Aaaah Review : Oh, the horror!

Early on in Aaaah, there’s a scene involving a roundtable. Bobby Simhaa – the star attraction in the movie – is about to propose a bet to his friends. The camera whirls around the setting for a good five minutes, then stops.

Then it whirls again, until vertigo sets in.

Things never get better after that.

*****

Directors Hareesh Narayan and Hari Shankar offer five different horror stories for the price of one in Aaaah.  Oh, the horror.

None of the stories evoke any fear. They do elicit a sudden urge to bang my head against the nearest wall. Repeatedly.

Aaaargh would’ve been a better title, perhaps.

*****

The stories themselves sound decent enough on paper. There’s a ghost which haunts the seas, one that haunts the highway, another out for revenge and then the one that kills people because it can.

Also, a bhootham from the Middle East, out to enslave all men. Bearing the rather unfortunate name of Eysaniya.

*****

The thread that connects these stories has a smirking Bobby Simha as its star attraction. Three friends (Gokulnath, Balasaravanan and Meghna) venture out to prove the existence of ghosts, so that they can win a bet. Armed with relentless optimism, and a digital camera, they set forth.

Though the actors themselves seem credible, their experiences with the supernatural are cause for some unintentional hilarity. A lot of hamming happens, frequently accompanied by an equal amount of shrieking.

The foolhardiness of the leads is remarkable. The trio accept a weird bet on a whim, think nothing of confronting ghosts, and ham the worst lines possible. That they all meet a gruesome end is not shocking. It feels almost just.

Yes, that was a spoiler. No, we’re not sorry.

*****

The shaky camerawork, more at home in a Tamil teleserial, adds to the frustration.

The silver lining is that this film could be a great ad for the digital camera everyone lugs around.

The Tamil ghost dumps it in water, along with Gokulnath; the Japanese ghost throws it around in a fit of hysterics.

Yet, it survives. When the rest don’t.

That’s some camera, dude.

*****

The Aaaah review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have an advertising relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site. But you knew that, didn’t you?