‘Hunt’ film assessment: Bhavana and Shaji Kailas’ horror-thriller is unexciting fare

Bhavana in a nonetheless from ‘Hunt’
| Picture Credit score: @GOODWILLENTERTAINMENTS/YouTube

Shaji Kailas’ model of cinema has been a favorite for these cine-goers who celebrated the larger-than-life heroes taking centre stage with prolonged, pompous monologues, closely choreographed motion sequences and unwarranted digicam angles and photographs. However success has been lengthy overdue for the director who has delivered a number of the greatest blockbusters in Malayalam cinema.

After a sequence of misfires on the field workplace — regardless of KaduvaandKappa that celebrated alpha male heroes being declared hits — the director is again on the marquee with Hunt, headlined by Bhavana, with whom he’s collaborating after the 2005 launch, Chinthamani Kolacase.

Shaji has added supernatural horror to his oeuvre with the film scripted by Nikhil Anand. Bhavana performs Dr Keerthi, a postgraduate scholar specialising in forensic medication. A daring and outspoken particular person, Keerthi is left with an excessive amount of on her plate when the corpse of a girl (Aditi Ravi) is recovered from a river stuffed in a concrete-filled bin. Quickly she begins feeling somebody’s presence round her, forcing her to get entangled to find the identification of the girl and the circumstances that led to her homicide.

For a change, the director has gone for a girl protagonist this time and there may be sufficient meat within the preliminary scenes to maintain the viewers within the narrative, due to the tempo of the scenes and the build-up to the conditions.

Bhavana in a scene from ‘Hunt’
| Picture Credit score:
@GOODWILLENTERTAINMENTS/YouTube

However that’s all you get; the script progressively loses grip and the viewers’ curiosity quickly fizzles out. That too regardless of the introduction of a bevvy of characters and makes an attempt to create an eerie atmosphere with a thumping soundscape. At no level does the viewer really feel invested within the characters or the conditions.

Bhavana does her half nicely, and so do the opposite actors — Chandunath, Anu Mohan, Suresh Kumar, Nandu, Ajmal Ameer, Rahul Madhav, Dain Davis and many others. However there are not any main takeaways from the movie; be it by way of scenes or performances. One will get much less and fewer invested because the story progresses. The plot feels underwhelming, particularly when the motive behind the girl’s disappearance is revealed.

With the inclusion of parts akin to parapsychology, spirit and props to make it a horror thriller, the script may have had so many layers to offer us a gripping narrative. That doesn’t occur and even the makes an attempt at creating an thrilling climax fall flat. The movie is likely to be a one-time watch for many who want horror thrillers, however don’t anticipate it to blow your thoughts.

Hunt is at present working in theatres