Forensic arrives post the success of another serial killer flick Anjaam Paathira (henceforth referred to as AP), albeit with a 'scientific' twist. The film, similar to AP, opens with an intriguing prologue. It serves the purpose of a mood-setter. While AP was slightly subtler in its approach, Forensic really gets in your face. You ought to know that grisly murders are on the way.
The writer-director duo Akhil Paul and Anas Khan concoct a serial killer plot with an interesting first half, briefly touching upon the possibilities of a child killer, the application of forensics to deconstruct crimes, and most importantly, a ravishing Tovino Thomas (playing Sam Kattookaran, a medico-legal advisor to the State Police). Sam is assisting Rithika Xavier IPS (an efficient Mamta Mohandas) in tracing the killer, but the writers make it clear from the start that Sam always gets the upper hand in unlocking clues.
It was indeed fun to see minor forensic flourishes in the film. These include Sam suggesting a lie detector test for a heart-patient suspect, the segment involving the inner (golden) foil of a Dairy Milk chocolate bar, the part where Sam deduces the killer's age and height using basic logic and by studying the crime scene, and an unnecessary but fun stretch where he explains acid-base reaction. Reba Monica John plays Shikha, the pretty and resourceful intern, who thankfully doesn't fall for Sam's crime-lab heroics.
There's a solid interval twist too, something you really wouldn't expect. I thought it was a lot better than the big reveal itself; one that's replete with a poorly acted, unconvincing back-story. We also get a subplot regarding Sam and Rithika's strange family history. It's easy for thriller buffs to conclude that this will have some connection to the present-day crimes. The final half-hour really blew it for me - it's a talkathon that tries to pack in the killer's reasoning, followed by a tacky action scene. In sharp contrast to this, there's a nicer action set-piece earlier on in the film involving Sam and a perpetrator.
In AP too, the origin story of the killer was one of its weaker elements. Why do the big reveals always seem okayish? We need more exciting core criminals for investigation thrillers like these. Jakes Bejoy's background score is jarring at certain points but effective otherwise. Sharper writing in the latter half (with a reduced focus on decoying twists) could really have changed the course of the film. The packaging falls short in Forensic and it ends up being just a middle-of-the-road effort.
