Boomika
RATING
Introduction
We have a start of the week new release and last night I finished watching The new Tamil film Boomika on Netflix which is of the horror genre. It had been a while since I had watched and reviewed a horror film. Gone are the days when you would be scared looking at ghosts with protruding teeth or the sound of creaking doors that would scare the daylights of you. So the onus is on the filmmakers to try and innovate, rather experiment with the genre a tad bit more. The results of which you can see in films like Andhagaaram which were fabulous. Does Boomika manage to give you a scare, lets find out.
Story & Screenplay
Boomika follows the group who visit the lush landscapes and mountains of the Nilgiris to redevelop the site. Little do they know that an eerie surprise is awaiting them. Although I haven’t revealed too much of the plot, the story is a high concept one and very relevant in today’s times. Probably the most fresh concept that I have witnessed in any horror yet which is logical if you think of it too. And it needed a great screenplay to do full justice to the theme. But the screenplay is a bit of a mixed bag. While the screenplay brings out a good amount of atmospherics that builds the tension, the main issue that I had with it is that it isn’t seamless enough. There is a consistent effort made to switch from one scene to another. While the events in the first hour rely on the standard horror gimmicks(although atmospheric which was great), things begin to slowly speed up in the second hour with the grand revelation towards the end. Although no moment will really give you a high, it is commendable of the writers to have made an effort to genuinely try something different. The screenplay might be a little inconsistent but it is extremely watchable and deserves to be watched once.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are quite well penned and leave an impact. The music is good and the BGM is pretty good as well. What I really liked was that the BGM was not overused. The cinematography was indeed spectacular and really captured the stills really well. Director Rathindran Prasad who had last directed a short in the recently released film Navarasa has done a good job although he hasn’t nailed it. But still a commendable job considering the subject.
Performances
The performances are pretty good. Avantika is exceptional in her role, such a good performance in the second hour. Vidhu as Goutham is alright. Madhuri as Aditi does a fine job here. Surya Ganapathy as Gayathri is spectacular and does a brilliant job. Aishwarya Rajessh as Samyuktha is good although I felt her character was slightly underwritten.
Conclusion
Boomika is a high concept horror that is relevant and despite its flaws, deserves to be watched once. Available on Netflix.