Karuvanam

When this web series was launched on YouTube, it was released regularly with couple of episodes every week, with each having a duration of approximately 45 mins. But then, when few started going for the binge-watch, they started feeling it's lengthy. I thought let me start watching it with remote constantly glued to my hand, so that I can wrap up the entire show in a short span. To my surprise, I felt that every scene had a significance, and nothing is added here unwanted.

The little girl going to the local photo studio to restore the old film roll brings more mystery on par with the main crisis dealt by Shalini and Meera. Similarly, we are introduced to a lunatic character in the mental health center, where Shalini's husband gets admitted, only to get shocked that the guy who was considered as a clown has a biggest mystery to break.

OMG! The final moments between Shalini and her husband at the hospital, where the mystery gets broken send ultimate fear into the spines.

Horror narratives that emphasize the emotions of female characters tend to capture our attention effectively. Whether it's Eeram or acclaimed films like Mama from Hollywood, this theme is consistently present. In Karuvanam, the story focuses on twin sisters. The opening episode presents a stage play where one sister must shoot the other character, but she hesitates to do so. This moment hints at a potentially similar climax, which indeed shares that connection, albeit with an unexpected twist. While it may seem like a spoiler, there's much more to discover.

The cinematographer has done an exceptional job with the visual composition. Many scenes showcase a deliberate use of shadow and limited lighting in the interiors, yet the visuals remain striking. The pinnacle of the technical team's achievements unfolds in the final episode.

I find common ground with many viewers regarding the standout moment: the revelation of the true ghost.

IMO, Karuvanam is a best horror watch many years after 'Eeram'.

Outstanding horror series that I have seen in the past years. Ever since I started watching more shows on platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime, this is the first time I feel a local show is more than the standard for Netflix. From the screenplay and story to making, camerawork, art direction, acting, everything is super top notch. This series deserves to go much further and get much more recognition worldwide to show that Singaporeans are capable of amazing stuff. Congratulations to Director and the whole team. I hope there is a season 2 in the making that they can do for a much bigger global platform.

There is one happy and sad thing about 'KARUVANAM' web series. The sadness is that such a brilliant work gets stuck to just YouTube, and it would have been a world famous hit, if it was streamed on giant platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime or Hotstar. The happiest thing lies beneath the reason I cited above. Yes, it's a scintillating web series that makes you feel worthy of watching the entire show without skipping any episodes. The writing is good and I felt that a slight tweaking would have made it much more impactful. But end of the show, the way, writers justify their reason behind taking time to establish the premise and giving importance to all characters, is a sheer brilliance. One of the best web series of 2024, and it's surprising that it comes from other part of the world, and not Tamil Nadu. Such web series should be extolled and made sure that the producers take a note of the ambitious drive of this team, and try to bring on more instalments from this franchise.

You can go through the entire singapore database of series and you won't find a better one..the quality of making is way better than many OTT platform horror series/movies. This director deserves a OTT partnership. Everything works in this series. The cast are all spectacular. The introduction of every character makes sense and they all add strength. I've seen so many lacklustre horror recently that I am beyond happy and surprised that a Singaporean tamil series have set a good benchmark. Honestly I never wanted the series to end. That's how it was. I can only hope more Singaporeans support this.