Movie: Iruttarai
Director: Jagdish Thambaiah
Cast: MG Abhinaya, Venkat Subha, Subramaniya Siva
Streaming on: Aha
Genre: Horror Comedy
It’s just something in horror movies that always make you hit play, although deep down inside you know you’ll probably regret it later on. Iruttarai seems to try the same approach, blending horror, comedy, romance and adding some commercial elements into the mix. This movie is currently available for streaming on Aha.
But then, does Iruttarai scare you or is it comedy?
What is it all about?
In the movie, the love story of the hero and heroine who aren’t having the best relationship in the world. The hero’s weird ways and behaviour lead to difficulties between them. In one scene, the heroine chooses to spend time at her friend’s place.
And that’s where everything gets interesting.
Having nothing better to do with herself, she simply decides to play the horror video game. From entertainment to horror, a supernatural entity enters the house.
Soon, strange things begin happening. When her friend joins her, the two realise that they are not alone in the house. From there, the film moves between scary situations, comedy and attempts to figure out exactly what this mysterious entity wants.
The mystery surrounding the ghost and the reason behind its arrival eventually becomes the main driving force of the story.
How is it?
Iruttarai clearly doesn’t want to be a serious, dark horror film throughout. It keeps jumping between horror, comedy and relationship drama. That makes the movie relatively easy to watch, especially for viewers who prefer their horror with a lighter side.
It is not difficult to recognize the concept of introducing the supernatural presence in the plot via the horror video game, but this film attempts to make its own fun out of it. Not all of the situations succeed.
There is a gradual introduction of the main characters until the point when supernatural forces become predominant. Once this happens, the pace becomes faster and there are enough crazy situations to maintain it.
The comedy is very much part of the package. So if you’re expecting a genuinely frightening horror experience from beginning to end, this may not be that film. The movie is more interested in giving you a mix of scares, laughs, romance and twists.
The mystery angle is probably the more interesting part. Why has the ghost arrived? What does it want? And what exactly is the truth behind all these strange incidents? The film keeps these questions alive until the later portions.
Performances
MG Abhinaya takes on the important task of portraying the emotions and horror parts of the movie. She has enough screen time to create an impact when things start getting really scary for her character.
Venkat Subha and Subramaniya Siva lend their efforts to provide some of the comic relief in the film.
Although not the reason why one should watch this movie, the performances suit the horror-comedy genre.
Final Verdict
Iruttarai is just a normal horror-comedy movie that doesn’t try to be anything more than what it is. It is a film with all the elements of horror, comedy, a bit of romance and mystery to keep the plot going.
Do not go into this expecting a hardcore horror film. More like a casual OTT watch with different elements in one place.
If you love Tamil horror-comedies with some ghosts, eerie circumstances, and comedy in them, then Iruttarai on Aha is definitely for you.
Bottom Line: Horror-Comedy with a creepy storyline and a supernatural mystery plot.
