Film: Sshh.. Echarike
Cast: Maruthi Surya, Akshatha,
Baby Riya, Baby Shreya, Master Chris, Jai Ganesh
Director: Nagaraj Khandagal
When executed poorly, horror films can be funny. Shh...Echarike is a perfect example of that. By borrowing the title Shhh! from the 1993 horror film directed by Upendra, the film presents a silly plot in unrealistic settings
The story revolves around Manu (Maruthi Surya), who moves to Coorg for work, along with his wife and kids. On the way, their car rams into a two-wheeler, killing the couple riding it. Upon his wife’s suggestion, Manu leaves the spot without attending to the injured.
The family moves into an independent house. Trouble begins when the house maid reverses a photo frame that has spiritual mantras on it. Manu’s son Chris feels the presence of spirits in the house but his father refuses to believe it. How they attempt to escape from the place infested with ghosts forms the rest of the film.
Instead of keeping the audience at the edge of their seats, the scenes make them snort with laughter. The film is a little less than two hours long and doesn’t keep you engaged even for half its length.The screenplay has elements that have been done to death in films and its attempts to send a chill down your spine fall flat.Director Nagaraj Khandagal has repeated scenes to fill gaps. All we see are characters running around, screaming. Khandagal has written the story, screenplay and dialogues, in a state of obvious stress. All that cinematographer Ramesh Chabbenadu has done is, to capture the eeriness of the dark house. Music by Gowtham Srivatsa doesn’t manage to spook the audience.
Verdict: You will laugh the most when the end credits say, ‘to be continued’.