Eeram (2009)

English translation: Dampness

Direction: Arivazhagan

Story: Arivazhagan

Cast: Aadhi, Sindhu Menon

Music: Thaman

Time: 164 minutes

Bottom-line: A chilling thriller; you will never look at water the same way again

From Arivazhagan comes the much-needed relief from masala films. This horror-thriller – along with the other 2009 film, Yavarum Nalam – give two brilliant unconventional films to enjoy. Eeram stars Aadhi and Sindhu menon in the lead roles, with Nandha and Saranya Balakrishnan in the supporting roles.

A watchman in an apartment complex notices water overflowing from a flat. On entering the house, he finds a young woman, Ramya (Sindhu) who has drowned herself, with a note saying that no one else is responsible for her death. The case is taken up by Inspector “Vasu” Vasudevan (Aadhi), who was also Ramya’s lover in college. He is convinced that there is more to the case than just a suicide. On interrogating the neighbours, he finds that several of them, including the watchman, claim that Ramya was having another affair (with a man whom Vasu names Mr. X). Over the next few days, two people who vouched for Ramya’s affair die seemingly accidental deaths. Later, Mr. X also faces a violent end. Vasu realises that all the deaths have one thing in common – water. He believes that Ramya could be responsible for them. Is he right? If so, what is the truth behind her “suicide”?

Eeram doesn’t scare you; instead, it sends enough chills down your spine that every time you look at water, you will be reminded of this film. The visuals and cinematography are enough to instil that fear. I am amazed at how Arivazhagan turns water into such an enemy: the deaths of the neighbours, Mr. X and the accidents of Bala’s friend show his ingenious, albeit crooked, thinking. With that said about the goosebumps, the story as such is quite good. It starts off as a mystery, then goes back to Ramya’s college days, then back to the present, where Vasu tries to track down the “murderer”. A lot of supernatural elements are present, so it is not a regular joining-the-dots mystery case.

 

Sindhu as Ramya, and Aadhi as Vasudevan

The cast is almost entirely new, and what a fine show they have put up! In particular, I liked the performances of Sindhu Menon and Nandan (who plays Ramya’s husband, Bala). There is no actual ghost shown on screen to scare you… the scary part is how seemingly normal everyday scenarios – with water – can cause people to die! That is the most effective way to create horror; the same goes with Yavarum Nalam. It starts out as a simple family drama before changing gears and exploring the supernatural. Look out for the scene where Mr. X seemingly “kills himself”; the most intense scene of the film. There are a few plot twists, and the one towards the end could knock your socks off.

Eeram has violence, romance, thrill, and of course, shades of horror, but the best bit being the simplistic setup. These low-budget thrillers are actually turning out to be the ones that are more impressive than the big-budget, star-studded films. Eeram – worth your time and money.

My Rating: 3.5/5