'Game Over', starring Taapsee Pannu in the lead, hit the screens this Friday.  Here is our review of the psychological thriller that is in the space of a home invasion thriller.  

Story:

'Game Over' begins with a young girl being abducted and tied up by an unknown man who fastens a plastic bag over her head, suffocating her to death and filming it.  News channels flash that a slasher killer is on the prowl, claiming many victims.  

Elsewhere Swapna (Tapsee Pannu), a game developer, has shut herself out from her parents and lives in a posh bungalow in Hyderabad along with her maid (Vinodhini).  She is addicted to the pacman game and never leaves the house which is under electronic security.  

As the story progresses, we get to know that Swapna is suffering from severe trauma from a harrowing incident that happened to her a year ago on New Year's day.  Soon she realizes that the pacman tattoo on her hand has been done from mixing the ashes of a dead person.  The killer is now after her.

Is what is happening around her real or imaginary, or is there a supernatural element involved in all this, are the questions that the film leaves to the imagination of the viewer in a triple-angled climax.

Analysis:

What works to the advantage of 'Game Over' is the manner in which director Ashwin Saravanan has married multiple genres into the script.  He prods the viewer's brain to work hard to decipher clues (most of the times when they don't even exist).  

The heroine being a hardcore gamer, the climactic three angled sequence has been designed just like a video game in which the player uses his lives to play better than the last time.  The supernatural angle is used commendably to instill confidence in the heroine rather than to scare her or the audiences.  The depiction of the slasher/rapist as hideous masked individuals and the surreal ending in which the heroine slays her inner demons are the standout parts of the film.

At a time when thrillers are getting jaded by repeating the same ideas, 'Game Over' pushes the envelope by interspersing the video games theme into the story.  The idea is explored fully to enrich the character played by Taapsee.  That's one of the reasons why the film is distinct.  It also shows a new path for Indian cinema to explore.  

The psychological aspects do make the audience root for the story all the more.  Everything falls into place in the climax, which is not only imaginative and technically fabulous but also haunting.  

On the downside, the middle portions are found to be inadequate here and there. The first half could have been more substantial.  Home invasion and slasher genres work in Hollywood mainly because American residences are built far apart from each other.  The same cannot be passed off convincingly in a crowded setting and this may be the reason that one gets a feeling of watching a Hollywood movie dubbed to perfection in Tamil with nativity going for an absolute toss.

The cinematographer A Vinod and the art director who have competed with each other to bring the vision of the director to life.  For every impressive found footage or CCTV shot there is a glass candle cup or that fantastic tattoo shop setup to gape at.  Ron Ethan Yohann's background score is symphonic in the build-up and synthetic when handling the twisted sequences but on the whole, is a job well done. The editor Richard Kevin, the sound editor and the rest of the technical team deserve the bouquets for that hip feel throughout.  

Producers Y Not Studios have a winner in their hand as far as the multiple streams of business this game is going to generate.  

Tapsee Pannu shoulders the entire film with her impeccable acting and she has given her best when she expresses her character's trauma through heavy breathing and broken speech.  Vinodhini is one of the few notable female character artistes in the current scenario who gives yet another noticeable performance as the maid.  Sanchana Natarajan, the young girl, who gets killed in the first scene is the key for the entire screenplay and she has excelled in the different getups and expressions.  The rest of the cast are all adequate.

Verdict:

'Game Over' raises the bar for thrillers.  By enriching itself with sub-genres, sub-layers and technical finesse, the film offers nail-biting as well as heart-rending moments.  Expect a terrific performance from Taapsee Pannu and you won't be disappointed.

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