Boomika Movie Review: Boomika is an eco-horror film, written and directed by Rathindran R Prasad. Presented by Karthik Subbaraj, the movie stars Aishwarya Rajesh in the lead, along with debutantes Surya Ganapathy, Vidhu and Madhuri. Roberto Zazzara serves as the cinematographer, Anand Geraldin is the editor, while Chandrasekhar has scored the music for Boomika, that has seen a straight release on Netflix. OTT Releases Of The Week: Kunal Kapoor’s The Empire on Disney+ Hotstar, Barkha Singh’s Engineering Girls Season 2 on ZEE5, Aishwarya Rajesh’s Boomika on Netflix and More.

On the face of it, there is nothing extraordinary that Boomika might have to offer for a horror aficionado. You have a group of youngsters - a couple Samyuktha (Aishwarya Rajesh) and Gowtham (Vidhu) with their autistic son, Gowtham's sister Aditi (Madhuri) and his environmentalist BFF Gayathri (Surya Ganapathy) - who come to a secluded mansion right in the middle of wilderness that is only inhabited by a caretaker Dharman (Pavel Navageethan). Then of course, that very night, all hell breaks loose there. Electricity goes out, doors shut on their own and vehicles won't start. And of course, since this is a 21st century ghost, the mobiles are the first to be hijacked. As with most horror films in Tamil, there is also an elongated flashback explaining the tragic backstory of the spirit and why it is so murderous. (PS: also how many times have we seen movies turn mentally handicapped characters into vengeful ghosts?)

Watch the Trailer:

But Boomika, while adhering to the usual horror-house tropes, doesn't claim to be a usual horror film. It is a horror film with a message. Boomika is what the makers like to call 'eco horror'. For the unaware, eco-horror is a sub-genre of fiction where the environment attacks you back for all you did to them.

There are some prime examples in this sub-genre. I could recall the 1978 Australian film Long Weekend, directed by Colin Eggleston (which also got a 2008 remake starring Jim Caviezel). There is also M Night Shyamalan's awful The Happening, where plants make humans commit suicide, and has Mark Wahlberg talk to a plastic plant in one of the most WTF cinematic moments of this century. Closer home, there is also Kaal, the Karan Johar production starring Ajay Devgn and John Abraham. Happy Birthday Aishwarya Rajesh! 15 Times This South Beauty Showed Her Love For Indian Outfits!

Now the one thing that is common between Kaal and Boomika, that actually doesn't really make them honest to being eco horror as they don't avoid a paranormal presence. Yet the intentions of Boomika has to be appreciated, and the film is poignant about its messaging - of how Man is forcing the Nature to retaliate by playing God.

The portions that I loved the best in Boomika comes between the second and the third act. And it involves the caretaker Dharman who gives an interesting take on the perfunctory flashback scene that came moments before. Too much delving into this might prove SPOILER-ish, so I would end it here, but these are scenes that changes the perception of who is the real evil in the story. Although I must say, 2.0 did the same thing a couple of years back. Remember Pakshirajan? Which reminds me, what's with these movies having their ghosts so aptly named after things they are obsessed with?

As a horror film, though, Boomika is less scary and at times, lazy (especially the climax sequence, when we see the spirit finally and it is anything but scary). Rather, the film aims to be more intriguing as to what is the mystery behind the spooky happenings. Nothing that you can't really solve on your own, though. Some of the CGI used - especially to create animals and birds - feel like, well, CGI!

There is also a not-so-little loophole that I would want to point out, that jars when you are told why the spirit is so malevolent. (Minor SPOILER here) It first makes its presence felt through Gayathri's cellphone, which does goes against the ghost's code of conduct. Considering mobile phones have radiation that affects animals and birds, and from the spirit's backstory, we know that it didn't know how to operate one, or would have cared to even have one, wouldn't the spirit have used some errr... 'natural' ways to put its message across? Also, for all the messaging about Nature wanting to strike back, why would it need to employ the services of a ghost? Isn't Mother Nature capable of doing enough damage to humanity on its own? When you really think about it, you can deduce that Boomika haunts on some very shaky grounds.

The performances are good enough, though. Aishwarya Rajesh does well as the calm and composed Samyuktha. Surya Ganapathy makes an impressive debut. Madhuri may come across as annoying, but that has more to do with her character rather than anything else. As Samyuktha says at one point, Fear acts differently on different people, and in case of Aditi, it turns her paranoid and scaredy, and she stays that way throughout. Vidhu is imposing and does his part as required, but his role felt restricted to either being aggressive or cocky. The latter, especially in some very inopportune moments, like when he realises the spirit haunting them is not of someone they thought to be. Pavel Navageethan shines the film's best scene when he deconstructs what the ghost stands for.

Yay!

- Well-Intentioned, With a Couple of Good Scenes that Sticks to the Message.

Nay!

- Tries to be Subversive But Cements Itself to Usual Tropes

Final Thoughts

Boomika brings attention to a very crucial cause, that deserves to be more talked about everywhere and everytime. It is likeable for that intention itself, but as a horror film, Boomika only passes muster. The film is streaming on Netflix.

Rating:2.5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 23, 2021 07:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).