Set in Mumbai, “44” is an intriguing horror/thriller that makes you think. It’s advertised as indie horror on a ‘shoestring budget,’ and the remarkable thing about it is it flows as easily as it does. With $5,000, Dhwani Shah writes and directs a picture that is atmospheric, a slow-burn, and, importantly, interesting. The film keeps you guessing until the end, and leaves questions after the credits roll. And at 17 minutes in length, is a wholly digestible experience.
What I liked about the introduction to “44” is the way Shah subverts your expectations from the start. A trio of young adults are anxiously waiting for a buyer for a drug sale, and one friend (Pragati Mishra) is urging them to abandon the sale. It turns out she called the police (or was forced to). But while Mishra was talking and warning, I felt she was the protagonist we would follow. So when the cops arrive, and it’s another friend, Stu (played well by Sarah Hashmi), who runs, you’re kind of thrown out of left field. She runs into an abandoned building, working her way up to the top as she evades the cops, in a decision that changes her life forever.
A Level of Macabre You Can Feel
We then embark on a journey with Stu as she discovers, to her horror, that she is trapped on the 44th floor. The inside of the building is pitch dark (this takes place at night after all), and light from the moon and the city outside provide the only illumination. It also helps that the cinematography from Vishnu Tenkayala obscures the colorization: we feel this movie is black in white, even though it’s in full color, which adds a layer of macabre to it that’s hard to place. We watch as Stu walks down stairs, up stairs, and in the film’s most impressive sequence even takes a constructions elevator down—and always ends back up on level 44.
Amidst this, Shah invites us to feel Stu’s horror with an ambient score (courtesy of Ashwin Syam), and the surreptitious movements of another person in the building Stu believes to be following her. The sound here—clanging metal and muffled screams—add to the movie’s intensity. And all the while, Stu walks up and down stairs that go nowhere, and at one point discovers an invisible wall. Her terror intensifies until she comes to a horrific realization about the other figure following her, but more can’t be said. The plot twist in this film is really good, and I won’t even hint at it.
Of Regret, Horror, and Bad Decisions
Sarah Hashmi in a scene from “44.” (Photo submitted by Dhwani Shah).
On top of all this, there’s the fact that Shah isn’t just making a horror picture, but presenting symbolism and thought-provoking concepts here. Back on the ground, before the drug deal, it was her other friend who urged her to leave while there was still time, while another friend (Rudraksh Thakur, also with no character name) packaged the drugs. Stu had no regret and ‘needed the money.’ “44” doesn’t really get into any background information about her, and I don’t think it needed to. Just like another excellent horror indie I’ve reviewed, “Curve,” her predicament itself is harrowing enough to make us empathize with her without much background.
But Shah then dangles questions in front of our minds—especially as the film comes to a close—and the chief takeaway I got was of regret. Had Stu not been part of the drug deal she wouldn’t be in this position. Does she wish she had not done it? Does she wish she could warn herself to stay away? Or was her friend trying to warn her before this whole thing started. I couldn’t help thinking of Christopher Nolan’s immersive “Memento” as the film’s final chapters laid bare. Shah pieces together her closing shots in the manner of backwards engineering, and as you realize what the film’s opening shot represents, it left me pensive.
A Definite Recommend
“44” is a good movie. Though a short, it films like a feature, drawing you in quick and fast and then slowing down, even dragging in some of its middle structure. Yet you want to keep watching until the end. While some parts of the closing could have been enhanced with exposition, you get the impression that would have ruined Shah’s vision. A great performance by the film’s lead and intriguing writing make “44” a definite recommend.
You can watch the full film on YouTube by clicking the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39ItiHdrKLM
“44” is available to watch on YouTube. The film has won honorable mentions and awards at multiple festivals, most recently the New York City Horror Film Festival.
