The Priest

Story: The culprits behind multiple deaths in a family over a few years are exposed, but there is more to it than meets the eye

Review: The Priest is an investigative thriller and typically for a whodunnit, it is full of red herrings. Mammootty plays a priest-detective, and there's a reason for this combination.

The film starts with the investigation into the multiple deaths in a family over a few years. Any resemblance to a sensational case that took place in Kerala last year can be quickly dismissed.

Mammootty is approached by a young woman from the family to investigate the deaths. But there is more to the story, as the film slowly unfolds.

Nikhila plays a schoolteacher playing helping a troubled child. Even as she resists the priest, Fr Carmen Benedict's help, she finds that only he understands the forces that are at play in her situation.

With a script by Shyam Menon and Deepu Pradeep, debut director Jofin T Chacko delivers capably on the scares with never-ending loud noises and 'unpleasant' surprises, but the problem with upping the horror factor is that if the end doesn't deliver, it could seem anti-climatic, which is what happens with The Priest. At 140 minutes, the story seems to drag on and you can't take another loud crash, bang or scream. The sound department has done a good job, but has gone a little on the extreme side.

Mammootty is flawless as the spiritual detective. Manju Warrier delivers her usual strong performance (spoiler alert in brackets, albeit in a small role) and Nikhila Vimal ably complements Mammootty as the fearful spectator to his unflappable demeanor. All the smaller actors have done a good job, particularly the little girl.

If you are a fan of thrillers, you might be happy about some of the novel elements in this one.