Lady Superstar Nayanthara’s latest film Connect, a supernatural horror drama, was released on 22 December, the longest night of the year. Now, whether that was a strategic choice or a coincidence, it does little to strike a chord with the audience.
Ashwin Saravanan, although just two-film old [Maya (2015), Game Over (2019)], has emerged as a filmmaker with a distinct voice in the Tamil film industry, his heart set on refining audiences’ appetite in the neo-noir horror genre. After a successful debut with Maya, Saravanan reunites with Nayanthara in Connect. However, the film struggles with connectivity issues.
Intriguing premise, average execution
Connect has a simple yet exciting premise. Just as the country slips into an unprecedented nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19, Susan (Nayanthara) is stuck with her teenage daughter, Anna (Haniya Nafis), in their Tamil Nadu home. Her husband, Joseph (Vinay Rai), a doctor, is stranded at the hospital in the wake of rising Covid cases and succumbs to the deadly infection within days. At one point, a character equates Covid to ‘demonic possession’, considering how it entered our lives as an uninvited guest and wreaked havoc.
Soon after, both Susan and Anna test positive for Coronavirus. Just as the home quarantine begins, Susan starts experiencing eerie changes in Anna’s behaviour. What do you do when you are secluded from the world, and a demon possesses your daughter? Intrigued much?
To mirror the living situation of millions during the lockdown, the film takes place through the virtual lens of Zoom calls and Facetime, much like Aneesh Chaganty’s excellent thriller, Searching (2018). But unlike the latter, Connect struggles to keep one engaged. The pace and trajectory are predictable, to say the least.
At one point, Susan, on her father’s assistance (Sathyaraj), seeks help from a pastor sitting miles away in Mumbai. Seeing Anna’s deteriorating condition, Father Augustine (Anupam Kher) recommends an immediate exorcism. But who will conduct it if everyone is prohibited from leaving their houses? In comes what we shall call a ‘lockdown exorcism’. Well, if everything from work meetings, church prayers, classes, weddings to birthday celebrations can shift online, then why not exorcism? I had still not given up wondering (and hoping) what spooky transition would hit us next. Unfortunately, beyond dark frames and jump scares, Connect is victim to its own unadulterated trepidations.
What works for films like The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), The Conjuring (2013), and others known for their horror quotient is that they push you to the point of convincing you that the protagonist might lose. And Connect makes this struggle look a little too easy.
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Nayanthara fails to shine
“She came into Connect as an actor and not as a star,” said Saravanan during a recent interview about the Lady Superstar. I concur with his statement. But that is it. One hardly remembers her performance after leaving the theatre. Nayanthara’s performance would have probably made a difference if the film’s horror elements had a stronger foreground.
Nafis steals the show among the supporting cast, especially in a virtual session with a therapist. Sathyaraj, as Arthur, also does a fine job of channelling the plight of a helpless father and grandfather, struggling to keep his loved ones alive.
The trailer had promised “99 minutes of horror” with no intermission. In hindsight, the duration of Connect is, perhaps, one of its strengths, which means the pure non-committal horror ends sooner than you run out of patience.
If you are a parent wondering how to introduce your child to the horror genre, this film might do the job. As for die-hard fans, you might want to sit this one out.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)