Kalkokkho

After being brought to a mysterious house, a doctor finds himself held captive by three women who require him to treat the eldest of the group, but regardless of his attempts he keeps repeating the day forcing him to find the reason why in order to save the family and leave alive.

Overall, the film has quite a lot going for it. One of the strongest factors is the rather intriguing setup that ties together numerous topical details into a mysterious and engaging narrative. The recent issues with the pandemic are employed front and center here with the household quarantined off, regularly being shown masking or taking hygienic precautions, and being filled with warnings about the dangers of going outside around others. These beats provide a necessary setup to showcase the plight of those stuck in their homes during the pandemic and forced to go through untold trials and tribulations to remain safe while also looking after loved ones. As time goes on and the more stays at the house, the hints about their relationship with each other and the outside world gradually come into focus which works quite well alongside the scattered attempts at being unnerving and terrifying. As this groundwork is being suitably laid out, this one takes the opportunity to weave a rather enjoyable air of genuine mystery and supernatural undertones throughout here. The repetition of the day where he keeps reliving the day from being awoken while still bound and tied up, going through the greetings of the day, and treating the grandmother becomes quite chilling as they keep happening. Regardless of how he tries to break the chain, waking up in the same situation and being forced to go through the same thing is a highly off-putting concept that's rife with psychological terror. When added together with the real-world implications of what's going on, the despair and depression that arises while in the midst of this situation offer a generally effective atmosphere that generates plenty to like about it. There are some drawbacks to bringing the film down. The biggest detriment here is the drama-heavy approach to the material that forces us to rely on the bizarre situation to generate its thrills. That so much of the first half here is built around how he gets brought into the family dynamic and forced to treat the ill grandmother only to be confronted with the generally otherworldly relationship that takes place between the women which are supposed to be the main driving point of the scares comes off underwhelming instead. The idea of calling each other the same name and repeating scenes from before works well enough at first but that only goes so far in building a genuinely unnerving atmosphere before it all comes off repetitive. That also comes about due to the obscene length present, regularly repeating scenes or topics so that it can build up a running time that's far too long for the type of content on display. Trimming some of that repetition down would've gone a long way to making what was already a really good film into a better one.

Rated Unrated/R: Language and traumatic themes.

The national award winner is a tale of doctor who is taken as a hostage in a family of three women during nationwide pandemic where he is stuck in a never ending time loop. The masterful build up of an unnerving atmosphere, where the true nature of his abductors keeps revealing is done well. The dull, dark interiors and the shabby dress worn by the women feels tailor made for the premise the film is build in. A sense of dread, despair creeps into the walls of the room.

But, the film is sometimes an exposition dump and sometimes follows a cautious meta commentary about the human suffering and perspectives during the covid 19 pandemic. Despite the subtlety in the setup and the minor changes in the camera angles in every key scene, the dialogues feel heavy handed when the characters try to rationalize their actions. The idea was nice, the women were supposedly a basis for the metamorphosis the apathetic doctor goes through the film, but despite the technical fluency, the dramatization seems under-cooked. That's why, we couldn't feel any sort of emotional attachment with any of them not even for the hapless doctor who is stuck in a nightmarish time loop.

The prevalent horror tropes of dolls, mysterious chants, a girl reciting rhyme in a freakish monotone all looks perfect for the setup, but the repetition of those sequences seems like overkill. It seems like a desperate attempt for the makers to make the running time cross 2hrs mark. The film could have easily been trimmed down thirty minutes lesser .Sometimes the characters move and perform like in a stage play which is although not a put downer but it feels awkward when it suddenly shifts gear to a stage play like tone.

The social commentaries about the migrant crisis, pandemic misconceptions are addressed in a very on your face approach which again doesn't go with the atmosphere and aesthetics the film is trying to achieve.

What the film successfully does in portraying the monotones, the isolation of that period where each days feels like the replica of the previous one. The paranoia, despair, hopelessness and how different an apocalypse feels like in real life compared to those high octane excitement in movies.

The title of the film is "House of time", it justifies the title quite aptly in the end. The house becomes a synecdoche of what's happening worldwide, stuck in time loop without any window of hope and better things.

The character transformation the doctor goes throughout the film is where the makers are successful in delivering a heartfelt message to us. The film tells us to be kind in difficult times, to care for each other however difficult it may seem like. It tells us the solution for people to get out of those situations is simply humanity, that's it.

As per the performances go, it never hits the mark except Tanistha Biswas and also the makeup seems amateurish and casual, none of the characters are explored well which also maybe is a reason for the performances never being remarkable enough to borrow attention.

The director duo despite being too explicit in the social messaging sometimes has adapted a rarely seen before approach in Bengali cinema, which itself is worth applauding.

It had been a while that such a gripping thriller had been released. This is more of a thriller than it is a horror movie. Highly recommended. Especially nowadays, when the point is to just release movie upon movie,I just loved it. There was not even an ounce of "dumb" or impossibility which is always what turns me off about films. The story-line went absolutely smoothly, very easy to follow. There were surprises & I was constantly grabbing my husband's arm out of fear. The villains has the exact terrifying demeanor the character should've had, someone you'd actually be scared to death of WITHOUT looking like a psycho killer, it was just his demeanor & his superb acting. I will definitely watch it again 👌🔥. . .

I have to admit I was expecting a different type of plot, more psychological less psychopath, at least from the only synopsis i've read before watching it (my bad...sorry), but even though it was a great movie, it actually reminded me of Korean thrillers... you know, the type of movies that get's your attention and you expect more. Another thing that i liked was the color/camera approach... it blended correctly with the music, a peculiar old obscure environment where it should be. I would give this more if part of the plot wasn't obvious at some points, but was good most of it. Also after reading that this is a work from a new pair of director's then i just can't wait to see more of their work! Also i really liked the main actress performance and the great make up they did on her.

I have to admit, that when I saw where this was going (you can spot the signs early on), I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did in the end. Predictability aside, this is very well acted. It's graphic at times (with the violence), but it's what it does in your head, that is most effective.

If you do love horror movies in general, then this might be one for you, otherwise the drama aspect of it, might not be enough to keep you interested. I do think they mix it up in a nice fashion, acting contributing and elevating a sort foreseeable outcome or at least direction this is heading.