GHOUL - NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES

Ghoul is a Netflix Original mini series directed by Patrick Graham. It is the first horror venture of Netflix in India after its successful Sacred Games & Lust stories. It consists of three episodes of around 45 mins each and is available in Hindi (original language), English, Tamil and Telugu.

The series is set in a future dystopian world reeling under military rule. Sectarian violence is rampant. Minorities are looked down upon. Free thinking is curbed. Books, even nursery rhymes and children literature are banned. Everything is taught according to the ‘syllabus’ prescribed by the government. Anyone who does not conform is branded as anti-nationalist and terrorist. They are captured and reconditioned to be ideal citizens and are killed if they do not conform to the system.

Nadia Rahim (Radhika Apte), a trainee at the National Protection Squad Academy specializing in advanced interrogation, is a product of the system. She aides in the capture of her father, a professor and one of the intellectuals who opposes the atrocities of the state. He is promptly branded a terrorist and sent for reconditioning. The ensuing investigation leads to surfacing of some secrets essential to national security and Nadia is stepped out of her training and sent to Advanced Interrogation Centre Meghdoot 31 under the command of Lt Col Sunil Dacunha (Manav Kaul) to aid in the investigation. There she is looked at with suspicion by fellow officers. Meanwhile a prisoner Ali Saeed (Mahesh Balraj) arrives at the centre. Saeed is the leader of the ‘terrorists ‘and hence a high priority subject. The officers start the interrogation of Saeed unaware that what they have brought with them is much more than human. Slowly it starts feeding on their fears and insecurities. In the final act there is much gore and blood fest as secrets come tumbling one after the other out of the closet.

Ghoul works at more than one level. It is powered by the terrific performance of its cast and crew. After her performances in the Sacred Games and Lust Stories Radhika Apte once again delivers a brilliant performance as the multi layered Nadia Rahim. The cinematography and the background score adds to the bleakness, the claustrophobia, the horror of the scene. There are enough jump scares to keep the audience on tenterhooks. But what works most is its multi layered narrative. It is much more than a ‘Ghost Story ‘. It is commentary on the insecurities, the fear of the minorities, the lies told, the atrocities committed under a Fascist regime and the eventual reaction, the revolution. The Ghoul is the Fascist regime preying on the minds of the people, devouring them and leaving a trail of destruction and bloodshed in its wake.

For the millennials who have been raised with a liberal dose of Aahat and Zee Horror Show, Ghoul is a refreshing change. Kudos to Netflix for bringing horror television in India up to the international standards.

MORIARTY - BY ANTHONY HOROWITZ

Moriarty is second book in the series of pastiches written by Anthony Horowitz who has been authorized by Conan Doyle’s estate to carry forward the legacy of the phenomenon that is Sherlock Holmes. The first book The House of Silk which came out in 2011 brilliantly captures the essence of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s works and presents to us a sombre, dark and gloomy picture of the Victorian London. Moriarty the second book in the series is bolder in its scope and treatment.

Moriarty is essentially a Holmes novel but lacks its two central characters - Sherlock Holmes and John H. Watson. Their places have been taken by Inspector Athelney Jones of Scotland Yard (who is first intoduced in Doyle’s The Sign of Four), and Frederick Chase, an agent of American detective agency Pinkerton. The story fills the void between 1891 after Holmes’s disappearance in The Final Problem and his reappearance in 1894 in The Adventure of the Empty House, the period commonly known as the Great Hiatus.

The events of the novel takes place in 1891 after the episode of the Reichenbach Falls as described in The Final Problem. Both Holmes and his arch enemy Moriarty are supposedly dead after falling from the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland while fighting each other. A dead corpse resembling Moriarty is fished out of the Reichenbach Brook. Inspector Athelney Jones who is investigating the matter meets Frederick Chase and together they start investigating.  From Chase Jones learns of the existence of a master criminal from America named Clarence Devereux who is ready to take over the underworld of London after Moriarty’s death. What follows is a series of gruesome murders and much blood is spilled on the streets of London.

Moriarty has all the elements of a Holmes novel. Macabre scenes of murder, disguises, honest thieves and red herrings are there in abundance. Athelney Jones is an admirer of Holmes. He has studied Holmes’s works and has modelled his investigating techniques on the techniques employed by the great detective. But he is no Sherlock Holmes. Frederick Chase here plays the part of Dr. Watson. Much of the interest in Holmes’s stories is generated by the relation between Holmes and Watson. The chemistry between Jones and Chase does not quite match up to that between Holmes and Watson. Like The House of Silk Horowitz here exposes the dark underbelly of the Victorian London. The atmosphere here is darker and the murders more gory but the story never quite reaches the heights attained by the The House Of Silk which is a more polished work of art. The final twist which though unexpected has no novelty about it. Overall it is a good novel and is recommended for the Holmes aficionados.

P.S - The short story The Three Monarchs which is attached to the end of the novel is more in the Sherlockian mould and is a delight for the fans of the Holmes.

DEEP RED (PROFONDO ROSSO)

Deep Red (Profondo Rosso) is a 1975 Italian film directed by Dario Argento. The movie is a perfect specimen of the thriller/horror genre which developed in the mid 60s and 70s Italy known as the ‘Giallo’. Argento is one of the best exponents of this genre and here we find the Italian master craftsman at the height of his powers.

                The tone of the movie is set in the opening credits itself when we witness a horrific murder scene in silhouette with a lullaby playing in the background. Years later a psychic Helga Ulmann holds a lecture in an auditorium where she senses that a murderer is present in the audience. But before she could identify the murderer, the killer slips away. Later that night the killer returns to her flat and attacks her with a butcher knife. The murder is witnessed by a pianist Marcus Daly (David Hemmings). He rushes to the rescue of Ulmann but the killer has already left after butchering her.  Later while recording his statement to the police Marcus finds something missing from the hallway of the deceased which is decorated with various paintings. He could not quite put his finger to what is amiss and asks the police inspector if they have removed some painting from the hallway. The policeman denies any such act but still some uneasiness remains in the mind of Marcus. Later when he discusses the case with his drunkard friend Carlo, the latter suggests that it may be something important. Meanwhile a journalist Gianna Brezzi (Daria Nicolodi) snaps a picture of Marcus and publishes it in the newspaper describing Marcus as eyewitness to the murder. Bodies pile up as the killer comes back for Marcus. Marcus and Gianna form a partnership and start investigating the murders. Their investigations leads them to a haunted house with a dark past. The final solution and the way it is arrived at is brilliant and reminds one of the ingenious endings of the Agatha Christie novels.

               

From the first scene itself the director captures the attention of the audience and he maintains that grip till the last scene is enacted. The body count is substantial and the murder scenes are bloody and horrific. The puppet scene, the drowning in hot water, the final death of the murderer are horrific. What adds to the horror is the haunting background music by Italian band Goblin and Giorgio Gaslini. The track ‘School at Night’ with which the movie opens is in the form of a child’s lullaby which is both soothing and chilling at the same time. It gives us the goosebumps each time the murderer plays it before killing someone. Some relief is provided by the light hearted banter between Marcus (Hemmings) and Gianna (Nicolodi). (The original Italian version of the film is about two hours, but the US version is about twenty minutes short as most of the scenes between Hemmings and Nicolodi were removed at the time of US release.)

                The movie  has withstood the test of time. Even after forty years of its release it still enthralls the audiences. It keeps them guessing about the identity of the murderer and when the final piece to the puzzle is provided it leaves them dumbfounded. This is a must watch for the lovers of murder mystery.

PARI :NOT A FAIRYTALE - MOVIE REVIEW

Release Date :        02 Mar 2018 (India)

Run Time       :        134 minutes

Language      :         Hindi

Directed by    :         Prosit Roy

Cast               :        Anushka Sharma

                                Parambrata Chaterjee

                                Rajat Kapoor
                                         Ritabhari Chakraborty   

Budget          :         18 crore

Box Office     :        40 crore

                 There is a dearth of good horror movies in Bollywood. The last really scary movie I can remember is the 1992 horror flick Raat by Ram Gopal Verma. True, there have been a few good ones here & there like Bhoot & Vaastu Shastra but nothing else much worth remembering. So, when Pari came out in 2018 with Anushka Sharma as its leading lady, we had high hopes for the film. But does the movie live up to its hype? Let’s find out.

                The plot of the movie is set into motion when the car in which Arnab (Parambrata) is travelling accidently hits a woman killing her. This leads to the discovery of  Rukshana (Anushka), a woman who is chained in a cottage in the woods & who evidently has had little contact with civilization. With nowhere to go & people lead by the mysterious Professor Quasim Ali (Rajat Kapoor) chasing her she takes refuge in the house of Arnab. What follows is a beautiful love story between the shy Arnab & the naïve Rukshana. But all is not what it seems to be. Slowly but surely the mystery surrounding Rukshana begins to unfold & we are taken to the world of Djinns & mysterious cults  & learn about Ifrit & the satanic  cult in Bangladesh called Auladchakra & of the deadly secret involving Rukshana.

                The problem with the movie is it’s length. With a run time of 2hr15min the movie feels at least half an hour too long. A lot of time is taken in setting up the story & unravelling the plot. There are enough gut wrenching & stomach churning scenes in the movie like the scenes involving forced childbirth & killing of the new borns, the killing of the dog, the morgue scene, & the director employs such classic techniques such as killing a man by rotating his head 180 degrees. But such scenes are scattered far apart in the movie & as a result the plot loses it’s grip on the audience.

                The movie is set in Kolkata. The suspense in the movie is mainly atmospheric, and what adds to this is its setting.  We have seen the joyous side of the city in movies like Piku, but here we are also shown the dark side of the city. The city with it’s narrow lanes & by-lanes, with it’s decrepit buildings not only adds to the atmosphere but here it becomes a central character. On the one hand we see love blooming in the open spaces of Maidan, on the other we see the horror in it’s claustrophobic lanes. DOP Jishnu Bhattacharjee has beautifully captured both sides of the city.

                Another saving grace of the movie is the performance of it’s lead actors. After NH 10  Anushka delivers another chilling performance. She is magnificent both as the vulnerable & frightened girl Rukshana and as her horrific counterpart. Parambrata delivers a subdued performance as the shy & introvert Arnab. Ritabhari who plays the part of Arnab’s fiancée also looks charming enough. Rajat Kapoor looks menacing as the Professor with one glass eye.

                The movie falls short of our expectations and does not quite fill the void in the horror genre in Bollywood. But it has a beautiful and unusual love story between it’s main protagonists. You can enjoy it as a supernatural love story. The movie asks the question – who is the real Monster and the answer is quite unsettling.

STORMBREAKER - FIRST ALEX RIDER NOVEL BY ANTHONY HOROWITZ

Stormbreaker is the first novel in the Alex Rider series written by Anthony Horowitz for Young Adults. In the writer’s own words “I’ve always wanted to write a modern ‘teenager saves the world’ story. It was a recurring fantasy when I was at school that I wasn’t a bored thirteen-year-old, stuck in a gruesome north London prep school, but that I was, in, in reality, an MI6 agent.”

                Stormbreaker introduces us to Alex Rider, a fourteen year old orphan boy, who has been raised by his uncle Ian Rider. Ian Rider, a Banker by profession is killed in a car accident. Alex grows suspicious when he learns that his uncle, who was a stickler for road safety, was not wearing his seat belt. Alex starts investigating his uncle’s death and soon learns that he was in fact an MI6 agent. Ian’s last assignment was to investigate the activities of Herod Sayle. Herod Sayle is a millionaire who has announced to donate his company’s state of the art computer called Stormbreaker to every secondary school in Britain. Alex is forced to join MI6 by its Chief Executive of the Special Operations Division Alan Blunt. He is given gruelling SAS training & then sent undercover to uncover the truth behind the truth behind Sayle Enterprises. Alex starts investigating and soon learns of the deadly secret of the Stormbreakers’ which can destroy Britain for generations to come. Alex races against time as he must now not only save himself from the immense danger to his life but the whole of Britain from extinction.

                Stormbreaker is a Bond novel written for the young readers. Here we have plenty of cool gadgets - a motorized Yo-Yo, a tube of Zit-Clean Cream which can cut through metal and last but not the least a Nintendo Game Boy Color which can turn into a fax machine, a X-ray machine, a bug finder or into  a smoke bomb. The action sequences, especially the one with the Portuguese man-of-war, are breathtaking. Alex Rider is every bored schoolboy’s fantasy. Highly recommended for young readers of 10-16 age group.

P.S. – If you have watched and enjoyed the 2003 Spy movie Agent Cody Banks, you will simply love Horowitz’s Stormbreaker no matter what your age.

MAGPIE MURDERS BY ANTHONY HOROWITZ

Magpie Murders is an examination into the whole world of whodunits. It delves into the relationship between the detective, the reader and the writer and it asks us what is in these books which entertains us so. It pays homage to the Golden Age of crime fiction, the works of writers such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers. The book employs the technique of novel within a novel so that you enjoy two mysteries for the price of one.

                Susan Ryeland is the Head of Fiction at Cloverleaf Books. When the book opens we find her on a wet August evening settling to read the manuscript of ‘Magpie Murders’, the number nine novel of the much loved Atticus Pünd series by the author Alan Conway. The central character Atticus Pünd is a German refugee who has survived the Holocaust. He invariably reminds us of Agatha Christie’s famous detective Hercule Poirot.  Atticus has terminal cancer and has only about three months to live.

                The first part of the novel is set in the 1950s picturesque English village called Saxby-on-Avon where we find Atticus Pünd investigating what appears to be two murders. Mary Blakiston, the housekeeper of Pye Hall and Sir Magnus Pye, the owner of Pye Hall who has been beheaded. We have a whole range of suspects ranging from the Vicar to the spinster sister of Sir Magnus. Atticus diligently investigates the deaths and is about to announce the murderer when Susan Ryeland finds that the  final chapters of the novel are missing.

                Susan is shocked to find that the author of the book Alan Conway has committed suicide as he was suffering from terminal illness. She starts investigating the death of Alan Conway and finds that all is not what it appears to be. She finds out that all the characters of the novel ‘Magpie Murders’ are taken from the real life people whom Alan knew. So, the fiction and the real life become intertwined and the solution to the book is in the real world or vice versa.

                The novel is a double delight for the fans of crime fiction. On the one hand the author provides us with the flavours of classical mysteries of the Golden Age. The writing style & the characters reminds us of Agatha Christie. The silent sleepy English village of Saxby-on-Avon is evocative of the village in Miss Marple’s books with all the undercurrents of passions, greed & jealousy.  On the other hand  the author whets our appetite for a modern day mystery with the investigation of Susan Ryeland into Alan Conway’s death. The skill with which the author has woven these two distinct threads together is commendable.

                Magpie Murders provides us with an insight into the world of whodunits, the process of its conception and creation. The following words from Susan Ryeland sums it all up:

“Whodunnits are all about truth: nothing more, nothing less…… The stories mimic our experience in the world. We are surrounded by tensions and ambiguities, which we spend half our life trying to resolve, and we’ll probably be on our own deathbed when we reach that moment when everything makes sense. Just about every whodunnit provides that pleasure. It is the reason for their existence.”

Anthony Horowitz

Magpie Murders is a fast paced novel which keeps the reader on their toes. Though the novel slows down a bit in the second half, but still the writer keeps up the pace and it ultimately races towards an unexpected and thrilling end. A must read for every lover of crime fiction.

Suggested reading Anthony Horowitz : The House of Silk, Moriarty