Movie Review: ‘Cult’

Movie Review: ‘Cult’

Cast: Vishwak Sen, Gayatri Bhardwaj, Tarak Ponnappa, Murali Sharma, Srikanth Iyyengar, and others

Music: Ravi Basrur

Cinematography: Arvind Viswanathan

Dialogues: Tharun Bhascker

Producer: Sandeep Kakarala

Story, Screenplay, and Direction: Vishwak Sen

Apart from acting, Vishwak Sen proved his mettle with direction as well through movies like Faluknama Das and Das Ka Dhamki, which received moderate success. Now, at a time when he is going through a purple patch, he took the direction mantle again, carving out ‘Cult’. Will it put a brake on his rough phase? Let’s have a look.

STORY:

Elvin (Tarak Ponnappa), a Minister’s son, throws a grand party in Goa at a nightclub called “Cult”, to which entry is strictly restricted to invitees with special passes only. Along with Elvin’s friends, those who fetched passes attend the party. But after everyone assembles, the doors are locked, and an unknown person rigs the doors with RDX, such that none can step out. And he makes insiders killed one by one quite brutally. Shocked by this, the Minister is tense about how to rescue his son, Elvin, and his friends. It’s then found out that suspended DSP Sankalp is inside the club, and they establish contact with him and entrust the job of saving Elvin and all the attendees. Finally, did Sankalp manage to save Elvin and others or not? Who is actually committing all these murders? And how Sankalp cracked that mystery is something to be seen on the screen.

NARRATION-ANALYSIS:

If a character on the screen gets injustice, that should move us. Looking at his pain, we should feel the rage. If he takes revenge, we should feel relieved. Only if such empathy kicks in and emotion pays off, the onscreen violence works out; else, no matter how many people are beheaded, it feels nauseating but not connecting. That’s what happened with ‘Cult’ now. The whole film is filled with people slashed into pieces, and if the violence dose in “The Paradise” is 2X, here it is 10X kinds. But with the emotion behind that violence not working at all, it just feels sickening.

The promos of ‘Cult’ already gave us an idea that the film is heavily inspired by the web series “Squid Game”, but then, the violence in that series is backed by strong reasons. Also, the games they play are quite intense, thrilling and nail-biting. But in the Telugu-fied Squid Game, which is Vishwaksen’s Cult, the emotion is never present. We feel like watching a crazy game, but it never creates fear or thrill. In fact, scenes where severed limbs are shown are quite artificial and disgusting, and as they get repeated, the first hour is a patience tester. After the hero’s character enters late, things get a little energetic, but in no time, that role also turns out to be one in the crowd. Even if one closes their eyes for a couple of minutes, the story never progresses, but only the killings happen in different styles.

Frustrating the audience for a while after the interval, Vishwaksen finally takes us into the story in the last half-hour. When the twists are revealed, Cult draws attention, and the backstory of the psycho killer seems to be okay. Also, the sequence where the hero confronts the killers is interesting. However, after coming to know about the killers’ backstory, one wouldn’t find any logic in that. If a character is meted with injustice, the revenge he’s undertaking should be in proportion, but not outrageous. As there’s no emotional connection with that backstory, the payoffs never worked. Though the last half-hour is engaging, ‘Cult’ doesn't substitute for the boredom it induced earlier. If someone could enjoy violence even if it’s not backed by emotion, ‘Cult’ will be their cup of tea, but if violence bothers you, then better stay away from Cult.

PERFORMANCES:

Vishwaksen delivered a good performance as a police officer, and the aggressiveness suits him well; he nailed it. Especially in attitude-driven scenes, Vishwaksen did well, and his looks complemented. Tarak Ponnappa is routine in a negatively shaded role, as most of his role is limited to shouts, while he impresses towards the end. Gayatri Bharadwaj neither impressed with glamour nor with acting. All the other characters in the film are pretty much the same; Murali Sharma as a Minister is okay, while Srikanth Iyengar’s histrionics test patience.

TECHNICALITIES:

Technical prowess of “Cult” is good, as Ravi Basrur’s background score in this song-less flick is impressive. The BGM is stylish and gives a high in the second half. At the same time, Arvind Viswanathan’s camera work is impressive. Production values are just okayish. Though Tarun Bhaskar provided the dialogues, only some are clicking; the rest are just simple and average. Coming to director Vishwaksen, he banked on a lot of twists and backstories akin to Das Ka Dhamki. But he failed to write better scenes and characters like in his previous movies. As he stacks up just violent scenes that lack emotional depth, Cult turns out to be messy.

Lastly: Cult, a slasher that never connects.

Rating: 2/5