- Date of Release: 23 August 2024
- Genre: Thriller
- Language: Malayalam
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Footage
Introduction
If I were to talk about films belonging to the found-footage genre, the one that absolutely would top the list is The Blair Witch Project (1999). What that film did was create an ambience of sorts for a horror film that would essentially be an extension of the reels that have captured our imagination. The grainy texture of the frames along with frequent jerks was enough to instill a sense of fear in the minds of the viewers. And what that film did was open the pandora’s box for more such films, for instance the Paranormal Activity franchise that is built on this premise. In that sense, the inspiration of constructing a thriller by Saiju Sreedharan in the form of his Malayalam debut venture, Footage comes from the same source. Yet, the area where the film immediately suffers from is its positioning – the sanitized frames with a wider landscape do not really allow it to fall in the ‘found-footage’ genre. Rather, the atmosphere of fear that the genre heavily relies on, is never quite instilled through its frames that further prompts the drama to only meander past some crucial junctures. The end result is that the drama remains underwhelming!
Story & Screenplay
In what seemed like an interesting take on the male and female gaze from a concept standpoint, Footage doesn’t quite capitalize on this fundamental theory, often being too carried away by its style even as the plot consistently remains slender. So what could essentially have been a tight 80 odd minute film, is stretched to the hilt into a 120 odd minute thriller that is atleast 40 minutes too long. But I would be lying if I tell you that the film is a complete trainwreck – it isn’t! There are quite a few moments of intrigue that build the narrative at crucial junctures. The issue – the payoff isn’t as rewarding along with a periods of information that don’t necessarily add up in the drama.
One of the recurring themes of the drama is voyeurism, something that is true from the engrossing opening act when you are introduced to the Youtube vlogging couple (Vishak Nair and Gayathri Ashok). Even as the initial gaze of the film unfolds from the boy’s perspective, you are witness to another couple engaging in rampant s*x even while being steadily watched upon by the protagonist. This was a promising start purely because it did highlight the voyeuristic theme that acts as a foundation for the drama. And even as you are privy to the intimate lives of the protagonists, you are acquainted with their trait of having a keen interest in the lives of people around them, just for views on youtube. This includes fabricating a horror story or even interacting with locals to get a byte for their next vlog. Life just seems perfect until they choose to go after a ‘wrong’ person!
The few moments of intrigue erupt in the events leading to the first half when the couple decide to follow a mysterious woman into the woods. There is a definite form of tension cutting through the screen with the atmospherics of the night contributing to an unsettling feeling, that actually results in a brief period of mayhem when the tables turn on the couple. And here is where the drama faltered too. The films in the found-footage genre thrive on the fact that how certain details are left to the imagination of the viewers, almost relying on their sensibilities to connect the dots. But the writing inexplicably chooses to connect the dots for you in the second hour. There are extended periods in the drama wherein you are acquainted to the lives of the couple before the said incident, and how they managed to indulge in voyeurism in the first place. None of it was actually required because it doesn’t necessarily change the fate of the film or the characters, even while adding crucial minutes to the drama.
Unfortunately, most of the drama in the second hour does unfold like the pointless reels that appear on my feed every now and then. These reels have no significance to my life, neither do they define the person that I am. Yet, it is a way of whiling away time that is the primary goal here. The issue was this peculiar case of hand-holding here (and I say peculiar because it is usually unheard in a Malayalam film) that is so taxing after a point, that you don’t care about the characters. The tension that was built up at the halfway mark is completely vanished in the second hour, even as the bits and pieces lead you to a brief backstory of the silent mysterious woman. Another fundamental flaw lay in the fact that because the perspective in the second hour changed (from boy’s to girl’s camera), most events were repeated. It also did not quite provide a different perspective in the first place except at the end, that made me wonder on why was this lag not accounted for on the edit table. Yes, there are brief periods of intrigue at the end too, but the payoff isn’t there at all, thereby summing up its screenplay that was experimental but didn’t land the way it should have.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are marginally corny while not quite allowing the drama to dwell in moments of silence. Some lines remain unintentionally funny too – in a serious moment you with fear lurking in the corner, you still see a character referring to the other as ‘baby’. I mean that was kind of ridiculous in my opinion, not because he can’t but more because it took you away from the tension building in the vicinity. The sound design remains top-notch, trying its best to pull you into the drama every time you are disconnected from it. The cinematography comprises of frames that are actually good (if I were to look beyond the sanitized framework). The techniques employed with the use of shaking frames or weird angles, actually contribute well to the ambience of the drama. And quite honestly, this was the need of the other – less chatter and more visualization. The editing techniques are good too with sharp jump cuts from one scene to another. But the editing largely is underwhelming because there were severe portions of lag in the screenplay that just needed to be edited out for a tighter watch. Director Saiju Sreedharan impresses in parts particularly in portions leading up to the halfway mark. But, his inexperience is at its hilt in allowing the drama to meander along without being able to consistently maintain a grip on the proceedings. And that was the missing link, and the most crucial of them all for the drama to actually work. The direction shows flashes of brilliance but misses out for most parts of the runtime.
Performances
The performances are decent here although each actor doesn’t quite have a definite arc to play with. Manju Warrier in her brief appearance remains stoic and intimidating. Her glaces at the camera are terrifying, almost threatening to break the fourth wall and pulling the viewer into her horrific world. Gayathri Ashok has a good screen presence while managing to do a decent job here (with Samvedna Suwalka nicely dubbing her lines). Vishak Nair is pretty good also despite not quite having enough to portray with respect to the writing. Vishak is one of the few new talents that I wish to keep an eye on in this new wave of the Malayalam Film Industry.
Conclusion
Despite a sincere effort, Footage is an experimental ‘found-footage’ thriller on voyeurism that doesn’t quite land the way it should have. With periods and periods of lag and little thrill, this drama remains a forgettable affair. Available in a theatre near you.
