The horror comedy genre that possessed moviegoers for the past few years seems to have been exorcised and adult comedies have taken their place. Here comes 'Aval' an attempt at pure horror with a liberal dose of adult elements that impresses to a certain degree and could open the doors to more such fare in Kollywood.
Krish (Siddharth) a neuro surgeon and his wife Lakshmi (Andrea Jeremaiah) live in a secluded house on the foothills of the Himalayas when a businessman Paul (Atul Kulkarni) and his family move in to the house next door and they become friends. The elder teenage daughter of Paul , Jenny (Anisha Victor) who is into drugs makes overt advances on Krish much to the chagrin of Lakshmi. Jenny and her little sister Sara start experiencing a horrifying presence in their house. One day when Jenny in an inebriated condition jumps into a well on the premises, Krish dives in to save her and he too is jolted by an unknown force after which all their lives change for the worse and whether the inexplicable happenings are due to the psychological disorder of Jenny or is it an evil force that is out to get the two families is told in thrilling fashion.
Siddharth has put his money and headlined the cast of another experimental film like his previous 'Jhil Jung Juk'. He is all style and energy in the first half especially the countless smooching and make outs with Andrea and in the climax also gets a truly horrifying makeover which creates an impact. Andrea nowadays is getting roles that suit her persona and she is perfect as Lakshmi the modern wife who loves and is possessive about her husband. For her role, with multiple liplocks and rather explicit lovemaking scenes she has gone farther than any conventional heroine in Tamil cinema by existing standards. Anisha Victor as the troubled teenaged girl has not only given a riveting performance but also has gone through a lot of physical exertion to nail her role, Kudos. Avinash Raghudevan looks every bit the exorcist but his underwritten role does not provide him much scope to make a lasting impression like in 'Jil Jung Juk'. Seasoned actors Atul Kulkarni and Suresh as the psychiatrist are flawless while the rest of the cast are on par.
The true heroes of 'Aval' is sound designer Vishnu Govind and his team who have done a terrific job of keeping the audiences on their toes. Technically the film is excellent transporting the viewer to the cold climate in which the story happens and the art director also deserves a pat on the back. The first half is tight with a smooth flowing screenplay with the tension of horror and suspense building into a crescendo. The scene in which psychiatrist Suresh sums up the teen’s case is beautifully shot with graphics of texts. The twist about the mother and daughter ghosts motivation works well in the screenplay.
On the downside the first half puts the story in a nice tangle and raises hopes of something intelligent to come but the second half is sort of a letdown as the story meanders into the familiar territory of solar eclipses, human sacrifice and 'Conjuring' like demonic ghosts. The flashback of the ghosts is a big let down. The graphics and prosthetic work leaves a lot to be desired. Even though the Tamil dubbing of all characters are flawless the story setting and flow is a tad alienating but is not a deterrent. The "message" about girl child genocide is awkwardly placed and does not belong to this movie.
Songs by Girish are lilting and Vishnu Govind along with Rahamathulla scores once again on an excellent background score to go with his sound effects. Cinematography by Shreyas Krishna and editing by Lawrence Kishore are top class. Milind Rau and Siddharth's screenplay seems heavily inspired by the likes of 'The Ring' and 'Conjuring' but the film is technically sound and the director has made an impressive debut that is long overdue.
Verdict: Go for it to witness a pure horror that keeps you on the edge of the seat for a large part of the time.
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