Sabdham Review - Decent Thriller that is Technically Sound!

Ashwin Ram

Sabdham is a horror thriller starring Aadhi Pinisetty and Lakshmi Menon in the lead roles. The film is directed by Eeram and Kuttram 23 fame Arivazhagan, the music is scored by Thaman S.

Premise:

A series of suspicious deaths happen in a college, Aadhi Pinisetty is a Paranormal Investigator who is assigned for the case. With the help of Lakshmi Menon who is a lecturer in the premises, how he resolves it forms the remaining story.

Writing/ Direction:

Horror is just an underlying tool of the film, it is treated more like an investigative thriller, at least till the halfway mark. The first half is gripping with many interesting scenes that eventually moves the story forward, a familiar template yet director Arivazhagan packs it with tight situations that keep us hooked. The screenplay of the initial hour has a serial-killer pattern which the hero tries to crack, the curiosity factor steadily builds with a couple of intense hostel stretches taking it to the next level. The banger interval block is the major highlight, delivers a splendid twist and the entire scene is executed smartly by using the modern sound devices to a great extent. Alike the similar genre films, the second half showcases the reasoning behind all the happenings. The script is undoubtedly solid, the backstory is convincing and earns our empathy. The difference between sound and noise is explored well, both technically and in writing level too. But the issue is with the storytelling, after a point it feels like the filmmaker is conveying things directly to the viewers rather than using the cinema medium. Because things easily fall in place towards the end instead of the hero organically untying the knots. Immense research has gone through to form certain plot points, over-informative at places, yet brings some engrossing points to the table. The ICU sequence gives the much-needed shock value, but illogically approached by casually moving around dead bodies. Also, there is absolutely no justification as to why a medical college is always empty. The closing act at the library is well-made with the payoffs taking the upper hand, but the pre-climax which is the core for that particular scene is more like a voice-over narration that impacts negatively.

Performances:

Focused performance from Aadhi, his costumes and styling perfectly enhances his professional front. Full-fledged role for Lakshmi Menon, she does well and has so much to contribute to the storyworld. Strong characterization for Simran, she is the driving force of the film and scores in the flashback with her kind nature. Laila is presented like an Anglo-Indian woman, thus an unique dialogue modulation, but feels like a complete misfit, in fact it was very hard to understand certain words she uttered. Redin Kingsley in a forced comical role that fails to work in the intended manner, thankfully he doesn’t occupy much screen time. Crisp and a dummy role for Rajiv Menon, doesn’t offer any sort of impact to the climax.

Technicalities:

No big scope for songs, Thaman has put his best efforts in background score which has come out powerfully. The department of sound effects is utilized to the fullest, a little loud at parts yet clicks for a theatrical viewing. Topical cinematography too, the tension was always maintained with camera movements and weirdly intense camera angles. Smooth editing transitions on the whole, runtime feels a bit more on paper, however the buildup and the story demands such. Quite a tacky VFX work, especially the portions involving bats flying all over.

Bottomline

Following the tried and tested thriller template, still the first half proceedings are quite engaging. A fair backstory in the latter, but has issues when brought to screen as the storytelling falls extremely flat. Sound effects help the narrative.

Rating - 3/ 5