Athruptha movie review: An effective, shocking Kannada horror movie

Athruptha, directed by Nagesh Kylanpur and starring Arjun Yogesh Raj and Shruthi Raj is a shocking and harrowing story of a married couple who shift to a new house before they plan their Honeymoon, but the house is infested with some evil spirits that won’t let them go. Thus, the movie becomes a survival tale of the married couple who want to save themselves from doom, and also try to uncover the truth about the house itself. The story is effective and there are plenty of jump scare moments that are going to send a chill down the spine of many people, but it is the performances of the lead pair that is the most impressive.

Shruthi Raj, in particular is very good in conveying the slowly seeping horror of the house and her own strength even as everything around her seems to crumble. Arjun Yogesh is also able to convey the change in his moods and behavior as the evil spirit begins to take over the house, and later on, on him.

The movie has a very striking resemblance to the hit Hollywood franchise, Paranormal Activities, in which the scares are effective because they take their time and never overload the sensation of the people. There is also very good use of music in the movie, that is, it is used sparingly and is never misused. The ending of the movie could create frustration in the audience, as there is a little underwhelming feeling because the story is just not that strong. The effects used in the movie are also quite week, and one can sense that the producers didn’t want to spend, or could not spend too much on it, hence, the feeling that if there had been a better technical support, it could have had an even larger impact on the audience. Still, its a very scary movie and people should watch it.