Is a mystery crime thriller wherein a couple gets stranded in desolate mansion with a mysterious host and lurking danger.
Director – Naseef Yusuf Izuddin
Writer – Sunil Yadav
Cast – Fahadh Faasil , Soubin Shahir, Darshana Rajendran
Plot
Alex, a writer, takes his lawyer girlfriend Archana for a weekend getaway. On a rainy night, when their car breaks down midway, they have to take refuge in a desolate mansion. The owner, Unni, is quite weird and mysterious.
But the worse is yet to unfold.
Bewildering circumstances and horrifying revelations lead to a life threatening situation wherein Archana has to decide about whom to fear and whom to rely upon between the two.
Analysis
After the awesome The Great Indian Kitchen, I was in a mood for some more Malayalam cinema.
Opted for this one lured by its mysterious and dark central premise which is the best thing about it.
The director makes a promising debut after assisting in many good hindi films like Kai Po Che, Newton and Tumbadd.
There’s a lot of suspense, danger and uncertainty lurking most of the time.
Mystery suspense lovers would love that flavour. The duration is crisp (1.5 hrs) and the story wastes no time taking off. The dark atmospherics give a it delicious tang. The intrigue factor builds up immediately but gets diluted towards the fag end because our mind started playing Sherlock and I think the writers must really pull up their sleeves if they want to keep our mind jumbled. Though the makers try their best to maintain the suspense but I think they resort to some loop holed behaviours in a bid to confuse us and our suspicions.
With some sharper writing, the awesome plot had the potential of being a riveting horror thriller.
Performances
The plot revolves just around three characters.
Farhad looks like a fabulous actor but I felt his character could have been given more teeth and coverage. Plan to watch Joji soon to see more of him. Loved Darshana as the credible, lovely and bewildered Archana. Have seen these actors for the first time, so not confident about my verdict but didn’t find Soubin too impressive. Can’t say if it was lack of writing or his own portrayal. Found him over the top and unconvincing at times.
Recommendation
Overall the film could be a one time watch for lovers of mystery/ suspense/ crime thriller genre or Farhad Faasil fans.The writing leaves you wanting but its duration, dark setting and cast are plus points.