Connect

Over the last decade, we've seen the 'exorcism' template overused in Hollywood. As a horror enthusiast, it has become one of my least favourite sub-genres at this point. In India - especially Tamil cinema - such films are still far and few. Which is why there's always a fair bit of excitement when a genre director like Ashwin Saravanan (whose Maya I liked and Game Over I did not like) decides to tell an exorcism tale centered around the COVID-19 lockdown. He and co-writer Kaavya Ramkumar (now, his better half) paint the picture of a well-off Christian family comprising Susan (Nayanthara), Dr. Joseph (Vinay Rai), their daughter Anna (Haniya Nafisa) and Arthur (Sathyaraj, playing Susan's dad), coming to terms with Dr. Joseph's sudden passing due to COVID exposure.

The horror premise certainly exudes promise. It is a stark reminder of the real horrors of the first lockdown when healthcare warriors really risked their lives to save others. The situation of a mother getting stuck at home with her possessed daughter is what you could call unique. But the writing is super derivative. It does nothing novel with the exorcism aspect, and heavily borrows from James Wan's The Conjuring and Rob Savage's Host. Also, we don't see Susan feeling a sense of urgency even when the writing's on the wall. As ironic as it may sound, there's a disconnect between Susan and the audiences. Anupam Kher's late entry does nothing but remind you of the dozens of priests we've seen in Western counterparts.

That said, some of the scares are solidly crafted and they're greatly helped by the impressive soundscape. Manikantan Krishnamachary's cinematography is also pretty good, given that much of the film plays out over phone screens.

My friends made plan to watch this movie. I didn't even knew that this movie was out. This was my first experience of watching a horror thriller in cinema. The movie was good but there was nothing new in the story. Yes, they used the concept of lockdown and quarantine which made the story little different but the overall concept was old one. I felt that that movie was heavily inspired from Hollywood movie, The Exorcist. The runtime and pacing helps the movie from becoming boring.

Overall, it was a good movie but I think it could have been little bit better and it would have been better it would have been released on OTT.

Stong technique strong actor strong plot yet weak writing and lack of story made the connect less connected

I would recommend any horror film lovers to watch this film without a second thought, but the called horror elements have not fully worked out with the uncooked story telling

Does the jump scares work out ?

Yes, but not in every place

The movie itself is taking place randomly to match the title "Connect" but we were unable to connect with the character's that's for sure

Spoiler alert: Who is the lady from the video call trying to attack the girl in the name of possession, it is for money said by Anupam Kher who is she actually from where and how she gets connected

Each one can identify and write a whole lot of things about this movie, but a undercooked subject with a strong

The movie could have done a lot better if they have concentrated on more writing, we are not in a hurry, really!

There is nothing very original or creative in the movie. Its about a teenage girl getting possessed in peak Covid times and how a pastor with her mother deals with it.

The initial scenes are touching because it reminds you of the enormous sacrifices the medical community did ,during the Corona outbreak. The lead character Susan's husband is a doctor who after servicing Covid patients 24x7 himself dies of same. And due to the restrictions, his wife and kid cant even visit him in his last moments. That moved me more than the possession and other stuff which came later. Its really sad we have forgotten about the lives and sacrifices so soon, its not even being discussed in the National elections.

The characters are most of the time, communicating via Zoom, this includes the exorcism.

Overall one time watch if you like horror movies. Nothing special about the movie.

Asusual Horror exorcism story with some genuine jump scares . Story and screenplay wise it offers nothing new except for the COVID backdrop . Movie completely relied on technical aspect . Technically well executed . Visuals , Music and sound effects were really great . Eventhough it's a usual horror flick it somehow manages to deliver some genuine jump scares . Cast did a great job . Overall a decent horror flick to watch it on big screen . Movie is worthy for theater experience , so give it a try .

( Note : Ashwin Saravanan previous movies had good writing , but don't expect more from this movie )