PRISONERS: What ‘THE CONJURING’ did to horror, ‘PRISONERS’ does to thriller! [3.5/5]

In order to keep you glued to your seats, regular thrillers often try to bomb every trick mentioned in the rulebook on you, one after other. Exhaustively pacey narration, deliberately designed twists, in your face-jaw dropping action, over the top drama and what not…but it all looks so gimmick-so unreal-so unconvincing when you experience Denis Villeneuve’s PRISONERS.

PRISONERS belongs to the same genre but mainly to a minimal sub-part of it that doesn't believe in all those textbook rules and absorbs your soul in its atmospheric mood and the intensity of the actions. The complex human behavior itself plays so hard as an integral motivator that you don’t feel alienated to what is happening on the screen. It is dark, murky, intricate, violent, layered, riveting and a pure thriller to enjoy-indulge & invade!

When law enforcement agencies [Jake Gyllenhaal as an out-and-out dedicated police detective] find it hard to book a possible suspect in a child-abduction case lacking enough evidential proofs, father of one such girl [Huge Jackman, riding high on emotions rather than showing muscular strength] decides to take charge in his hands, illegally of course. But the density in the maze to track down the offender is so thick that even a far-sighted would need to think twice before guessing who’s behind all.

From the very first frame, film creates a perfect ambiance for a thriller with the suspenseful chilly-frosty-foggy woods of Pennsylvania as the base of events. Camera beautifully captures and extracts the mystical feel from those wooden houses to torch-lit shots used mostly for the dark places to explore and investigate. But as I have made it clear above, the focus is always on how human behavior gets adulterated by the heat of the situation and complexities take over. And to show it better, nothing but the performances emerge as the winner. 

Two towering infernos here are subtle at the most parts but when the break down happens, you should never miss a moment. The way Jake reproaches his supervisor for not being supportive is hilarious. The way Jackman as a helpless father shows his angst and aggravation while torturing the possible suspect in his illegal custody is disturbingly bone-chilling. His hard-to-break instinct to believe that the man in his charge is the culprit they all are looking out for is very contagious.

The name Denis Villeneuve is well-associated with the Oscar-nominated incest-thriller INCENDIES. That was a complete awe-striking movie that takes your breath away with its exceptional ending. This is not that but still a genre-defying effort. 

One or two not-so hard-to crack twists, a slow pace that might work in negative to lose your constant consideration and a little drawn out duration of the film [153 min is quite unseen-unexpected for recent Hollywood movies] could easily be avoided if you have an urge to watch good thriller with performances of first rate. This is definitely season’s best. What ‘THE CONJURING’ did to horror, ‘PRISONERS’ does to thriller! [3.5/5]

THE CONJURING: picturesque horror that smells real & fresh [3/5]

The most impressive horror films are that don’t strive to trick you by gimmicks and visual stunts but the ones that make you succumbed to the indecisive ambiance of the happenings and the unsure serenity of the site....and, to your good luck, if it comes with the ‘based on true story’ tag, chances are on positive side that you are going to have a lethally overwhelming movie-viewing experience of a good horror film, just as I had with James Wan’s THE CONJURING!

Film wipes off the layers of dust from a super-natural case, successfully buried in the history by Ed and Lorraine Warren- famous professional paranormal researchers of 1970’s. It was the time when supernatural practices like exorcism were authorized by churches. In such circumstances, the Warrens are called off to investigate paranormal activities in the sweet home of a family having 5 young innocent daughters.

The fact that the incidents are as real as it could be and the riveting direction with all the earnestness and integrity to keep it equally simple & subtle, makes it much more than regular horror flicks. So, you might have to wait in length for your first encounter with the unknown as the film in first half intelligently does take its own time to set things up for you. But trust me, once you’re in, you will never find a way out without noticing drastic ups & downs in your pulse-rate and some awe-struck moments where heart comes in mouth. 

Watch out for the scene where one of the girls finds out some paranormal thing looking at her from the dark behind the door, you never see a thing but still you feel as scared as she is. In another, Lorraine the investigator bumps into a sheet of cloth in the air, taking shape of a human body and then disappearing into a woman in the window-glass.

The list is quite long with such acts but despite being a horror film, I don’t consider them the only biggest merits of the film. Others two are the picture-perfect cinematography and the performances. I don’t remember a horror film having such good pleasantly fascinating camera-work, especially in the day-light where narrative focuses on the emotional quotient of the story. Vera Farmiga as an intrepid investigator and an emotionally sensitive mother, switches on & off to both the parts very well. Patrick Wilson as a dedicated ghost-hunter plays it just right.

Overall, THE CONJURING is not a regular but well made-nicely cinematographed exhilarating ride that keeps you caught into your seats with a good number of scary moments. Do not miss it if you love to see yourself scared like anything.  [3/5]