CHATHUR MUKHAM (2021)
 |
| Critic No. 225 |
Director:Ranjeet Kamala Sankar, Sali V
Written by: Abhayakumar K, Anil Kurian
Produced by: Jiss Toms Movies, Manju War Productions
Casts: Manju Warrier, Sunny Wayne, Alencier Ley Lopez, Niranjanan Anoop, Babu Annur,Shyamprasad, Rony David
Language: Malayalam
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Music: Dawn Vincent
SYNOPSIS:
After breaking her mobile phone, technology addict Tejaswini (Manju Warrier) finds her new phone taking control of her life.
REVIEW:
‘Chathur Mukham’ instantly gets connected to us, thanks to the relevance of social media/technology addiction that is highly prevalent in the current society. Though the film has a few commercial liberties taken, the makers have tried their best to balance it by introducing a few interesting horror set pieces that visually look intense.
Thejaswini (Manju Warrier) is a social media addict, who constantly updates images from her daily life online. After she breaks her smartphone, she decides to buy a new one from an online store that sells it for a very low price. Mysterious events begin to take place after the phone arrives. Along with her friend Antony (Sunny Wayne), with whom she is running a struggling CCTV camera business, she seeks the help of Clement (Alencier), a science enthusiast who is skeptical of anything that does not have a logical explanation.
It is interesting to witness the perspectives of this combo of 3 who have very diverse beliefs and take for what is happening. There is often an attempt to provide a scientific explanation for the happenings on the screen, with some of the characters even poking fun or dismissing the traditional Malayalam horror movie tropes such as black magic and exorcism. Of course, the script does not fully dismiss the supernatural elements, but I liked the way it coats it with a thin veneer of scientific reasoning.
The film’s pace is another plus to keep us at the edge of our seats (kudos to editor Manoj for the roller coaster speed) and the horror set-pieces are very well choreographed with the technological items in the surrounding. I realized how much radiation we are consuming daily when I witness how the ‘supernatural’ force uses it to take each of its steps. Manju literally drives the film with her raw performance. Most of the actors look grounded which keeps us closer to the scientific-driven story despite the occasional theatrics. The background score by Dawn Vincent syncs in well with the mood of the narrative and the sound design is quite meticulous which is very essential for a horror flick.
The only sticking problem I had with the film is the exaggerated set piece in the climax that runs for almost 20 minutes. The rooted reality the writers had held on, gradually became bigger and bigger, ending in a very filmy mode. There is also a song that comes by just before the climax that acts as a serious speed breaker.
That said, techno-horror is not a common genre in Indian cinema and Chathur Mukham does justice in providing effective horror, expressing its relevant social commentary on technology addiction.
VERDICT:
‘Chathur Mukham’ effectively blends the issue of addiction to technology into a classic horror that throws us a few surprises and innovative scare tropes to keep us invested throughout.
CELLULOID METER- 3.5/5:
Comments
Post a Comment