RATSASAN (Tamil) Review by Bobby Sing at bobbytalkscinema.com

RATSASAN (Tamil/2018) - A taut and engrossing serial killer mystery with a brilliant premise. (Review by Bobby Sing)

23 Dec, 2018 | Indian Regional language Gems (Other Than Hindi) / Movie Reviews / 2018 Releases

A well-made psychological crime thriller with an engrossing mystery of a serial killer murdering the young school going girls, RATSASAN (meaning Demon) is directed by Ramkumar and features Vishnu and Amala Paul in the lead along with an impressive cast.

As a taut, competent suspense thriller, it has its limitations but works for most of its duration, keeping you thoroughly involved in the ongoing investigations. And its most interesting merit remains the basic premise where we have an aspiring filmmaker doing his extensive research on psycho killers since long but doesn’t get a chance rejected by the financers. He later has to join police force on the recommendation of his brother-in-law already serving the force, where he gets a chance to solve a serial killer mystery with the help of all the research he had actually earlier done for his movie-script.

Though the writer-director could have used this intriguing premise in a much better way, it still strikes you well and works brilliantly. Having many edge of the seat moments as an intelligently written and directed film, RATSASAN gets great support from the performances, background score and sound design in particular apart from the stylish editing. The important music creates the right amount of tension lifting up the entire proceedings and the obvious romance doesn’t really disturb with the songs smartly used in the backdrop.

Among the downers, the film stumbles when it comes to the personal tragedy and deals with it too quickly in an insensitive hushed up manner. The prosthetics used certainly look unconvincing and weird. Plus the potential elements of auto rickshaw and the school teacher surely could have resulted in a much scary and absorbing suspense angle.

However these shortcomings thankfully still don’t affect the film in any brutal way and the film successfully manages to be a dark psycho murder mystery that deserves to be seen for its appreciable merits. A few sequences do become the major highlight of the film, like the script thrown back by the sea, the chance auto-rickshaw ride and the magical backstory in the end, introducing something entirely unexpected adding to its dark theme.

So do go for it and have a great time trying to solve this gripping mystery before the hero does it reaching the RATSASAN.

Rating : 3.5 + 0.5 / 5 (With the additional 0.5 for the way it gets concluded presenting a prolonged, nail-biting climax)

(Note: The film can now be seen on SUNNXT movie portal/app with English subtitles at a nominal subscription for an year)

Tags : RATSASAN (Tamil) Review by Bobby Sing at bobbytalkscinema.com, New Tamil Films Reviews by Bobby Sing, Well made murder mysteries, Must Watch Indian Regional Cinema List by Bobby Sing, Must Watch Indian Films on serial killers.

23 Dec 2018 / Comments ( 6 )

Ramji.S

submitted on 14 January 2019

Sir why they have to show a progeria patient as a killer? Why cant he be shown like "Everyone of us yet a serial killer" Have u got my doubt? The same mistake done in another psycho thriller Vettaiyadu villayadu where killer is shown as having symptoms of homosexuality.. this is insensitive for a filmaker to do such a big mistake. Wasn't a big mistake at all? Why can't that serial killer be shown just like a normal person who living among us.... Was it not sound right!

Bobby Sing

submitted on 29 Jan,2019

Dear Ramji S.
These are basically cinematic elements added into a storyline. For instance here its for establishing an emotional connect with the viewers as then only they can understand the reason behind his becoming a serial killer.

The MOTIVE always holds the key behind any Crime particularly a MURDER.
And for establishing the motive such insertions and additions are made.

Moreover twisted characters as villains add a different thrill into the project.
This is another element that makes a crime thriller engaging and interesting.

Hope I was able to explain it properly.
Cheers!

Ramji.S

submitted on 30 January 2019

Yeah. I can understand. If director shows that the psycho may be anyone of us might could be just like that school teacher and women higher officer in police duty, then the problem can be easily sorted out...it will not be different from other cliched easily blammable villains type of movies... So the director cleverly used that cinematic element very nuancely so to speak that the the psycho killers should not be pitied off even though they had suffered by any physical disabilities..Here it was nothing to do with physical illness but only with his state of mind...

But while discussing all this, dont u think that the person was humiliated and misjudged by his fellow students in the classroom which is what made him as a serial killer... The director also knowingly ignored that sympathy area too...

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/ratsasan-demonising-disability-create-fear-other-90077?amp

Bobby Sing

submitted on 31 Jan,2019

In my opinion, this was deliberate as the humiliation, misjudgement and ill treatment at the school only caused the changes in his psyche. If everyone was fair then there was no reason to hate them at all.
Now imagine no hate scenes in the film and only the rejection by the girl as the reason to become a completely different person. That would have been too subtle and with no solid reasoning at all. In other words that is the cinematic way of finding solid reasoning for the character.
Cheers!

Crazy 4 movie

submitted on 13 May 2019

I will just say that Ratsasan is the best crime thriller movie of the year 2019 and I feel proud that the movie came from our Tamil Industry. I loved your views on Ratsasan.

Bobby Sing

submitted on 30 May,2019

It certainly is one of the best thriller of the year.
Thanks a lot for your kind support and comment.
Keep Visiting and Writing in.
Cheers!

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