Yoogan Review: Thrills That Kill

Yoogan makes all the right noises for a horror film. Literally, so. Slow, thumping background score, a white, hairy apparition with a taste for revenge, protagonists with a dark past…

And,

A chilling MMS.

*****

The 2014 horromedy, Yaamirukka Bayamey, set a trend in motion. This trend of making a low-budget horror film, that wouldn’t be just your typical thriller, but would employ some laughs as well. Karthik Subbaraj’s Pizza was perhaps the forerunner for low-budget horror, sans comedy. And both films were quite successful in their own right, despite their production values.

Then, the idea became too popular for its own good.

Aranmanai, Aaaah, Darling, Ra, Mooch and Kanchana 2 emerged to lukewarm critical responses. And, as we learn after every showing, it really isn’t easy to make a good film. Least of all, a horror with a small amount of money.

*****

There’s a lot wrong with the latest addition, Yoogan. A lot. And, it’s not just the ‘horror’. The tale revolves around five engineers who encounter supernatural occurrences, a few distasteful jokes, their woman boss whom they detest, a cunning scheme that they employ to overthrow her, figure, sarakku, a suicide, a vengeful spirit on the loose, a few unexplained deaths – and an MMS that is sent to all potential victims just before they are murdered.

Which says,

“Ready to die?” with a fiery red cross for effect.

*****

Did I give a lot away?

*****

The Yoogan 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.