Shabdham Review

Paranormal or supernatural horror movies, especially those involving spirits, life, near-death experiences and afterlife themes, are a tricky terrain for filmmakers. The audience often approaches these themes with a degree of skepticism. Now, actor Aadhi and director Arivazhagan are back together after 15 years (their last collaboration was commercially and critically successful "Eeram" in 2009) with Sabdham, which attempts to explore all these elements - but the result is anything but, well, sound.

Many students at Holy Angel Medical College die mysteriously, one after another. While several staff members believe the college is haunted, the management dismisses these claims, attributing the deaths to academic pressure, and failed relationships and other personal struggles - all in an attempt to protect the institution's reputation, especially with the enrollment season approaching.

Desperate to resolve the growing fear, the management brings in ghost investigator Vyoma Vaidyalangam (Aadhi Pinisetty) to uncover the truth - or at least issue a certificate debunking the haunted rumours. During his investigation, Vyoma crosses paths with Avantika (Lakshmi Menon), a senior student and lecturer working on a thesis to disprove the existence of ghosts and spirits. However, he soon notices something unsettling about her behaviour. Is she connected to the deaths, or is there something far more sinister at play?

Except for murders committed by psychopaths, every killing has a strong motive or compelling circumstances behind it - that's how it works in the real world. The same applies to the world of movies. Even ghosts and spirits, when they commit murder on screen, need convincing motives and situations. If not, such films tend to flop. Another key rule: horror movie plots are usually simpler than those of other genres. A well-placed, ground-shaking twist - like in The Others - can elevate a film, but overcomplicate it, and you're doomed.

Sabdham manages to combine the worst of all worlds - unconvincing motives, an unnecessarily convoluted plot, and a disastrous second half riddled with cheap graphics, sloppy sound effects, and sheer incompetence in execution.

So when Vyoma finds his first clue behind the deaths, there's a major revelation. But it's completely unconvincing.

Then it's revealed that the college was never a college - it was once a church. So maybe some supernatural force is angry about the transformation and is seeking revenge.

But then, no. There was a kind woman named Diana who turned the church into an orphanage for disabled children before it became a college. The children died in an epidemic, and now their spirits haunt the place.

No, again. Diana was actually researching music therapy, healing the children through sound. But then there was another Diana who was conducting sinister experiments on the kids, using bat sounds. They died as test subjects. Diana is still alive but has been in a coma for 34 years, ever since the children died.

No, wait - she's not in a coma. The management has been keeping her sedated and immobile with anesthesia.

No, no - she's already dead. No, she's not dead. Her spirit is neither in her body nor in the other world, but somewhere in between. And if she returns to her body, she can pacify the restless spirits of the children.

Then, just when you think it can't get any worse, the climax arrives - where Diana's healing music and the sinister Diana's bat sounds battle it out.

And that's when I gave up. I looked around. There were only three other people in the theatre. One was already making a quiet escape toward the exit doors.

The movie ended, and I'm deeply haunted (by the treachery) - there was not even a jump scare.

Aadhi is the film's only saving grace. However, his character has no personal connection to the incidents or to any of the living or dead individuals. He does his part but never seems fully invested.

Simran has an extended role as Lady Diana, spending most of the film confined to an ICU bed. When she isn't, she alternates between a perpetual smile and bouts of sobbing.

Redin Kingsley plays Vyoma's sidekick, supposedly for comic relief. Unfortunately, his role consists mostly of crude jokes that fail to be funny.

As for the technical aspects, the less said, the better. A film titled Sabdham fails to deliver an impactful background score. The bat invasion graphics and AV frequency recorders look cheap, and Hitchcock achieved far better results without them - nearly 70 years ago.