Connect review: A half-baked horror thriller with many loose ends

Hyderabad: Nayanthara's 'Connect', a horror thriller, hit the screens on 23 December. Directed by Ashwin Saravanan, the film is produced by Vignesh Shivan. Here's our review:

Susan (Nayanthara) loses her husband (Vinai Rai) to Covid-19. His demise upsets everyone in the family, but it is his daughter Anna who is most affected. One day, she tries to talk to her father's spirit, but things take a wrong turn and an unknown spirit enters her, creating havoc in her body and the family. How will a helpless Susan deal with this situation? Whose help does she take? This is what the film is all about.

The entire film takes place in just two rooms yet, the makers have managed to light up the rooms in such a way as to create a tense mood for the audiences. The climax has been handled well and the scenes where the spirit leaves the body are shown in an interesting way. The young actress who plays Anna has delivered a decent performance.

Anupam Kher plays the exorcist and brings depth to the film with his performance. Vinay Rai was okay in his role though he did not have much screen time. Satyaraj is neat but he hams a lot in the latter part of the film.

Let's talk about the lead performer of the show. Nayanthara is a great performer, there's no doubt about it. She has done a great job in the film. Yet, there is nothing much for her to perform in this film because it is all about the horror elements.

The story is definitely not new. An evil spirit entering the body of a girl, a priest coming to her help—such stories have been told earlier.

What makes the girl want to talk to her dad? Who's the spirit that enters the body of the girl? None of this is explained. It is more or less like a short film extended into a feature film. The camera work, i.e., the visuals, and the BGM need to be top-notch for a horror film. But for 'Connect', they were not up to the mark. The BGM could have been more effective. The Telugu dubbing and production values were fine.

Ashwin Saravanan, the director, is known for making good films. His last film 'Game Over' was a really good movie. But 'Connect', for quite a lot of reasons, doesn't sell.

Generally, horror thrillers keep you hooked, making you curious about the plot. But here, nothing of that sort happens. The execution and thrilling elements of the film could have been better to entertain the audience.

On the whole, Nayanthara's 'Connect' has been poorly executed and is a half-baked film. You can watch it only for Nayanthara. The plot, narration, and thrills are unengaging, making this film a dull watch this weekend.