When fear stalks the mind

Last Bus
Kannada (U/A) Cast:  Avinash Narasimharaju, Samarth Narasimharaju, Prakash Belawadi, Meghashree Bhagavatar, Manasa Joshi, Deepa Gowda, Samarth Raju, Shankar Shetty
Director:  S D Arvinda

“Fear is a positive factor. Fear is a romantic expression. Fear is power of imagination.” In keeping with this premise, director Arvinda of Jugaari fame turns Last Bus into a “celebration of fear,” as he describes his film. How people react to an invisible element, as Arvinda says, forms the film’s fulcrum.

Handling horror in movies is tricky, requiring versatility and subtlety that the genre requires. Arvinda shows adeptness in Last Bus. Cleverly scripted with a nifty narration, the film revolves around six key players fretting to reach their destination, but thrown into an unexpected situation following an accident.

As each tries to escape, the film turns into a psychological play of angst and anxiety, rage and frustration, consoling and comforting, where shock and deceit gets the better of mind game. Horror gnaws on one as the passengers find themselves in an abandoned house in dense forest.

Benumbed by strange visitations that instil fear and fright, Arvinda plays with audiences’ expectations. He, however, falls for the familiar formula of horror fare, which are minor irritants.

Shot around the picturesque Malnad region, Arvinda ensures he does not provide a plausible solution to spooky happenings leaving one to draw his own surmises on what drives the fear of devil in the protagonists. Stylised cinematography, special effects and ensemble acting ensure that Last Bus is an engaging, eerie, edge-of-the-seat watch.

Music score by Arvinda, specially the Doori Doori song, makes it a haunting, evocative experience.

  Take Last Bus and test if your nerves are of steel to take this thrill ride.