closed. They apply for permission, but soon, a nation-wide lock-down is imposed, and they are all stuck there in their home in the village.

So, what happens with the events to follow? :: The lock-down changes their lives by a long way, and the restrictions reach their place too. The already interior home now feels even more away from civilization. This is the time when people were only beginning to understand the COVID-19 situation, and everyone was expecting all these problems to be solved as the virus would eradicated in the end of lock-down. One of the consignments of Roy is now stuck with the customs, and without that, there is nothing much that can be done. Now, the only way to get some quick money so that they can pay back Vyshak (Saiju Kurup) is by selling the ancestral lands, and it is Ittyvira who provides them that idea. But there are some complications related to the same, as there seems to be some secrets from the past which need to be taken care of. Roy begins to feel uncomfortable about the same, but there is nothing that he can do, other than worry about the same.

The defence of Aarkkariyam :: Aarkkariyam would seem to be a usual film in a village setting, but it is surely more than that – we get the idea only later though. Every moment in this movie nicely contributes to keep it going, and it is not that long either with each second in there used in an interesting manner. It does have that fine punch at the interval, something that makes the film take another route from the second half. The title itself is a worthy one here, as we keep wondering who all knows about a number of things including a sinister event and a person who was involved in the same. The performance of the three main characters elevates the film further, and the supporting cast is also interesting. The surroundings are nicely created, and the feeling of Pala-Kanjirappilly area is given with the rural touch everywhere, from the people to the environment. The film also focuses on the different opinions that different people would have about one person, and how polarized the same happens to be – how one can pretend to be good among the common people.

The claws of flaw :: Aarkkariyam is not the kind of movie which you would expect, as it has a certain deviation in store there. It is also slow at times, and there are lots of moments when nothing happens, even though they do contribute to the mood. There is also the presence of some usual cliché stuff here, but the same will go on and pass. Even if it feels like family drama, it doesn’t suit into that genre completely, and one would have doubt about the kind of audience it is actually looking for – even though we can keep it for the common audience in general. A little bit more of the moments in Mumbai and their return to hometown as well as a few twists in between would have helped more, even if it would deviate further away from the genre. It was an opportunity for something more, and there was the chance to be a classic, but the film manages to keep it going straight and without adding any special ingredient into it – maybe because there was the feeling that it was not needed, like Kungfu Panda would agree.

The performers of the soul :: This movie, as expected has Biju Menon with a performance to remember, and that too with a different kind of work. He has embraced this role like Vijayaraghavan did, as he moved from the usual kind of hero to the senior roles. Much elder to Biju Menon, he would be the one we would expect in a role like this, something which he has done in earlier films, but not as the protagonist like we see here. We know that other older superstars are still playing the characters of lower age group, but Biju Menon has had the courage to take it to the next level. If we remember his last few films, we will see that this difference in looks has come unexpected, and by a long way. Even as everything is kept simple about the character, there is always something to remember with this act. There are also those simple dialogues will stay, and sometimes come back – it is one realistic performance to remember as we look at it.

Further performers of the soul :: The movie is indeed about Biju Menon, but others do play their part too. Parvathy Thiruvothu once again has a role to remember, as she blends in here nicely, just like she has done so many times with ease not limited to her most appreciated performances in Uyare, Charlie and Ennu Ninte Moideen. She does get pushed to the background though, as the film progresses. It is also nice to see Sharafudheen in a serious role this time. We have been so much used to see him in those comic roles, except for that villainy in Varathan and the psychotic side in Anjaam Pathira, but those were kind of exaggerated when we have a look back – this is really a fine change here from the early comic side in Premam and the same later in Njandukalude Naattil Oridavela. The two match with their performances, and the cast has worked really well. Saiju Kurup plays the supporting role in the usual kind of way, but could have been part of more of the action too. Shoba Mohan is the only person here who gives the feeling that we have seen the person before.

How it finishes :: The first movie directed by cinematographer Sanu John Varghese is not something that we can leave behind. This is the kind of movie which I would have surely watched in the theatre early enough, if there was no COVID-19. It was a good decision to release this one on Amazon Prime Video along with Neestream, Roots Video and Cave OTT platforms because most of us were always going to watch it on Prime Video only – it is still difficult to find the movie there because of the spelling required to be exactly as it is when searching, and surprisingly it is also not on the list of the new film releases on Amazon. But we do get to it anyway, and during this time of lock-down and triple lock-down in Kerala, this is the kind of movie that reminds us of last year’s lock-down exactly as it is, and it is more or less a realistic experience that we go through – the kind which we had seen in Joji, and also in Nayattu even though this one keeps the thriller side at a distance.

Release date: 1st April 2021 (Theatre), 19th May 2021 (Amazon Prime Video, Neestream, Roots Video, Cave)
Running time: 126 minutes
Directed by: Sanu John Varghese
Starring: Biju Menon, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Sharafudheen, Arya Salim, Ganga G Nair, Saiju Kurup, Thejaswi Praveen, Shoba Mohan, Jacob George, Pramod Veliyanad

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

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

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Charlie’s Angels

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Vampire Owl: I remember having watched those two older versions.

Vampire Bat: You mean the movies with Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu.

Vampire Owl: Yes, during those times, it was a change from the usual action movies which we managed to get locally.

Vampire Bat: Yes, I watched the movie at a time when the CD versions were just getting to be popular, replacing the video cassettes.

Vampire Owl: We have to go, like twenty years backwards. We are really old, aren’t we?

Vampire Bat: It is still a very small number of years in vampire time.

Vampire Owl: That is true, but when we look at the actresses involved here, we know that there is more to it than just vampire time.

Vampire Bat: Unless they come with something like Charlie’s Vampires.

Vampire Owl: I don’t think that they would want vampires doing this job.

Vampire Bat: I don’t see why not, especially if they start running out of the usual options.

[Gets some potato chips and three cups of ginger tea].

What is the movie about? :: John Bosley (Patrick Stewart), a senior operative, plans and executes a mission with his angels perfectly, and soon, enters retirement, with a programme which appreciates what he had done for a long time during his stay in the organization. Meanhile, Elena Houghlin (Naomi Scott), an engineer working under the millionaire Alexander Brok (Sam Claflin), wants to take a secret out regarding their new project Callisto, and their head of development, Peter Fleming (Nat Faxon) who is planning something sinister. She understands that the device which was supposed to be used for clean and cheap energy, has potential to be weaponized, and some people already have eyes on that. She has a meeting with Edgar Dessange (Djimon Hounsou), and the two angels operatives Jane Kano (Ella Balinska) and Sabina Wilson (Kristen Stewart) has an eye on them in case something happens.

So, what happens with the events here? :: But, they are attacked by an assassin known only as Hodak (Jonathan Tucker), and are chased all around the city by him, until they end up in a river, and Edgar is dead. Rebekah Bosley (Elizabeth Banks) who is in charge, gets them together, and their injuries and troubles are taken care of by the person whom they referred to as the Saint (Luis Gerardo Mendez). They decide to sneak into Brok’s corporate headquarters so that they can steal the remaining Calisto prototypes before someone manage to use it, and make copies of it. Along with Elena, the other two angels also gets in using different ids, but despite their best efforts, they fail. Fleming has the only existing Callisto models, and they find him traveling to Istanbul, Turkey – they decide to follow them, with Elena also given the angel equipments, to serve as the electronics and computer expert, or rather the hacker. But can they find out the real villain here?

The defence of Charlie’s Angels :: Elizabeth Banks not only acts in this movie, but is also the director, and she has nicely managed to make this version of the angels a very entertaining one. There are some nicely managed action sequences, as heists, explosions and chases become just part of this movie which also manages to have a certain amount of humour maintained throughout its run, and its two hours of run-time ends quickly enough. Most of the credit for the same goes to Naomi Scott, both directly and indirectly. The visuals are good, with some interesting locations being explored by the camera along with the angels. It has to be said that was high time they had another movie in this franchise, as we always have space for films like these which takes things lightly, along with the serious ones which get all the sequels – Mission Impossible kind of stuff. This one is sure to make you ask for a sequel, not making one waiting too long.

The claws of flaw :: Considering the fact that this is a movie which has arrived years after the earlier version, there was a lot of time to bring some innovation, but there is no such thing being attempted here. The movie focuses more on action thriller cliches to make the best out of its material, but it should have opted for changes. The plot also has its own predictable elements, and the twist that it has is rather minute, and is not there to stay. As usual, there is the new recruit, the rookie who will learn things, and finally join the team, as beating up some evil men becomes a reason for them travel all around the world at a time when there was no COVID-19 – maybe they wouldn’t do that these days. You might also miss the great popularity of Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu, the three leads of the original version, as the actresses who play the same roles in this movie are those whom most of the film lovers of this part of the world might not be familiar with, except for Kristen Stewart.

Performers of the soul :: Elizabeth Banks, the director plays a major role in this movie, and does that well, and most people will always remember her for the role in the dystopian science fiction thriller, The Hunger Games, and its sequels. But the one who catches our attention the most is Naomi Scott, who plays the girl who changes from being clueless to becoming the angel. She was recently seen in Aladdin, and she was there in Power Rangers with Elizabeth Banks, playing one of the protagonists and the antagonist respectively. Ella Balinska is the next one to catch our attention, a relatively new face to most of us, who hasn’t really watched the movies in which she acted, and she makes one fine angel. Kristen Stewart was the one person whom I doubted when playing an angel because I had only seen her in the Twilight series and Snow White and the Huntsman, but she is surprisingly good here, and along with the other angels, she brings a lot of the funny side into action. Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Tucker are the appreciable male members of the cast.

How it finishes :: When we compare this new version of Charlie’s Angels to the old ones, this one seems to have a certain advantage with what seems to be a very energetic young cast and more fun than those which we had watched a long time ago, but we remember that we also loved them, and had that novelty with bigger names related to it. Not many movies which come back after a long time makes an impact, unless you have a Stephen King novel for support like Doctor Sleep. The movie is one light-hearted, quick, smart and humorous adventure which you will remember for long, and even bring a certain amount of nostalgia related to those older versions. There are only a few movies like Jumanji which can effectively use action and comedy, and Charlie’s Angels is a movie which has risen again to try and do that, and even though not as good as that movie on a game, this one is also a lot of fun to watch.

Release date: 15th November 2019
Running time: 119 minutes
Directed by: Elizabeth Banks
Starring: Naomi Scott, Ella Balinska, Kristen Stewart, Elizabeth Banks, Djimon Hounsou, Sam Claflin, Noah Centineo, Nat Faxon, Patrick Stewart

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Courier

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Vampire Owl: Did you collect your parcel from the Vampire Courier Service?

Vampire Bat: No, I didn’t. What did it have?

Vampire Owl: How can I know? I was just notified that you had a courier.

Vampire Bat: Okay, so they don’t deliver at the vampire castle.

Vampire Owl: No, not after the Corona Virus crisis.

Vampire Bat: So, they think that the vampire castle is infected beyond redemption.

Vampire Owl: Yes, they think so because of the large number of human visitors who were at the castle last month.

Vampire Bat: Well, nobody trusts the humans these days.

Vampire Owl: I don’t remember the last time any of our people trusted them.

Vampire Bat: When we keep them away, things will get better, and the couriers will be delivering at home.

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

What is the movie about? :: A young woman is tied to a chair at the middle of a parking lot and from the blood on her body, it seems that she was brutally tortured. As she struggles to breathe, she is about to be run down by an accelerating car when it goes to a flashback. Gary Oldman (Ezekiel Mannings) is one of the most powerful crime lords who has his business running in the United States of America and Europe, someone whom nobody dares to question or testify against, until Nick Murch (Amit Shah) makes the decision to go to the police, after witnessing a murder committed by him. For the interpol and the FBI, this is the first time that someone came forward to testify against the much feared crime lord, as usually only the dead bodies remain whenever someone tries to do something like that. The crime lord’s seductive, psychotic and manipulative daughter Alys Mannings (Calli Taylor) would not tolerate the fact that her father was arrested from a church, and was put on house arrest while he awaited trial.

So, what happens with the events here? :: The interpol officers lead by Agent Simmonds (Alicia Agneson) takes Nick to a safe house where they are supposed to stay and contact the court using the live stream video, but when a courier (Olga Kurylenko) rings a bell to deliver a package, things begin to go differently. The courier is the same lady who was tortured in the beginning of the movie, and it turns out that the parcel which she brought with her was something which would mean death. Simmonds shoots her, and turns rogue, trying to kill Nick, and blame it on the courier, who manages to attack her back, and almost kill the agent. Nick escapes from the floor with the help of the courier who seems to have some skill in fighting, but they are caught in the underground parking lot, surrounded by men who wants to kill them. They keep on running through different levels of the parking lot, as more and more men who seems to be mercenaries keep coming. Can Nick somehow manage to testify at the court with the help of the stranger?

The defence of The Courier :: A fine package of action can be seen in the form of The Courier which has all its fights set in just one place where the two protagonists as well as those who are trying to kill them are set – the movie keeps the three classical unities of place, time and action, with everything happening at the same place, and ending, with only one mission to save the witness. Olga Kurylenko is the one person who keeps the action at top level, and even after these many years, she remains a level apart from the other actresses, except for Rebecca Ferguson who is the perfect action impossible girl who also was the psychic vampire in Doctor Sleep. The action sequences are all made in a believable style, as we see her fighting – landing the punches, kicks, gunshots and bike stunts in a parking lot so well in this ride full of thrills. The stunts are all stylish and believable here, with no exaggeration at all.

The claws of flaw :: The Courier is a movie which always had a lot of scope, and could have had a better background tale for it too. There could have been more use of the motor-bike, and also something more about her past and her new life as a courier, which can be linked to The Transporter considering what she does, and to Die Hard considering the fact that they are locked in a building, and has to survive – Olga Kurylenko is Jason Statham, Bruce Willis and even Tom Cruise at some points, but it is good to see the lady action star coming up with more in a realistic way, as you are not supposed to look for something exaggerated around here, for that is not the kind of action which we have here. The dialogues could have been better, and with one of them, they could have explained the Kevlar jacket and a little more. Maybe it could have also had its antagonist to do more, and as it was quite a big building, possibilities were endless.

Performers of the soul :: Olga Kurylenko is a name not unknown to us, as we have seen her in a lot of movies, and she has handled the action genre really well throughout the years – she is someone who means business as far as fighting is concerned. The last one of them was on the funny side with Johnny English Strikes Again, but she had movies like Hitman, Max Payne, Oblivion, November Man, Centurion and the James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. Age is showing on the Bond girl, and she is not that lean figure anymore, but her skills with action sequences have only gotten better here. Alicia Agneson looks fine as the special agent when she is there, but her stay is limited, leaving us with hope to see more of her another day. Meanwhile, Calli Taylor has some nice moments, and you cannot doubt her about not being a crime lord’s daughter here. Gary Oldman makes a solid crime lord, and we feel that he is capable of lots of evil, and can always find opportunities for evil with him around. Amit Shah also does a fine job, and adds some humour too, and nobody should be confused about the name.

How it finishes :: Happening at a place within a limited time with one motive, this movie which would make Aristotle happy with its unities, manages to be higher than the level of many other action movies of the same kind. The reviews about this movie hasn’t been that good, but after you watch this movie, you will understand that there is not much that this movie could have done to make them feel better, as this is one wonderful action fest full of thrills, and Olga Kurylenko is the one lady action star who could pull this off so easily. You can always trust Olga to do that, and for the same reason, you can go for this one without second thoughts like I did. I am sure that the audience from this part of the world would like it even more. Just forget those reviews, some of which are not even explaining why they didn’t like this flick, and enjoy The Courier like you would have enjoyed most of those action movies with a male lead.

Release date: 22nd November 2019
Running time: 97 minutes
Directed by: Zackary Adler
Starring: Olga Kurylenko, Alicia Agneson, Gary Oldman, Amit Shah, Greg Orvis, Craig Conway, William Moseley, Dermot Mulroney

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.