'Connect' review: A decent try at showing ‘virtual’ exorcism

Connect

Tamil (Theatres)

Director: Ashwin Saravanan

Cast: Nayanthara, Haniya Nafis, Vinay Rai, Anupam Kher

Rating: 3/5

Connect, with the pandemic as its backdrop, explores the idea of ‘virtual’ exorcism in a refreshing manner. Anna aka Ammu (played by Haniya Nafis) loses her father to Covid-19. However, she talks to him through Ouija, and is soon possessed by an evil spirit. The movie retells an old idea with less clichéd horror scenes.

Susan (Nayanthara) lives with her daughter (Anna) in an apartment and are under lockdown. Both are tested positive, and that restricts the entry of outsiders as well. The story is spread across the fourteen days of quarantine.

The movie does not dwell too much on setting the preamble of the father’s death and calling of the spirit. Instead, it quickly unveils the uncanny atmosphere and sets the context through abrupt sounds of banging, suffocated breaths and inverted crosses.

The video calls are the only means through which the characters speak to one another. With the technique of blending a regular horror story with video calls, director Ashwin Saravanan has built suspense in a fresh manner. Its sudden disconnect or the buffering sign that crops up at those crucial and mini-climactic scenes amplifies the thrill.

The movie’s visuals are impressive but one wishes ‘Connect’ emotionally resonated with the audience. The relationships appear artificial and paltry.

Connect does not give us a solid drama on loss, quarantine or exorcism. It may appear that a lot could have been experimented with the concept of virtual exorcism, but the reality of the time and space of a lockdown restricts movements, thereby leading to the exhaustion of creative ideas. Haniya Nafis stays clear of overacting. Nayanthara, Sathyaraj, Anupam Kher and Vinay Rai have also performed their roles with ease. Given our increasing obssession with the virtual screens, it won’t be surprising if we filmmakers explore more such stories.