The murder of the person who later becomes the kind spirit occurs suddenly and without much drama, swiftly transitioning to the present moment.
The initial 20-30 minutes of Haroon’s film ‘7/G’ offer a refreshing take on horror in an urban environment, moving away from the typical haunted mansions of rural settings. While familiar tropes like frantic floor-to-floor chases and malfunctioning escalators resonate with our daily experiences, setting this apart from the usual haunted house narratives that demand our active engagement. The promising start hints at ‘7/G’ potentially joining the ranks of acclaimed Tamil urban horror flicks like ‘Shock,’ ‘Yaavarum Nalam,’ and ‘Eeram.’ Yet, as the story unfolds, following the housewarming of Rajiv (played by Roshan Basheer), an IT professional, and Varsha (portrayed by Smruthi Venkat) in their new apartment, tensions quickly arise. Envy and scheming neighbors threaten the family’s peace, intertwined with the mysterious challenges posed by the apartment itself. The narrative revolves around whether this family can navigate these dual crises. While the film initially maintains intrigue with its character dynamics and portrayal of the upscale IT lifestyle, the introduction of benevolent and malevolent spirits marks a turning point. The storyline falters as it delves into supernatural elements, losing the grip it initially held. Movies centered around benevolent spirits often aim to evoke empathy through poignant backstories, contrasting with the portrayal of malevolent spirits to evoke fear and antipathy.
The bad guy in the movie is not well developed, and the actor doesn’t quite fit the role either. None of the characters really stand out. It would’ve been okay if they had some scary moments that delivered. Also, it would’ve been better if the male characters were written with more depth instead of just being portrayed as crude. The way they were written seems like a quick way to transition between scenes with a lot of sexual content, which ends up feeling forced. The flashback scenes fail to make us feel for the characters, and we start losing empathy for the director Haroon due to his questionable writing choices in the second half.
Another big issue is the dialogue. The lines sound too artificial and don’t feel like something real people would say. This problem is made worse by the fact that the lines are delivered by characters that lack depth. It’s like the director thought the actors couldn’t convey anything without spelling it out, so the dialogues end up being painfully obvious. For instance, a character wakes up from a bad dream and says, “Oh, it was just a dream,” as if we couldn’t figure that out.
One common flaw in horror movies is the lack of logic, and ‘7/G’ falls into this trap too. A guruji, who was portrayed as a black magic expert causing chaos in the first half, turns into a comic relief in the pre-climax scene. This shift not only ruins the intensity needed for the scene but also undermines the build-up from the effective first half.
The horror movie 7/G has its moments and delivers some good scares in the first half. It’s refreshing to see the female characters taking the lead in ghost-hunting, while the male characters step back. However, these positive aspects are overshadowed by poor execution and a lackluster second half. Instead of just feeling let down by the disappointing turn of events, it’s frustrating to see the film waste the potential it showed initially. 7/G could have been more effective if there was no good spirit involved, and the family faced the evil spirit alone. A more concise and straightforward screenplay could have improved the overall impact.
Title: 7/G
Director: Haroon Rasheed
Starring: Roshan Basheer, Smruthi Venkat, Sonia Agarwal, Siddharth Vipin, Subramaniya Siva
Rating: 2/5 stars
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