Not impressed

A Quiet Place (2018)

The movie 'Bird Box' has been compared to this film when the former was released. If in 'Bird Box' the visual apparatus was the weak link, here any kind of sound is the stimuli that agitate the beast. At the slight presence of noise, a creature which looks like the one discarded from the set of the ‘Alien' franchise appears from nowhere to swallow the propagator.  As viewers can see later, high-decibel acoustics turned out to be its Achilles’ heel after all. 

The viewers are left in the dark on how it all started but what we are told is that nobody is supposed to make any noise. We end up watching another silent movie without intertitles. There is an option, however, for subtitles for ASL (American Sign Language) as it is used in the film. 

Even though all the film critics seem to sing only praises for the film, I was left feeling disappointed. Nothing much really happens in this movie. A family runs for their home as their youngest child is killed by the beast for playing with screeching toy plane.

The family (father, mother and two kids) reach their new hideout. A year after the first scene, they live in a world of silence, just communicating with each other in sign language. Their house is filled to the brim with sensors to alert them on a beast attack. Knowing very well that they have no communication with the outside world and that their lives were hanging on a thread, the mother is seen walking around with a gravid tummy. Nothing extraordinary that is not expected really happens. The rest of the story is about each member of the family wards off the creature while the mother delivers her baby after a near-death experience. 

The audience is left wondering what really happened,  and what is the point of the movie. The mighty powers that be in Hollywood are trying to shove us something mediocre like this down our throats and trying to impress us as something with high artistic value. But I beg to differ. I am not impressed. 

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Possessed by inner demons!

The Babadook (2014)

I do not particularly fancy horror flicks. The usual senseless gore, blood and scream does not turn me on. I have to admit, however, that one of the best horror film that scared the hell of me was 'Blair Witch Project' (1999). I decided this one a watch as it was said to a cerebral one. I did not know Australians also ventured into horror movies!

Even though at first glance, it just looks like another effort to scare the wits of its viewers with poor lightings and high decibel screams. Look deeper and you realise that it screams of symbolism. Symbolism of the stresses of life, of loss, hardship of sailing the sea of life despite of its drags. Like they say, the show has to go on!

Amelia, a widow with a young boy of 6, leads a mundane lonely life with a few friends with an equally depressing job of nurse in a geriatric ward. The son, Samuel, has a vivid imagination and imaginary friend, can sometimes be destructive and a spoilt brat. He talks about a character from a pop-up story book - The Babadook. (Don't know who would approve such a scary book for children bed time reading?)

Slowly, Babadook manifests as a poltergeist like character who terrorises the occupants of the house, i.e Amelia and Samuel. Amelia becomes possessed, unkempt, uncaring of her soon and even at one instance resorted to kill her offspring.

The real story is that Amelia's husband died enroute to hospital as he was sending a labouring Amelia to hospital. Her grief all the while was suppressed but as bringing up Samuel single handedly proved too difficult, she plunged into the dark shadows of depression and hatred towards what she perceived as the cause of loss of her place of support and personal gratification. She kept going in and out of being 'possessed', denoting that she was fighting the disease. At the end of the day, she fought her 'inner demons' and locked it in the cellar and looked forward to brighter days with her son. (Symbolically signifying successfully fighting the depressive illness). Looks like the filmmakers are thinking of a sequel to this one!

Comic, horror, PSA all in one!

Muni 2 - Kanchana (முனி-2 - காஞ்சனா, Tamil 2011)
Written, Produced, Directed, Starred by Raghava Lawrence

In order to be a commercial success, a Tamil movie has to cater for all layers of the viewers. Hence, that is why this movie, which is supposed to be in the genre of horror comedy (like Ghostbusters), had to infuse many synchronised ala-Michael Jackson Thriller type of dances and community message like the LGBT issue to ensure promising returns of investments.

Raghava Lawrence, who started off as a dancer like Prabhu Deva, has come a long way just like him. Here, he appears as a swashbuckling youngster who beats up ruffian in the daytime but turns into a fur-ball at night, a curl up scaredy cat at night who sleeps with his mother and is afraid to pee alone! His pairing with Kovai Sarala is a great selling point. In fact, Kovai Sarala singlehandedly leaves the audience in stitches with her many antics as Raghava inadvertently brings in the spirit of the Kanchana, the ghost into the house!

Raghava and mother lives with Raghava's brother, wife and two kids in a big bungalow with Raghava's love interest (Raghava's brother's sister in law, Priya [Laxmi Rai]) coming in to spice up the screen for a holiday. It sets a scene for Raghava to showcase his slapstick comedy and dance moves in synchronised dream scenes dance manoeuvres .

Muscle man Sarathkumar
(ex Mr Madras) in transgender role

The second part of the film sees Raghava possessed by Kanchana the ghost and starts showing effeminate demure, in dressing and conduct. It takes a full form of possession when the family summons ways to exorcise the ghost - Ragahava acts as a lady, a child and a North Indian Muslim man, much like Vikram in 'Anniyan'.

The successful exorcism was done by mystic Islamic priest who traps the spirit of Kanchana into a corner and later into an urn. Then it was the ghost's turn to tell of her sad story. In comes Sarath Kumar, the Tamil film muscle man, in flashback in full glory of a woman in saree, bosomy blouse, long locks, vermilion pottu and all as a transgender beating up a guy for disturbing her transgender college going adopted kid! Kanchana relates her childhood of being ostracised by her family for her gay tendencies, her adoption by a kind Muslim man and his retarded son - who were the ghost characters that Raghava was possessed. Kanchana whose birth name was Kartikeyan grows up to adopt another transgender individual who goes to medical school. Kanchana was cheated of her land and murdered together with her family and she was back for revenge. Expectedly, the hero rights the wrong. Sweet revenge is plotted and equilibrium is maintained - a piece of cake.

Kovai Sarala

The commercial success of the film which has gone into franchise is evident from the various remakes and dubbing efforts into other languages. You know you had hit it big when there is talk of casting Shahrukh Khan in a Hindi remake! The sequel of this film is out now - 2015.

Interesting to see various cultures in India blend seamlessly into the story. The secularism of the nation is clear when you see a Hindu with all trademarks of his religion entering a mosque respecting the local culture seeking help from the holy men without much hullabaloo. Even though exorcism of evil spirit is taboo is certain sects of Islam, it is acceptable to those in the Sufi sect.

This write up would not do justice if the doyen of comedienne of Tamil comedy, after the great era of Manorama is not mentioned. Kovai Sarala, who made her presence known in the 90s plays a pivotal role in inducing laughter as Raghava's mother. Her mere voice and her antics as a over-protective mother surely brightened up this rather unusual approach in film making and leave audience rolling in stitches.