Andhaghaaram

First of all it's almost looks like an A24 thriller with left field visual and mystery growing with respect to time. Well written characters and lame less narration. Kudos to director and producer for presentin a non compromised cinema.

Pros: * gripping narration * Very good cinematography and editing * Extreme care in technical aspects * Strong script, interesting story

Cons: ~ seems slow at times(but its worth the wait)

This movie reminded me of classic highly reputed hollywood movie "Memento" for the narration style. To take a simple story like this, and elevate the aspects by changing the screenplay, editing is really risky and the director deserves standing ovation for this.

Although the Movie seems stretched, at the end, i dont feel like there is any unnecessary scene. Every scene has some vital role in bringing it closer to the climax(and trying to make sense of the ending).

I am fascinated with this movie as lately its been extremely rare to find a movie on streaming services that can impress as much like the big movies. Also it doesn't try to include too much sounds and thrills to make it sound like a horror movie. I really appreciate the way they handled it.

Please do watch it and enjoy! I would say it's a must watch for thrill seekers. :)

Thanks.

Brilliantly written non linear script, only flaw that I could find is casting of pooja Ramachandran as elder sister should have choosed someone with older look and finally this movie is better than the most of the cheap action flicks in recent Tamil cinema.

This was a surprising movie and the things that are good in this film are just about quintessential to any movie, but here it has been packaged really well. The acting, script, screenplay. 3 most important factor which was beyond expectations

The premise is rather simple, a backstory of what everyone does and gives you a sense of belonging in the movie. The protagonist portrays to be connected in different aspects although they keep the dark part hidden. Arjun Das has done a phenomenal performance in this and he aces every frame he is in. May it be a deranged man, a coach, a medium,,, he is very very convincing and makes you want to watch over and over.

The blind character played by Vinod Kishan is equally good if not better in few occasions. His portrayal of medium is spot on and he does it so casually with no frills it is very believable.

The director has taken his time to sculpt the characters, which may not be a preferred tone for many, it seems slow in that sense as every minor detail is given a due consideration. However I loved it as it gives you the involvement and who are you rooting for in the movie.

Any horror movie, mostly relies on jump scares and a one off appearance of the ghoul. The story mostly takes a backseat, not in this one though. The characters have a story and the connection is the very base of the movie for almost 80% of it. So you have to watch this in one sitting to truly enjoy the journey

Almost 50% of the movie you will piecing the puzzle together, but your presence is also a very important factor to understand the puzzle even more. So sometimes you may feel frustrated but like i said the movie being a slow burn will start twisting the tension higher with every scene. And its not a sudden release at the end as well. The director has taken adequate time to slowly unwind the mystery. Brilliant effort!!

Aside the pace of the movie which may not seem fit for everyone, this is one horror movie which does not have jump scares and relies on logic to move the movie forward. A shout out to the sound engineer who has done a phenomenal job in keeping us at the edge of our seats

Andhaghaaram (lack of light) does not lack anything to be skipped from watched. It is a wholesome movie with brilliant performances which will remain in your memory for a long time.

It is really appreciated that "Andhaghaaram" opts for psychological suspense, ignoring the special effects, jump scares that have become a fashion in recent times. A clever, riveting supernatural, part psychological drama that fits many genres into one film which pays off in the end. Disguised as a "Supernatural" film but this is actually a revenge driven drama towards the end with frequent character shifts that are fast. The film blurs the lines between reality & fiction to deliver a psychological shock & that will someday have the respect it truly deserves. It does not register or decipher what is happening but follows imaginary stimuli. In this way, reality, and fiction merge, they can no longer be differentiated. Darkness is a popular film element, and it comes across as striking.

If one releases oneself from the expectation that there must be a 'thrill' behind the gripping opening where a patient pulls trigger on Dr Indran (Kumar Natarajan) and series of suicide follows. There are no questions left on closer observation when the final title begins. In addition to the quality of the content, there is a formal implementation that works on the story in the smallest detail right from the beginning till the credits roll. And then, we are introduced to Selvam (Vinoth Kishan), a blind librarian, a MEDIATOR helping people in the library whose roots hold a mysterious past. Then we meet Vinod (Arjun Das) a cricket coach who lives in a flat. Unfortunately, things are not going well in his life and there is a sense of guilt that prevails. It is difficult for him to cope with the death of his best friend. The room where he stays is a great setting and at the same time a reflection of his conflicts and unstable character. The environment creates eerie shadows from which indefinable noises emerge all the more clearly in later part of the film. He has a landline to communicate with the outer world and like a puzzle rummaging in the streets for smoke breaks that doesn't look like one at first. And then there is this stranger who keeps calling him to his landline number. Vinod goes crazy because he thinks he is tapped or blackmailed. From then on, Vinod hears strange noises, voices and rumbling in his house. It brings him to the brink of a nervous breakdown. The strange occurrences lead him to believe that there is a psychological problem, and he is advised to fix an appointment with a psychiatrist. Having someone unknown call you and never being able to find them with this as the backdrop the film introduces more threads in the screenplay.

What follows is a great mystery and I asked myself whether this topic of Darkness vs Light could fill an entire film. After all, the tension had to be maintained for nearly 3 Hrs and I think the film does that quite cleverly, but it takes some time to get going.

On the other hand, the film convinces with a dense atmosphere and good camera work that shuttles back and forth between flashbacks during the narrative. Still, "Andhaghaaram " is a very interesting film, which is not entirely conclusive and leaves few questions. It almost looks like a cinematic experiment in genre crossover. If you like horror films to be clear and unambiguous, you won't have much fun here. Anyone who loves suspense and supernatural horror will be in good hands in this film. Kudos to the entire team of Andhaghaaram for this indie gem.