‘Gu’ movie review: Saiju and Niranj shine in this film with supernatural elements

Gu movie review Saiju Kurup and Niranj shine in this so-called horror film set in a rambling ancestral home

A picturesque rural setting, a group of children, a sprawling traditional house (tharavad), a land rich in folk lores and beliefs, and a bunch of great actors. All these should have been enough for a gripping film in the hands of an experienced director or scenarist. But Gu, filmmaker Manu Radhakrishnan’s debut feature, does not provide the chills and thrills expected in a film that deals with spirits and the supernatural.

Gu begins with the story of a teenage girl who is believed to be possessed by the spirit of a young girl who had met with an unnatural death on the premises of the family home. To help her parents, the extended family comes back their roots to perform rituals to exorcise the spirit and deal with the spell of bad luck that seems to have affected different members of the family.

The plot hinges on the myth and belief of Gulikan and tries to give it a new interpretation by depicting him as a friendly supernatural being that looks out for children. Cinematographer Chandrakanth Madhavan’s frames captures the verdant greenery and gives a hint of the spookiness that even the most blandest of surroundings can evoke.

Sai (a splendid Saiju Kurup), Nimisha and their daughter Minna (Deva Nandha) arrive from Bengaluru with his family. Maniyanpillai Raju, Sai’s maternal uncle, arrives with his differently-abled son and so on. Sai’s scientific temper rebels against the superstitions and beliefs of his relatives. Mithran, enacted delightfully by Niranj Maniyanpilla Raju, is a cousin who enjoys spending time with the kids in the family.

The humour is provided by Mithran’s antics as he tries to cover his fear with some bravado and tall tales. But it sticks out in the weak script and does not quite gel with the film.

After the initial scenes of the teenager being possessed by a spirit, nothing happens for quite some time in the 126-plus-minute movie. The background score has looped back to throw up some weary sounds heard in several films in the past to evoke fear and suspense.

Manu, who has also written the script of the film, cannot make up his mind whether it is a horror movie rooted in folklore or a psychological thriller. As a result, it does not do justice to neither of these sub genres of a horror film. The weak script hampers the film’s narrative.