‘Dies Irae’ review: Pranav Mohanlal aces it in the scariest Malayalam film of the year

Well, Rahul Sadasivan doesn’t mess around. Those brave enough to sit through the late-night preview screening of Dies Irae, the filmmaker’s follow-up to Bramayugam, walked out with this very realisation. What he has cooked up with Pranav Mohanlal is nothing short of a brief rollercoaster ride through hell on earth. This is raw, trippy, and uncompromising horror at its best, the kind that slowly crawls up your spine and… plays with your hair. 

Perhaps a horror film should be evaluated based on its ability to silence a trio of people who have been yapping next to us with their popcorn buckets. (Who can think of eating during a horror movie? Another man ordered both dinner and dessert, before and post-intermission, respectively.) Dies Irae is the kind of cinema experience that can cut through the noise; it brings enough chaos to make your hair stand on end, to make you sit up and pay attention. Your popcorn bucket and ice cream can wait. The events happening up there are way colder than your melting ice cream.

Sadasivan has already demonstrated in Bhoothakaalam and Bramayugam that he doesn't think like any other filmmaker in Malayalam cinema right now. With Dies Irae, he once again proves the maxim that you can create maximum scares with a minimalist and formalist approach. There is an excellent attempt at misdirection in the film's early portions. Just when you think you're watching something familiar, the rug (or bedsheet) is pulled from under you. In terms of the measure of dread it evokes, it comes closer to veritable excursions in the genre from contemporary Korean cinema such as The Wailing and Exhuma.

Sadasivan, his extraordinarily gifted cinematographer, Shehnad Jelal, composer Christo Xavier, and the sound department (whose work deserves to be experienced on an Atmos screen), utilise what’s available and familiar to conjure an immersive audio-visual experience on par with the best of international cinema. It also helps that Dies Irae has minimal characters, unlike some recent overhyped and oversized extravaganzas, which have proven that too many cooks can spoil the broth.

As in Sadasivan's last two films, all the chilling events are confined to one or more homes, in which he imagines endless possibilities. In spirit, it’s closer to Bhoothakaalam than the Mammootty film. After all, what can be more terrifying than the thought of a certain entity troubling you in your own residence? As to the nature or gender of this entity… It's the best part of the whole mystery, one I won’t give away. 

Sadasivan also proves to be one of the directors with whom Pranav Mohanlal, the actor, seems to have found much comfort, evident in the decidedly effortless manner in which he portrays Rohan, a wealthy young architect whose privilege makes him more desirable to others than his personality.

Dies Irae. Desire. There must be some of us who have mispronounced the former as the latter. Come to think of it, desire and obsession are predominant themes in the film, aside from guilt. Of course, there’s a reason why the film is named Dies Irae — not just to look cool, you see — an explanation for which is given at a crucial juncture, before leading up to one of the most terrifying reveals.

That ‘A’ rating is also there for a reason. It’s not ornamental. Let’s say Sadasivan has utilised it in the best way possible. In the theatre I went to, there was a collective gasp at one unbelievably gory sequence. I say unbelievable because this is the first time I’ve seen a Malayalam film pull off something boasting this level of unflinching realism, a quality that applies to the rest of the film, too, in fact. 

It was also a smart move to keep details of some key cast members hidden, since, as mentioned earlier, this is a film that relies on you imagining your own story with multiple possibilities. But Sadasivan doesn’t offer the satisfaction of going in the direction you anticipate. Like in Bhoothakaalam, the beauty of Dies Irae lies in the unseen more than the seen. In darkness, light, and shadows. In secrets known only to the dead and undead. In unanswered questions. And Bhoothakaalam fans will find something special in the climactic moments that should bring a smile to their faces. To hell with all the other “shared” horror universes. This is the real deal. Talk about a hat trick. Yeah, Rahul Sadasivan doesn't mess around.

 

Film: Dies Irae

Director: Rahul Sadasivan

Cast: Pranav Mohanlal and others

Rating: 4.5/5

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