Ratsasan Review: Don’t miss this thrilling suspense drama

When his dreams of becoming a director shatter, Arun Kumar takes up the job of a Sub Inspector, a post held by his late father. He then begins to work on a case, where he has to track down a psycho serial killer who spares no young school girl. However, the route to solving the case is an unpredictable mess that costs heavily for Arun.

The plot of director Ramkumar’s Ratsasan is what suspense thrillers are made of. Right from the word go! The film keeps you hooked to an extent where you want to shriek! The film is a competently made thriller that’s got you going nuts guessing who the killer really is.

Ratsasan is a film that constantly creates tension. The swift pace of the screenplay is a bonus in the first half. Special points to the scene where the film introduces a math professor and the terrible way he treats his female students. You just want to cry for help when you begin to notice his devious ways. To be honest, I was seating at the edge of my seat, startled. It’s not every day that the audience reacts to scenes in the film, that’s probably the strength of Ratsasan.

The story of Ratsasan is not something everyone would be comfortable watching. It is dark, creepy and horrifying, however, director Ram treats it with utmost sensitivity. It is made without making too many commercial compromises in form of songs or forced humor. In one point in the film, Arun faces a personal loss. One may imagine that the film will take a melodramatic route from here, and just when it begins to do so, the portion is wrapped up quite quickly. This is a plus and minus for the film as the scene isn’t staged as intense as it should be. Ramadoss delivers very well in the emotional scene, but his wife in the film remains clueless. The part where Arun’s mother and sister vanish after their 1-minute appearance isn’t a negative but it did feel abrupt.

However, as the film proceeds to the second half, it begins to move along slowly, a contrast to the riveting theme of the film.

Another one of the film’s strength lies in its characters – Arun Kumar and Christopher. Take the case of the revealing the villain, which was brought out so skillfully keeping in mind the thrill. I was taken by surprise when this was revealed, it blew me because of its fresh idea and the fact that it was done by a relatively unknown actor. The film shines well, also because of Vishnu Vishal, who is in fantastic form. He looks dashing as the diligent, curious and sincere police officer. The lady police officer was such a brilliant find. Her character would make one want to hate her. The actor who played the school teacher got completely into the skin of the character that one would feel disgusted learning about him. Amala Paul does well in her supporting role. Ghibran‘s music adds the perfect quality to suit the mood of each scene.

Overall, Ratsasan is a disturbing, gut-wrenching drama that will have you engrossed. In 2018, its Kollywood’s most engaging suspense thrillers, yet.