Erupt: Game Over — Movie Review
The opening scene of director Ashwin Saravanan’s (Maya, Iravakaalam) Game Over begins in the most conventional way, like almost every other psycho-thriller the world has seen. We see a young woman (Sanchana Natarajan) being watched by… no, being watched through the eyes of an unknown stranger. Fast forward a few frames and as you would have expected, she’s killed in a gruesome manner (a really daring move by showing her death in detail). But those few frames and shots that you skip expecting to know what’s going to happen? That is where the real essence and excellence of the film lies. Those few frames are where you experience the unexpected. That is where Game Over works beautifully in all of its magnanimity.
The story, while being pretty simple, is also something that hasn’t been explored so much in the past in Indian Cinema. Taapsee Pannu (amazing in what looks like a role tailormade for her) is a work-from-home game developer who suffers from PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and is facing her worst fears as the world awaits New Year 2019. Adding to her woes, she has to take on someone dangerous who seems to have crashed her New Year’s Eve.
Right from the minute the film begins, an unsettling tension builds up. Every frame in the comparatively-mild first half moves you an inch closer to the edge of your seat before setting the stage for the second half on a high note during the intermission. The second half with all the dread and drama keeps you locked to your seat and your heart in your stomach before ending with a slick runtime of 103 minutes. Kudos to Ashwin and Kaavya Ramkumar for delivering a spectacle with such fine, lavishly detailed screenplay. Taapsee as Swapna and Vinodhini as her caretaker, Kalamma are a treat to the eyes as they bring to life a plethora of emotions and share brilliant on-screen chemistry.
What really stands out though is the genre this film belongs to. Or wait, does it? In the most direct sense, Game Over is a psycho-thriller about a woman surviving the night by escaping a ruthless, mindless maniac, straight and simple. While in another sense, it could be called a story of woman empowerment, where the protagonist tries to overcome the trauma of her past and manages to vanquish it altogether. The significance given to the female characters also supports this perspective. In a bizarre perception, it could even be called a metaphor comparing life to a video game and how one can emerge victorious. While from another sensible point of view, Ashwin Saravanan even seems to have infused horror and the cliched ghost-takes-revenge plotline, in a most ingenious way.
The technical aspects are top-notch. Starting from Vasanth’s cinematography that evolves through various forms and shots beautifully, the eerie lighting, closeup shots and the use of handheld cameras ramp up the terror factor as well. Richard Kevin’s cuts are sleek and not one slump in the film’s pace is noticeable. Ron Ethan Yohann’s background score is chilling and he hits it out of the park in almost every instance. While a major part of the film takes place inside Swapna’s house, the artwork is so stunning that it deserves a special mention. The elements on the screen, from the posters on the walls of Swapna’s room to the games she plays, are perfectly juxtaposed onto the film’s storyline. They even convey several important plot details in multiple scenes.
On the flipside, the film delving into emotional sequences for a short period in the first half can cause engagement issues. The question of whether the story is coherent can also be a question for a small section of the audience. The lack of commercial elements too might not appeal to people looking for solid masala entertainment with the standard five songs and crude slapstick comedy.
To sum it all up, Game Over is well-crafted and a masterfully made film, one that excels in terms of its screenplay, performances and technical expertise.
“We all have two lives. The second one starts when we realise we have only one”, goes the tagline for the film. Ashwin Saravanan, as a filmmaker has revived the horror-thriller genre by giving it a second life through both his films, Maya and Game Over. It is no question of whether he’ll be the director of a big star’s next film. Only time will tell if he’ll take the route with the big-stars and fandom or the one with quality cinema in it.
This review was written in collaboration with Antony Terence and Abhishek Ramachandran.
