In the very opening scene of the latest Shaji Kailas supernatural horror thriller, Hunt, the dialogue that comes from each character is so stiff that the word outdated immediately comes to your mind. Hunt is trying to be a blend of investigative thriller and parapsychological horror. But because of the severely outdated making style that just makes the narrative predictable at every juncture, this Bhavana starrer is an underwhelming attempt with zero takeaways.
Keerthy, a PG student in forensic science, is our central character. At one point, she gets to be a part of a case where the police recovered the remains of a body in a concrete-filled container that was buried four years ago. After the examination of that body, certain unnatural events start to unfold around Keerthy, and she is led by some force to find the mystery behind this particular case. How that unravels is what we see in Hunt.
Interestingly, I can encapsulate the idea of Hunt as a mixture of Manichitrathazhu and Devadoothan, two films that got a successful re-release very recently. The parapsychology element we have seen in Manichitrathazhu is used at the beginning of the movie to explain the fantasy element in the story. And if you look at the investigation part, we can see that Devadoothan-style justice seeking vengeance of a ghost. Unfortunately, Hunt, which gets a release in 2024, is far less engaging and far too cliched than the other two movies I mentioned above. The fundamental problem is the uninventive writing of the film that is not willing to accept the fact that the audience is intelligent. The intent to make things surprising for the viewer is not really there in the screenplay by Nikhil Anand.
Coming to the performances, Bhavana is not getting much of a challenge here, and it feels more like a routine performance. Like the other actors in the movie, she is also struggling to add a sense of realness to the poorly written dialogue. Aditi Ravi’s character is important to the plot, and she also is struggling to make the character feel real largely because of the flawed lines. Chandunath, Anu Mohan, Dain Davis, etc., are playing crucial characters in the film. But because of the generic writing, the performances become easily forgettable. Renji Panicker plays the cheaper version of Dr. Sunny, and his voice modulation, especially when he switches to English, is kind of funny. Nandu’s character is supposed to annoy the other characters in the film while making the audience laugh. Well, he was able to annoy everyone.
Shaji Kailas is somewhat reluctant to update his skill set, and that is evident in the way he crafts a scene. When you look at the prime of Shaji Kailas, he was someone who went after unconventional shots and shot divisions that made those mass entertainers so memorable. When you look at how he has conceived Hunt, there is that evident disconnection between Shaji Kailas and the current audience. You will be able to predict the reactions and twists very comfortably, and some of the twists you weren’t able to predict aren’t that surprising as well. On paper itself, the movie had generic beats, and the filmmaker in Shaji Kailas can’t really do much to make it look enticing to the audience.
Hunt is a flawed supernatural thriller that fails to give anything exciting to the viewers to keep them occupied. With dialogues and scenes lacking the flair the genre demands, it just becomes an exercise of sitting through something that doesn’t evoke any sort of emotions in you.
With dialogues and scenes lacking the flair the genre demands, it just becomes an exercise of sitting through something that doesn't evoke any sort of emotions in you.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
