Kriya

Kriya (2020) follows a young DJ who goes home with a beautiful woman, only to be thrusted into the death ritual of the woman's father. This film had an original concept, and some good parts, but for the most part was fairly dull and felt a lot longer than it was. I also found it hard to understand, and there was so little context available online unfortunately.

The opening scene at the club went on for far too long and didn't engage me at all. The music choice could've been better, and through the rest of the film the sound design was pretty poor and mixed fairly messily. Some noises were way too loud.

The cinematography was quite average and there wasn't much to talk about. However, some shots were way too dark and I couldn't make out what was going on which made me even more confused.

Another criticism I'd like to mention was that I was pretty sure I could see the dead body breathing at times. I'm not sure if this was intentional, but it wasn't addressed so I'm assuming it wasn't.

I was confused at first but quite intrigued, but as this film went on the pacing became way too slow to the point where I couldn't stay focused. There wasn't enough going on. On the other hand, the atmosphere was built up very well and that's why I rated it higher than expected. There was a tense and ominous atmosphere full of family drama which kept me watching.

I went into this knowing the language and the rites presented would be foreign to me. I've seen many horror films from across the globe and, even if I don't understand the nuances of the culture and its superstitions, I can almost always still enjoy the story for what it is. That was not the case here.

First off, the acting is horrendous. Wooden, almost completely emotionless. The writing doesn't help matters. I realize lots can be lost in translation when working with subtitles, but even the lines spoken in English were awkward and unrealistic.

Second, the plot is paper thin. I swear I'm not normally one who says "I knew what was going to happen at the end within the first 5 minutes," but really, that's what happened. I mean, it's telegraphed as clearly as what was going on with the woman going through great lengths to cover half of her face for the first part of the film. Once she finally reveals what's underneath, it's such a non-revelation that I wondered why she bothered in the first place (and inexplicably she starts covering it again... I assume to save time and money on FX makeup). As another reviewer said, there's a bunch of in-fighting within the family that comes and goes randomly and with little relevance to the plot. A lot is spoken about a family curse, but very little is explained. Motivations of characters are muddy and seemed inconsistent; nuggets of exposition seem to add little to the plot and are presented in a clunky, obvious manner (someone reminds a character of something really bad they did in the past and then adds "remember?" As if the person could ever forget such a deed).

I enjoy slow-burn movies, but this seemed so slow it was borderline in reverse. Plus, just the premise of an admittedly beautiful woman picking up a guy at a bar and getting him home with the promise of sex, but suddenly he's at her dad's last rites/funeral and doesn't just say "NNNOPE! Outta here!" is just ridiculous. They didn't even give him any way *not* to leave... he drove there!

I give 2 stars for the look and atmosphere of the movie, but even at a hair over 90 minutes (including end credits and 10 minutes total of flashing lights and club music at the beginning and end), this was a chore to sit through. Save your time & skip it!

Let me start with pros.

1. The movie has an interesting concept. Though flawed if you think hard about it, it's interesting nevertheless.

2. Navjot is good in some scenes.

3. Nudity doesn't feel unnecessary. This is a plus that nude scenes that are incorporated in the movie have a purpose and don't feel unnecessary.

4. Costumes and set designs are true to the location and people movie portrays.

That's all the pros I can gather.

Now the Cons:

1. The length: The movie is 1 hr 35 mins and trust me, this movie drags, a lot. You will feel the length of the movie. The movie has many unnecessary elements that will feel repetitive and movie doesn't seem to go anywhere.

2. Dialogues: I understand the language spoken and the dialogues range from awful to just bearable.

3. Acting: except for Navjot in few scenes all actors are really bad in conveying any emotions. Even Navjot is a hit or miss.

4. Horror Elements: Negligible, except for the eerie screams of Neel's father, movie lacks any horror element. There's also a blood clad human that contributes nothing to the horror element, IMHO.

5. Sati Practice: The push to show Sati practice felt unnecessary. The act has not been widely practised since centuries, and I would have given a pass to this movie if they could have found a way to integrate it in the story, which wasn't that hard given the plot of the movie. I would have given a pass even if it was just the family pushing for it, for plot-provided reasons; but even a passing-by priest pushing for Sati system, lost any benefit of doubt movie could have gained and the movie comes out as pushing an agenda (though mildly).

Lastly direction and cinematography is ok-is there's neither anything too special to talk about it nor anything too bad.

Conclusion: Kriya is a movie that has an interesting concept but fails the execution part miserably.

2/10.