Phoenix

I think the bar is set so low for horror in Malayalam cinema that anything mildly intriguing can cause a few ripples among our largely unexposed audiences. The case in point is Phoenix, which can easily be bifurcated into a horror drama in the first half and a romantic tragedy in the second.

Between the two, the more engaging elements are in the first, and while the second promises an old-school romance, the dramatic dialogues often took me out of the setup. (This was the case in Aashiq Abu's reimagining of Neelavelicham too.) Of course, I understand the director's intention to portray the slowness of the '70s, and this works in parts. The integration of the cholera epidemic into the plot also offers a different backdrop, as opposed to the usual "killing off" of a central character to evoke grief.

From a writing standpoint, I think Midhun Manuel picked bits and pieces from various works (like the Insidious films and Gabriel Garcia Marquez's classic novel Love in the Time of Cholera), probably his personal favorites, and gave it his own spin. Sam CS' music works in parts, but there were too many songs in the second half, further hampering the flow. As a debut director, I feel Vishnu Bharathan is promising, and given a more fast-paced screenplay, he can truly shine. Some shot choices are solid, especially one that uses the split diopter lens. The visual effects are not bad.

Coming to the performances, Baby Aavni's "possessed" act was quite good. Aju Varghese adds one more feather to his cap in a role that initially requires him to be a chauvinist, and later an inquisitive (and somewhat scared) man of the house. Abhirami Bose looks good and even exudes the '70s girl aura, but the lipsync was off in places. Chandunadh's performance occasionally borders on the theatrical, but there's been visible progress over the years. Anoop Menon and the rest are adequate.

P. S. Where's that creepy scene of the priest (Rony David Raj) at the seaside cemetery that was in the trailer? In fact, that scene was what made me want to watch the film in the first place.

The horror genre is probably the most difficult genre especially when you are trying to stay away from physical horror and want it to be more psychological and implied.

This movie also has its good bits but somewhere there are glaring holes and bits which are thrown at you without any context leaving you confused in places.

The central theme is clearly defined but somehow seems to be logically flawed. But in all fairness once the movie moves on, that can be forgiven. The kids are the stars but have been criminally under utilised and several moments promise more but then they are abruptly ended especially the blind child who could have been given more meat in her role.

Overall worth a watch.

It has the capabilities to achieve the status of great horror film but fall short of it because of the mix of different genres!

Excellent use of sound effects and some horror scenes are very much impressive !

Midhun Manuel Thomas scripting made movie more engaging and decent directorial debut for Vishnu Bharathan !!!

Technical sides are top notch and aju did a fine work,others did decent performances !

Over all this one is surely a different level of horror blending mystery romantic entertainment.

Watch it in good sound quality theater to experince to the fullest of its impressive sound effects !

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I thoroughly enjoyed the movie except the little lag in back story. Felt like the climax was too short. I would call it more of a mystery romance movie than horror, for the fleeting 3 or 4 short horror scenes, which my 9 year old braved through. Certainly a heart string puller & few great moments in between. 360 degree turn around into an 'all in all' serious role and his effort in pulling it off seamlessly is appreciative. Baby Aavni did justice to her role as Maria. At a later day, I might even rewatch it. Overall its an engaging movie to watch. Definitely an above average movie. I would say its a 7 star and above movie & I give it 9 stars because I thoroughly enjoyed it.