"Krishnankutty Pani Thudangi" is an unconventional revenge film masquerading in a horror genre and told from the perspective of a third person, the protagonist.
Starting on a high note, the film does pump in curiosity and mystery for the initial half and hour, which later turns into lag with poor quality dialogue presentation and unnatural acting that haunts the new era of malayalam actors which here, takes a toll on the story telling especially given that this film is entirely dependant on only 2 characters.
Film makers did succeed in building up tension and mystery but failed miserably in keeping the thrill throughout the film. In attempt to create confusion with weird camera angles and rapid cuts, they lost the element of continuity and orientation. The film lacks even a proper establishing shot that would ve given an idea of location.
Music is just average. Cinematography varies between bad and above average. Nothing to be remembered.
Film makers and actors should stay away from 'slowly turning backwards shot' which has become a curse for crime/horror films in since a decade.
Vijilesh, the usual 'creep' who got his first ever on-screen lip kiss stared at the camera while doing so, making it very awkward and unconvincing. Vishnu was just average, definitely not his best. Saniya was very convincing yet unwanted screams at places seemed misplaced.
The huge expectations fall flat with final half an hour where the film struggles to move forward although the story is still left to be told.
Good story arcs and poor story telling is still an ongoing curse. A good director could've easily made this an engaging thriller.
Best decision, the film makers took was to keep the runtime around 1.5hrs although it becomes boring after an hour.
Verdict- One time watch.
