In “Masooda,” Neelam (Sangeetha), a school teacher, is at her wit’s end when her young daughter Nazia (Bandhavi Sridhar) begins to show signs of demonic possession. With the help of her kind-hearted neighbour Gopi (Thiruveer) and Nargis (Surabhi Prabhavathi)—the latter who lost her family and an eye to the same entity—the single mother resolves to rescue Nazia from the grip of evil before it’s too late.
With its lingering voyeuristic camera shots and sparse yet chilling jump scares, “Masooda” returns to the roots of horror. It harkens to early offerings in the genre such as filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma’s “Raatri,” a work considered a template for modern possession horror. The movie also briefly takes a detour into slasher territory, and watching the entity entrapping the characters with mind games before slaughtering them also manages to keep one engaged despite a slightly lengthy last act.
Handling its Material with Subtlety
The characterisation is another positive. The movie draws parallels between the vulnerability of the mother-daughter duo—who’ve escaped the clutches of a physically violent patriarch—and their susceptibility to the malicious entity that’s unfortunately entered their life just as they’re starting over. The paranormal events also give rise to conflicts in Neelam and Gopi’s respective personal and professional life. Gopi, who claims that an incident involving a possessed lady during his childhood left him traumatised, is particularly rattled to the extent that even beggars with crooked rotting teeth appear as possessed individuals to him. Along with grappling with her mental health, the bright young Nazia’s school life is overturned too.
While “Masooda” features its fair share of tropes, thrills, and twists, it handles the same with subtlety. Considering the minimal budget, the film doesn’t rely on heavy prosthetics or 360-degree head spins for its possession sequences. Instead, bloodshot eyes and a tell-tale grimace or other such small but strange gestures from Nazia serve as a masterclass in showing not telling the audience.
The use of red props/backdrops also reminded me of another horror classic “Eeram,” where a similar colour palette played a key role in its visual storytelling.
Guaranteed to Induce Nightmares
Speaking of colours, Thiruveer oozes likability as major green flag Gopi, effortlessly conveying the character’s cowardice in matters of the heart but simultaneously showing courage when facing off against the supernatural. Sangeetha evokes sympathy with her portrayal of a strong-willed mother; this is one performance I would put on par with Ellen Burstyn’s Chris McNeil from “The Exorcist.”
Bandhavi Sridhar, who plays Nazia, is as unsettling as Revathi in “Raatri.” She treads the fine line between teenage angst and a young woman under the spell of a spirit that refuses to be placated. A brief moment of Nazia removing her glasses, as the spirit manifests itself, can be likened to Revathi’s character Mini looking directly at the camera with unnatural feline eyes that stare into the viewer’s soul.
Suffice to say, “Masooda” is guaranteed to induce night terrors. Watch at your own risk.
*Streaming on Amazon Prime
