Phoenix Malayalam Movie Review

Pheonix is a horror thriller film directed by the debutant Vishnu Bharathan and the screenplay is written by Midhun Manuel Thomas. The movie starts off with a family moving into a rented house close to the shore. Unfortunately for the family, the house is haunted and they start to experience the supernatural presence. The mood of the film changes pretty quickly without wasting any time and the events that proceed, keep the audience guessing for each scene and the fate of the characters.

The whole premise is approached very sensibly without going too cinematic. This means that the sequences are well grounded and not attempting any fancy choices of screenplay. Nevertheless, there are plenty of spine-chilling moments in the first half. The frames are pretty decent for a horror film while the jump scare episodes are emulated further by the chilling background score. All these events lead to an interval sequence with a nice little twist.

The second half somehow deviates from the premise since it traverses through a flashback episode which extends till the climax. In summary, the movie travels through 2 different premises and genres. The whole premise in the second half is setup in the backdrop of 70s during the cholera pandemic period. These sequences are visually impressive and consistent with the 70s era. The artwork needs special recognition for maintaining a near accurate representation within the budget limit.

The flashback sequences are emotional giving sufficient elucidation to the horror plot. The writing has been excellent to convince the viewers despite a stretched and detailed narration. On the flipside, the horror elements are completely missing in the second half which comes as a huge disappointment for the horror film lovers. Though the climax is fulfilling, they have concluded the story pretty quickly. In the end, they have blended both the premises in each halves convincingly.

A great addition to the horror genre backed up by sincere performances from the cast despite a drifted screenplay in the second half. Recommended.!!