A damp squib at horror

ROSHIN GEORGE

Going by the pre-release posters of The Priest, a thrilling crime story was in store for Malayali audiences – and the wider audience that an OTT release on Amazon Prime has made possible. A pensive-looking Mammootty dons the role of a priest playing Sherlock Holmes in this pandemic-era creation. And with Mollywood’s former lady superstar Manju Warrier also in the frame, the film promised not to disappoint.

But disappoint it did. The two superstars seem wasted in a flawed creation of debutante writer-director Jofin T Chacko. One could however pardon him for the flaws in direction and sit through the movie that upgrades from mere crime thriller to a supernatural horror trope.

The stamp of an amateur is visible right from the scene where a young member of the Alatt family approaches Father Carmen Benedict, played by Mammootty, a monk who is out of favour with the church owing to his dabbling with parapsychology and supernatural beings. But the Kerala State Police is happy to use his services especially as the good priest does not like to claim credit for the mysteries he solve.

Like in Joseph, we see the titular hero solving a murder mystery easily to establish his credentials as a master sleuth. But unlike the critically acclaimed Joseph, which saw Joju George essay one of his finest roles, superstar Mammooty cannot save The Priest. A lot of loose ends spoil the story. The young Ameya, who is made to look her scary best, is shielded by the orphanage head despite her errant behaviour. She frequently runs away from the orphanage but no action is taken. The last victim from the Alatt family picks up the young girl from Chennai but is killed the night she returns home with her.

When one almost thinks the girl or the nun had a role, we find the priest solving the case easily before hopping on to his next case – what drives Ameya to behave the way she does. By then, Ameya has made her first friend in school. The talented Nikhila Vimal plays her kind teacher Jessie, herself an orphan. They strike such a strong friendship that the girl compels her to take her to the teacher’s deserted and spooky house somewhere up in the hills. A perfect backdrop for the ghost attacks, the house is cleaned by the duo and they spend a few happy days there alone.

The entry of her boyfriend Siddharth spoils the setting, and soon the ghost in the girl play havoc on everyone’s lives. How the Priest tames the ghost of Susan, the older sister of Jessie who was killed in an accident 12 years ago, forms the crux of the story. He exorcises the ghost, pleads with it to leave alone the young girl and the young couple, but allows it to eliminate her real killers.

Mammootty is made to look his coolest best as the Priest – a man of few words, who occasionally spews his findings in English – while Manju as Susan looks two-dimensional as the possessive and vengeful older sister.  Neither can save the film, and we are happy when the movie finally ends, and the ghost and the ghost catcher go their separate ways.