Virupaksha

When you think of a bone chilling film like Hereditary and Tony Colette’sperformance or something as iconic as Jack Nicholson form the Shining or more specifically regarding this genre, Bonnie Aarons as Valak from the Conjuring series, you need formidable actors to really dig deep and convince you of the supernatural being and I have to say the core of why Evil Dead Rise works is Alyssa Sutherland as the mommy that goes on a rampage of violence. She is scary & intimidating and her performance never borders on being gimmicky. While I do feel that the movie did extend its welcome, especially as Beth emerges as the hero of the story and it rains blood, an elevator full of it by the way with the iconic chainsaw making its appearance, I really did have a fun ride watching this film that was in all forms gory, violent, silly and spooky and essentially what one expects from an evil dead film but little did I know that I would be surprised with another film this weekend and that too from Telugu cinema! Virupaksha a film directed by Karthik Dandu with the screenplay written by Sukumar really engaged me, something I did not envision because I literally went with zero expectations. The film focusses on Surya played by Sai Dharam Tej who visits his mothers village after many years. The mysterious deaths of people in the village alarms everyone but a horrifying event occurs that leads to the people following the edits, according to which they have to go on an eight day lockdown, to ensure that they curb the evil that wants to envelope their village and kill everyone. How Surya uncovers the history of the village and why the evil spirit may be after the lives of the people is essentially the story of Virupaksha. The one thing that will stick with you regarding this film is the music by Ajaneesh Loknath. The film is not dependent on low hanging fruit tricks in the horror genre to entice you, it largely depends on the atmosphere that it builds and it gets heightened further by the music and sound design of the film which is honestly, something to marvel at and something that can only be experienced in its most raw and real form in the theatre. The way the audience was gasping, shouting and screeching had a lot to do with the music composed that perfectly blends in the screenplay, making the mysterious events of the film even more horrifying. The film sets the ball rolling like Kantara to provide you a brief context of the village and its origins, the folklore, the paranormal activity, the foreshadowing of the dread is already set and I clearly understood that this has to be a Sukumar project to be nuanced vs any other horror flick to go for the weekend. The two gripes that I do have with the film which I want to express to you before I start raving about the film again is that the special effects and huge dependence on CGI in its climax really is a huge demerit of this film. I understand that it is reflective of the tight budget the movie is working with but the movies builds up so exceptionally merely through the atmosphere the story created so its dependence on special effects to convey the power of evil often looked cartoonish rather than intimidating. The second point is that I am in two minds about SAI DHARAM TEJ as an actor, he does bring forth an intensity in this film, especially when there is curiosity about the case and the origins of the village but when its demanded from Sai to put forth an emotional performance, especially with Samyukta’s character, I feel like he falters terribly in communicating the same. This is true for even his reaction shots, almost doing too much when not required. He also lacks the physical agility required for a role like this, constantly wanting him to run from one place to another. It isn’t entirely a miss but I did find his performance to be awkward in several moments. The stand out performer however of the film is Samyukta Menon, whom really gives her heart and soul to the character, both physically and emotionally, these kind of roles are extremely tricky for actors as they can border on becoming unintentionally funny but Samyukta as Nandini really shines, especially as we dig deeper in understanding her personality and origin story. The production design of the village and the cinematography by Shamdat Sainudeen needs to be lauded and what I do love about this film and its gruesome nature is that one can envision the event that will take place, the life that will be lost but it is executed so well, that the anticipation becomes the horror and one could visibly feel the anxiety of the theatre, wondering what lies ahead, making this film, if it is in your city, definitely a must watch on the big screen. A weekend definitely for horror fans, I could not recommend both films enough to you!