Anjaam Pathira Movie Review : A decently engaging crime thriller

Story: A serial killer is on the loose, murdering policemen. Psychologist Anwar Hussain helps cops investigate the case and find who the culprit is

Review: It’s said that evil can manifest in anyone, if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Anjaam Pathira by Midhun Manuel Thomas shows how a wave of violence gets kicked-off, with certain unfortunate turn of events that happened in someone’s life. And how such scenarios might sometimes create unforgiving killers.

Psychologist Anwar Hussain (Kunchacko Boban) gets introduced to the murder case of a policeman by his friend and cop Anil (Jinu Joseph). As he tries to connect the circumstantial clues, the situation gets complicated further with more deaths, puzzling both Anwar and the police department. How they nab the culprit and the backstories of the events form the turf of Anjaam Pathira.

Murderous psychopaths lurking in the shadows and the reasons that made them so sinister have always fascinated both movie makers and audience alike. Anjaam Pathira gets most of the elements right to tell such a tale in the most engaging fashion – disturbing yet curiosity-triggering murders, a killer who employs gruesome techniques on victims, an ace psychological investigator, creepy masks, the dark descent in someone’s life that makes them a killer, simple, yet suspenseful development of events and a dimly lit atmosphere in which the tale unfurls. A genuine attempt to make the story as novel yet relevant in the current scenario is also evident.

Kunchacko Boban gives the right demeanour to Anwar Hussain, as do the rest of the cast. The performances of Mathew Thomas and Indrans, though just in a few scenes, are also arresting enough for one to feel uneasy and so is the portrayal of the bad man by another prominent actor, whose name is best kept under wraps so we don’t let out any spoilers. The portrayal of the gruesome acts of the murderer are also shown without traumatising the viewers too much.

At the same time, the intro portions, which was probably woven into the larger plot intending to give us a better understanding of the developments, doesn’t seem to add much to the story. The climax sequence also isn’t as hard hitting as one would expect, going by how the story tightens its screws till big revelations are made. Certain critical questions viewers might feel within are only answered painting word pictures, making their effect on the story trivial. The stifling, yet enjoyable, tension that should bind one till the end in such a story is also lost, just about half an hour before the movie wraps up.

The film ties together a handful of gruesome killings to tell its story and those who have the stomach for it can find Anjaam Pathira a movie worth its running time.