Known for his horror flick Naalaya Manithan and the like, Thakkaali Seenivasan returns after a long sabbatical with Aduthadhu, a film yet again in his favourite genre.
Set against the backdrop of a reality show, it’s about a group of 10 participants who are required to spend ten days in a remote island. Their nightmarish experiences as one by one gets brutally killed and the late realisation that they are all part of a well-planned scheme of a hidden enemy are narrated in two hours.
The plot reminds you of various knots, particularly of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None with shades of Saw blended in. But the film doesn’t just have a jaded feel, the script also lacks the punch and fizz to sustain audience interest.
For one, the participants are a lacklustre lot without any individuality, both in characterisation and screen presence. So when they get dumped one by one, you barely empathise with their plight. Even seasoned actors like Ilavarasu and Shriman fail to make any impact.
Again, when the whole mystery is unravelled, it raises quite a few unanswered questions. Like how the killer managed to remain hidden, unseen by the others, as he carried out the killings.
What is positive about the film is the exotic location. The deserted island, the mansion where the group stays, the old mysterious bungalow all create the right ambience for a thriller. Each death foretold by the missing heads of the ten-headed Ravana in the mansion lends an interesting touch.
Among the lot, it’s Nasser who manages to lend some semblance of seriousness and dignity to the proceedings. This, despite the scenes related to his character missing out on conviction. Making his entry late into the plot, he manages to bring your focus back to the narration.
A serial murder-thriller should have an edge-of-the-seat feel. But Aduthadhu misses out on it.