The Murderer follows the story behind an investigation underway after 7 bodies are discovered from a farm. While the murderer is caught, did he actually commit the crime? The story here is an absurdist murder mystery that has a sharp sense of humour while unraveling the mystery behind the murders. While this sense of humour does remain niche, this was indeed refreshing given that such themes are rarely explored on celluloid. The screenplay standing at exactly 2 hours is filled with frivolous incidents that constitute for a delicious dark comedy filled with twists and turns. The entire structure of the screenplay is unique and it requires patience in the beginning to sit through multiple names and the character traits. But if you do sit past them then there are rewards to be had!

The drama does open with the setting of a perfect storm with red skies accompanying the gloomy surroundings. Suddenly, you are introduced to a character covered in blood with being tactful in opening a door beyond which awaits a shadow to stab him with a weapon. The proceedings shift timelines wherein an interrogation is underway with the drama divided into chapters. Each chapter clears the picture regarding the characters, their dynamics with each other and the event of the murders through multiple perspectives. The humour here is dry and almost silly from the onset but this was a clever way of the writers providing a distraction. They almost wanted the viewers to not take the drama too seriously that kick started the delicious dark humour.

I did take a while to warm up to the proceedings wherein I did find myself behind the narration in terms of the character names and the who is who of the family. But after a while, I settled nicely in the drama that further builds on the proceedings through ‘unimportant’ events leading up to the mega event of the mass murder. The undercurrent of a calamity scheduled to take place is mentioned through various characters who are expecting a storm to hit their farm. So I quite enjoyed the buildup to the main event. But once the main event began to unfold, it was a hilarious joyride!

The final act here is spread over more than 50 minutes that does constitute for majority of the runtime in the second hour. While the mystery behind the murders is represented through multiple footages that are spread like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, the writers do well in triggering a chronological approach soon whereinneach of the seven murders are played out with the reasoning. It was a thrilling and hilarious joyride to witness the events which almost felt indulgent after a point. The twists and turns in the screenplay are evident that did make for a supremely satisfactory watch. Yet, the final twist in the tale completes the proceedings very well thus summing up a smartly written screenplay.