Gu Review | A Lackluster Horror Movie With Zero Efforts to Break the Cliches

Gu, the latest horror film from Malayalam, directed by Manu Radhakrishnan and produced by Maniyanpilla Raju, is a very generic idea, that tries to use the children’s movie texture more like an excuse. This haunted space drama is filled with all the familiar ingredients of a typical horror film, and what you eventually get is a movie, that has no redeeming qualities.

Sai and Nimisha come to Sai’s ancestral house, along with their daughter Minna, as the family is planning certain rituals. Sai, who lost his mother in childhood in the same house, was not a fan of returning to that place. Once they reached the place, certain supernatural elements started to pop up. The reason behind all that and how the family deals with that scenario is what Gu shows the audience.

In the beginning portions of the movie, one might get a feeling that they are trying to find a balance between scientific evidence and supernatural elements. The character of Sai is presented as a man with a scientific temper. But rather than evolving into something that is fascinating on a conceptual level, Gu just goes after the age-old tropes and even the communication happening between the characters has a very outdated texture.

The major issue I felt with the movie is the lackluster writing that has taken the idea of Gulikan and presented it just like any other horror movie character. In the movie’s second half, there is a sequence where all the women in the family get possessed, and the poor execution makes the scene almost funny. In those areas, they are also trying to please the kids by having some humor through the uncle character played by Niranj, and even though some of it was worth giggling at, it clearly stood out as an effort to cover up the inefficient script. Sai’s backstory and the whole ritual etc., are all looking pretty bland despite Chandrakanth Madhavan and Srik Warrier giving the visuals beauty through saturated colors. The music is forgettable, and there was a bit that almost reminded me of the Animal theme score.

Deva Nandha, who played the main role in Malikappuram, has portrayed the part of Minna, and the vivacious energy of the girl is enough for the character. Saiju Kurup plays the role of Sai, who is always anxious and has a different stand from everyone else. Niranj Maniyanpilla Raju, as the uncle figure Mithran, is much better compared to some of his lead hero works in the past, and the humor part he handled never really became a burden even though the script depended on that for entertainment. Maniyanpilla Raju is there in the cast along with Aswathi Manoharan and Nandini Gopalakrishnan. 

I wouldn’t say Gu is a movie that will test your patience. Clocked at 126 minutes, the underwhelming aspect of this horror story is that it is not even trying to be exciting. The only interesting aspect of the movie was that it was talking about Gulikan; a term we generally associate humorously. But even after getting such a premise, Manu Radhakrishnan is going after a run-of-the-mill story. The tail-end twist was just a cherry on top of all the cliches we saw till that point.