Connect Movie REVIEW: Nayanthara starrer is a shoddy drama that gives an absurd connection between COVID and horror

Film: Connect

Director: Ashwin Saravanan

Star Cast: Anupam Kher Nayanthara Vinay Rai, Sathyaraj

Bollywood Bubble ratings: 2/5 

Connect Movie REVIEW: 

Honestly, Nayanthara starrer Connect has left me a little bewildered with its story. The one thing I’m doing for sure is getting a good WiFi speed at my home. That’s what I’m drawing from the movie. The movie starts with how the nation is hit with the novel COVID and things have come to a halt; however, the film then jumps to the horror segment and I don’t see the connection at all. If the movie is completely based on horror, then why the writers Ramkumar Kaavya and Ashwin Saravanan didn’t explore that genre instead of adding the COVID touch which has no relevance to it?

The story is about a little girl who is grieving the loss of her father due to COVID. In order to talk to him once, she summons his spirit with the help of an Ouija board and here’s when the problem starts when she is possessed by a demon who refuses to leave the host. With them being in quarantine period, Susan (Nayanthara) strives hard to save her daughter. Susan later decides she needs to contact a father who can help her with the demon. Enters Anupam Kher who informs her that her daughter is possessed by a demon. Considering that it is a nationwide lockdown, the father then suggests doing an exorcism via video call.

Well, an exorcism via video call? I don’t know why but it is quite difficult for me to buy this concept. The exorcism method that we have seen in Emily Rose, Conjuring, Exorcist, Omen, and Constantine is quite different from what I have seen in Connect. It didn’t seem like exorcism is happening but a scripted show is being performed for the amateurs. I wish Indian movies grow a little bit more in terms of exploring the horror genre. Most of the time, it just turns out to be a comedy show than a horror.

Drawbacks:

First, it is the horror elements that they tried to incorporate in the movie, it looks extremely shoddy. There wasn’t a single scene where I was scared or even startled to see the scene. Half of the time, I just knew what scary element they would add to the scene and well, it didn’t disappoint me there as they exactly added all the right ingredients but didn’t offer anything fresh to the table that would have surprised the audience. So, if you love hard-core horror movies, this could never be your pick and that is for sure.

Second, the editing of the movie and the camera angle are the problems that sort of bothered me. The entire film was shot like the viewers are on a video call which was too much for me. I get it since they are showing the COVID times, it does remind us of the time when the entire world was getting connected with people by face timing but again, I’ll have the same question on why to show the connection between COVID and horror.

The third is the story of Connect, I wish they had not added the pandemic times in the story and I guess, it would have seemed pretty interesting to see. Plus, exorcism held via video call will only make you say ‘kuch bhi’. Not saying this because an Indian movie has shown something like that but saying it seems too difficult to buy it.

Story:

In a country where the government imposed a national curfew after the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, a single mother, Nayanthara handles her life with a lot of courage and struggles. However, after a few days, she notices eerie changes in her daughter’s behaviour, leading to strange situations. Later, she learns that her daughter is possessed and needs immediate help when the entire nation is at a halt. She does all virtual meetings with priests and on getting virtual help from a pastor played by Anupam Kher who proposes an online exorcism.

 

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Star Performances: 

Nayanthara is one of the terrific actors in South movies and she has done a fair job as a grieving wife and helpless mother. After the death of her husband, she tries to come to normalcy but due to her daughter’s health, the situation puts her in a vulnerable position. Nayanthara plays her part with utmost conviction despite some flaws that are avoidable.

Sathyaraj plays the role of Susan’s father and he also plays his part perfectly well. On the hand, Anupam Kher who plays the role of the father and performs exorcism comes in the last 30 mins. He tried to convince us with his priestly acts but falls short I feel.

Direction/ Screenplay:

Ramkumar Kaavya and Ashwin Saravanan have written the movie and I wanted to know if they are trying to tell us that we need a strong WiFi connection or was trying to tell us that there’s also a connection between the pandemic and paranormal activity or last, were they trying to tell us that we people need to stay connected to each other no matter. If it is the latter, then it definitely didn’t come across that way.

Conclusion: 

Speaking about Connect in the review, Nayanthara starrer gives an absurd connection between horror and COVID. It doesn’t seem relevant at all to the movie as it could have been made without showing the pandemic connection. Moreover, the horror seems quite shabby and I wish the makers have focused more on the horror element.

Watch the Connect trailer after the review:

 

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Also read: Cirkus REVIEW: Ranveer Singh and Rohit Shetty’s charm works again but Sanjay Mishra steals the show