Game Over – Half a film.

Taapsee Pannu admitted that a lot of big shots from Bollywood industry had said that she won’t make it. Not only behind her back, but to her face as well. She had the belief in herself, the determination kept her going and her ability and skill is what made her reach to the position she is at today.

It isn’t a Bollywood release, this film. It is a Tamil-Telegu film just dubbed into Hindi language for the cinemas of the same. One reason also being that Pannu now has fans and/or an audience aside Tollywood and Kollywood film industries. In our Hindi cinema, Game Over is presented by Anurag Kashyap and the production company is Reliance Films. Not that he has directed this but I surmise, even if his name is mentioned anywhere in a film’s details, the mind automatically gets an affirmation that the plot or the direction is rock-solid.

Herein, you get a feel of it being a Tamil/Telegu direction because of the melodrama. Plus, the fact that the dialogue is dubbed and has voice overs by different actors than of the ones behind the screen (except Taapsee‘s, she’s done her own), we all are aware of how these films sound and seem like. Gives you a tad feeling of fraudulence. You must have seen one on Television, surely. Thanks to Ashwin Saravanan (director & screenplay) and dialogue writers, Kaavya Ramkumar (Tamil) and Venkat Kacharla (Telegu). Although, there is the background score and the cinematography which makes sure you are seated upright, even in a comfortable theater recliner. Not only that, but Taapsee‘s brilliant performance too, as you must have heard/read over the news.

Notwithstanding, there is a catch. The above scenario starts only when the second half begins, whilst the first half is only the introduction of the story AND tries too hard to create a mystery in your mind, leaving the prediction part to you. Fails though. Agreeing to this, that the concept is most definitely one-of-a-kind. You’ll be blown away. The film is given the genre of a thriller but it’ll give you chills of horror as well, adding to their own benefit, of course.

3/5

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Orphan – The out of the box horror.

Sometimes, intending to do a good deed and eventually doing it, for the sake of a life and giving a tribute to a baby who couldn’t succeed in being born after dying in a mother’s womb, can also become dangerously harmful. This film is precisely about that.

Thus, I did a little research on Jaume Collet-Serra, the director of this film and realized that he is the one who also directed Non-Stop, starring Liam Neeson. I found out that he had earned his limelight after Orphan, where he helped the child actor (Isabelle) get critically acclaimed for her performance.

The flick has a great concept, kept me absorbed, all the time. I highly find the star cast commendable, especially the lead child actor Isabelle Fuhrman. Orphan is suspenseful and thrilling even though it carries the genre of a psychological horror. With the unbeatable direction, I’d say that Jaume deserves all the recognition for this film, for bringing out the best in the actors such as Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard and making each sequence so intensified and detailed.

Moreover, the background score by John Ottman is really enhancing the horror scenes, making them scarier. If a director leaves an effect after his film onto your mind, no matter what emotion may it be: happy, scared, thrilled or motivated for a period of time, then I think that director is a mastermind and thus, has the power to create any kind of magic to boggle your mind.

It is a very present-day film.

3.5/5

The Devil’s Hand – Majorly flawed.

I am not a fan of horror films, truthfully. I prefer anything else but this genre of films not because I get scared but because this genre doesn’t have a sense of incitement or a clear objective.

Except the Isabelle Fuhrman starrer Orphan, which was one of the most sensational horror-thriller films I have seen so far. It had a beautiful story and the direction was A-class! On the other hand, there was nothing so bloodcurdling about this film which I am going to talk about.

Throwing light upon The Devil’s Hand, I loved the concept and the ideology. The execution and the direction, to be precise, aren’t up to the standards of a horror film. Truth be told, there is only one particular scene where I did get frightened. However, the cast is rightly selected and did a fantastic job, especially Alicia Debnam-Carey, Jennifer Carpenter and Colm Meaney.

“Although the cinematography was nice and the film had some talented actors, the film plays more like a CW-style teen melodrama than a serious theological terror film, especially when Mary begins hanging out with Trevor (Thomas McDonell), a boy from the next town over who just happens to be the son of the local sheriff. The movie seems more devoted to their lovey-dovey subplot than to exploring its own darker sides – including developing insinuations that Elder Beacon is a perv in addition to being a zealot. Then, at the very end, it finally remembers it’s a horror film and delivers a suitably spooky conclusion; but all the blood and thunder of the last few minutes serve mostly to point up how half-hearted the previous 80 are.”

— Fangoria (a U.S. based fan film magazine)

— The Dissolve (a U.S.A based film review, news and a commentary website)

Danish director Christian E. Christiansen fails to deliver. Even though there was a good amount of anxiety created, it falls flat to come under the category of a horror film. Don’t waste your time on this one.

1/5