Movie review 'Demonte Colony': Strong foundation with brilliant technical execution
Director: Ajay Gnanamuthu
Cast: Arulnithi, Ramesh Thilak, Sanath, Abhishek
Rating: 3 stars
In Demonte Colony, debutant director Ajay Gnanamuthu has taken up an anchor point that has a whizz of novelty to it. A Portuguese man named De Monte apparently had a significant portion of land to himself in Chennai, and where he resided with his mentally unstable wife for a number of years. Ajay takes up this setting, adds a premise by introducing four friends, who, after having a good time at a bar, decide to explore this territory out of a sense of agreeable debauchery, and then laces it with generous elements of horror. The result: a scary and entertaining affair that promises to surprise and amuse you.
Arulnithi plays the lead Srinivasan and along with three other friends, Vimal (Ramesh Thilak), Raghavan (Sanath), and Sajith (Abhishek), decides to go out on a gloomy night for a bit of fun and frolic. After a few rounds of alcohol, they give this colony a visit, not knowing that one of them actually knows a thing or two about it and rumors of a treasure hidden in the mansion.
They reach the deserted place and the thing that would immediately capture you is the atmosphere that the crew has created. Silent and without a single soul in sight, the place will drive your imagination into overtime, and the pacing of the film will sustain it gently but firmly at that level. Anyways, Raghavan recovers a valuable gold chain from the visit, a gift given by De Monte to his beloved wife. Before the four could even attempt to sell it, De Monte returns to haunt them, as he has a lot of emotion attached to this gift and wants it back. The reminder of the film encompasses a weathering of this sudden storm, as Srinivasan and co scamper to stay alive.
Arulnithi does an excellent job. All 3 other male friends with significant screen space also stand out. And what really shines are the foundations and technical execution of the film: writing, narration, pacing (although first half drags a bit), lighting, cameras, and sound. Having a sound basis in the various departments lends this movie a layer or two more than your average horror flick of today. And the best part is that there’s no heroine and no clichéd duets. Aravind Singh on the camera has provided solid footage to work with, especially considering the limited area in which the movie was shot. And guitarist Keba Jeremiah chimed in nicely with the background score.
