One of the best things about Ajay Gnanamuthu’s first film, Demonte Colony, is that it wanted to be a horror flick and not a Tamil “masala horror.” The latter, typified by the Kanchana and Aranmanai franchises, has comedy, romance, massy hero fights, item numbers, devotional songs, and in the midst of all this, some horror. It’s like one of those 99 variety dosa places, where they put everything imaginable onto a dosa: paneer, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, chocolate, unicorn horns, cyanide... While Demonte Colony initially had a few quips and a bar song, it quickly established a consistent horror tone as the plot thickened.
Ajay takes a step forward with the sequel, striving to create an unadulterated horror experience. The film, after recapping the events of the first part, immediately plunges the audience into a nightmarish world, opening with the harrowing sequence of a recorded video showing two individuals plummeting from a high-rise apartment, followed by the sight of another person hanging to death within the same apartment.
At the heart of this horror is Debbie (Priya Bhavani Shankar), a woman consumed by grief for her deceased husband, Sam. Her home is a shrine to their lost love, adorned with countless photographs of them together. In a desperate attempt to maintain a connection with her late husband, Debbie embarks on a traumatic path, opting for artificial insemination using his preserved sperm. This desperate act to bring their love to fruition underpins the film’s unsettling atmosphere, as it becomes clear that her grief has spiralled into obsession. Ajay establishes a melancholic tone from the outset, foreshadowing the impending terrors.
Like its predecessor, Demonte Colony 2 also has a first half song. But it’s a far cry from the cheery kuthu number with four foolhardy drunkards; instead, we get a sobering Sam CS track reminiscent of the bleakest English weather.
Ajay aims to amplify horror with a series of escalating set pieces: mirror-induced terror, bat-infested chaos, and even descent into a netherworld realm. His arsenal of horror tropes is extensive, encompassing antichrist symbolism, pentagrams, the titular Demonte, and an even more malevolent entity.
Despite all this, the film, like its prequel, grapples with a similar issue: while the conceptual framework is intriguing, the execution falls short of inducing visceral fear. Both films have interesting ideas, but fail to deliver the heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat terror that their premises promise.
Director: Ajay Gnanamuthu
Cast: Arulnithi, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Arun Pandian, Vettai Muthukumar, and more
Duration: 2 hr 24 min
Storyline: A demonic spirit awakens in a haunted Chennai bungalow, unleashing terror, mysteries, and a horror franchise
The main suspect is the subpar visual effects that significantly undermine the film’s ability to create a truly immersive horror experience. The lack of polish in these effects creates a jarring disconnect between the intended atmosphere and the on-screen reality. The performances also fall short of the intensity required to truly capture the terror and desperation of the characters, leaving the audience emotionally detached from the narrative. Sam CS’s score, while attempting to build tension, often descends into jarringly loud crescendos, disrupting the overall atmosphere.
We cannot blame the writing because the screenplay is structurally sound, with characters driven by clear motivations. For example, Debbie’s vulnerability to the demonic deception, masquerading as her deceased husband, is directly linked to her obsessive grief. This character arc is established through flashbacks to her determination to save him during his battle with cancer. Similarly, an altruistic act of a self-interested character finds justification in the impact of his motherless childhood.
The writer also deftly connects certain plot points to the first film, creating a sense of continuity. The introduction of new mysteries and unanswered questions at the end hints at a potential franchise, leaving audiences eager for the next instalment.
But even Ajay, in pursuit of a pure horror film, succumbs to the temptation of adding humour. A comedy sequence involving Arulnithi and his half-sister over a property dispute abruptly punctures the tension meticulously built in the opening half hour.
Just as a cursed necklace plagues the characters in the Demonte Colony franchise, Tamil horror, it seems, is shackled by the chains of comedy.
Demonte Colony 2 is currently running in theatres
