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Black Dahlia, actor Baburaj's debut directorial venture, leaves much to be desired.
By Thomas T  2 Stars
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1.5 stars With all the screams and shrieks in tact, with all the frights and fights in place, did I hear someone murmur contrived and gimmicky? Well perhaps, and with a bit sharper writing, it wouldn't have been alternately peppery and prosaic as it is. - VN    Tue, 12 May 2009
Black Dahlia has little in common with the De Palma directed film of the same name (2006) that starred Josh Hartnett and Scarlett Johannson. Except that they are murder mysteries, and quite dark ones at that.

It's an intriguing title indeed. But this is no single story of an Elizabeth Short who was gruesomely slaughtered eons ago. Rather, a bunch of medical students who lives it up to the hilt blowing up money like there was no tomorrow, are shell shocked beyond their wits, when they find one among themselves thrown off a terrace. Days of terror unleash before the girls, as one by one, they get bumped off by an assassin on the run. For DIG Daisy Wilfred (Vani Vishwanath) this is a race against time, as the clock ticks away into more murder and mayhem with each passing hour.

There is simply no point in nitpicking the illogicalities in the script. Black Dahlia isn't the kind of film that claims that it has any other intentions other than driving a mass forward on the waves of curiosity. The suspense that turns out to be a prerequisite in a film as this is never let off even for a moment. The zero expectations that the film has mustered have actually worked in favor of it tremendously. With minimum anticipations, the film works up an energy of its own that it admirably maintains till the very end.

It can't be denied that at times, Black Dahlia feels like a screenwriting exercise for Baburaj that finally ended up on a producer's desk. Coming up with the most unlikely character one can imagine, and then working out ways to spawn some sympathy for the poor soul has been a ploy that most writers have dappled with. There are moments when it's smart, tense and creepy as well, and hence it's sad that it soon gets buried under a giant load of claptrap.

There is no psychopathic killer on the loose here. It all comes down to revenge eventually, and the story burns its tyres, swerving this way and that to steer clear of that cul-de-sac. The culmination is what disappoints most, and it isn't really hard for you to nail down that culprit if you have been watching those spine chillers by the dozen.

What's indeed appalling is the supporting cast that gets to play the girls in distress. It is indeed a rare occasion when just about everyone in a small crowd as this displays an absolute incapability to act. Vani Vishwanath though, makes up for the rest of the hamming with a compelling feat that could very easily be termed a fabulous comeback.

Baburaj seems to have gone hook, line and sinker for the slash-it-on-your-face kinda editing, joining hands with Don Max. I don't know if it's the right way to put it across, but the Shaji Kailasian feel that lingers all over could be ascribed to the technical team. Sukumar's camera glides across blood and gore abundantly supported by an earsplitting score by Rajamani.

With all the screams and shrieks in tact, with all the frights and fights in place, did I hear someone murmur contrived and gimmicky? Well perhaps, and with a bit sharper writing, it wouldn't have been alternately peppery and prosaic as it is.


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