Rating: 4 out of 5
Starring: Shane Nigam, Revathy, Saiju Kurup, James Eliya and Athira Patel
Streaming on: Sony Liv
To watch or not to watch: A good watch for people on the hunt for a thrilling movie

Asha (Revathy) and her son Vinu (Shane Nigam) live together with Asha’s mother in a house. They are financially hard-up, with Vinu not having a job since one and a half years after graduating, and Asha being a school teacher, not making enough. Vinu has taken to substance abuse and Asha suffers from clinical depression, which is aggravated by her mother’s passing. Slowly and steadily Vinu’s mental health starts declining and he becomes sleep deprived, easily startled, and aggressive. So his hearing sounds at night and seeing shadows is attributed to his addictions and is a counsellor is consulted. That is when the history of the house, incidents with the past tenants comes to fore and story takes shape.

The storyline is stupidly simple, in a good way. There is linearity in things unfolding and not much is said about what happened in the past in Asha’s and Vinu’s lives which has shaped them this way – it is only hinted at. And it is annoying. It neither helps nor can it be ignored, as it is fundamental to the relationship mother-son share, which is in-turn fundamental to the story. There are also false starts (Granny staring at Vinu when he is helping to put her to bed), loud music from out of no where, which dies the sudden death special to amorphous entities, with nothing to show for it. And also a love song in the background of Vinu’s and Priya’s date, when it has not shown to have any bearing on Vinu’s life – Priya just exists.
Now that that’s out of the way, we can come to why this movie is recommended. The movie shines in camera work, direction and ACTING, a bit of story too. The play of shadows and difference in views of Asha and Vinu are beautifully done, the viewer gets to be in the same room as them and understand the agitation, helplessness and frustration when they are not able to understand each other. The show-not-tell segue into the past of the house with the counselor investigating the truth is better done than in most movies, though far from perfect.

This movie wins on most points, specially since horror has been an under-performing genre in Indian cinema as a whole. The fact that Revathy stars in it, who is better known to the masses, helps bring this movie to the fore, and demography of cinema lovers is all the better for it. It is a simple movie, no gore, crazy made-up ghost or VFX, it is a plain haunted house horror. The last 17 minutes of the movie, shot in one bedroom and dining area really does justice to the almost one and a quarter hour spent before. Only wish the cinema can grow to understand movies can be made with without a romantic angle in the lead’s life and some more of the backbone story. And it is only being said because this movie was so so close to perfection. Highly recommended.