KUMARI (2022)



Critic No. 297

Director: Nirmal Sahadev

Written by: Nirmal Sahadev, Fazal Hameed

Produced by: The Fresh Lime Sodas

Casts: Aishwarya Lekshmi, Shine Tom Chacko, Surabhi Lakshmi

Music: Jakes Bejoy

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Horror, Thriller


SYNOPSIS: 

A naive Kumari (Aishwarya Lekshmi) arrives in the cursed land, where people are ready to sacrifice their lives to preserve tradition and power.


REVIEW:

Folklore always gives you a good opportunity to grab the audience who are always drawn to such stories because, in any culture, there are always stories that are passed down. Whether they are true or not, it draws attention if told well. ‘Kumari’ is a such story about a naive girl who gets tangled in a toxic family who is creepily ready to do anything to preserve the tradition. It's just another patriarchal household where newlywed women get a warm welcome and have no clue about the overwhelming darkness that will soon engulf them. 


The film also throws in scares based on threads of demons and witchcraft. The jump scares and horror set pieces are well staged throwing us effectively with mini heart attacks. It is even scarier to read that devotional-based human sacrifices are still prevalent in India. According to National Crime Records Bureau, in 2021, there were six recorded cases of human sacrifices and 68 murders related to witchcraft in India among that six were of children. 


Of course, as much as the film gives us a few innovatively shot frames by Abraham Joseph weaved with detailed sound editing/mixing that gives us the chills, the story is old as hill and the director does not deviate to shock at any point except the violently choreographed, shocking climax set piece. 


Aishwarya Lekshmi and Shine Tom Chacko are great in their respective, layered roles.  Aishwarya lends Kumari the necessary amount of grace, adventurous spirit, maternal traits, and steely determination. I was happy that the melodrama is kept to a minimum that keeps Kumari rooted down in terms of the emotional graphs given the fantasy genre. The choice of revealing the monster(s) only in the third act follows the tradition of Steven Spielberg (Jaws) and Ridley Scott (Alien). And the team used more practical effects for the climax and the entire staging didn’t feel like they were trying too much to be a Hollywood film. Rather it felt like a throwback to 80s Indian horror that added flavour to this folklore horror. In escapist stories of such nature, I always seek that immersive, time-travel-like experience, which is just what I got from Kumari.



VERDICT:

Aishwarya Lekshmi’s intense performance ensures that this technically sound folklore horror keeps you glued to the screen with a fair share of jump scares and throwbacks to good old 80s Indian horror.


CELLULOID METER- 3.5/5:


Watch the full film on Netflix:

https://www.netflix.com/title/81644920

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