Game Over Review: This Taapsee Pannu Film Has The Right Dose Of Horror And Thriller To Psych You!

I remember when I first saw the trailer of Taapsee Pannu starrer Game Over, I was reminded of Kirpalani’s Phobia starring  Radhika Apte. The plot looked pretty similar but I really wanted to know what the “video game” angle to it would be! Well, now that I have watched both, I can safely say that yes, these two films do have some similarity, but there are differences as well and they are stark too.

For starters, Game Over sets the mood for the film with the opening sequence itself. With a chilling scene at the very beginning, we knew that this would be a horror/thriller. But this one has the power to get you psyched as well.

The film is about a woman named Swapna, a video game designer and a survivor of a sexual assault, who is trying to deal with the mental trauma and scar that the incident has left her with. She faces “anniversary reaction”- she suffers from panic attacks and starts withdrawing as soon as the day of her assault comes close every year. Incidentally, that day is December 31^st- a day that everyone celebrates as the New Year’s Eve. It is pretty evident that she finds it difficult to survive a new year, something that is manifested by her suicidal tendencies. This film is the story of her survival, against the biggest of odds and how a “memorial tattoo” helps her achieve it.

This film sails through the underlying meaning. On the surface, the plot and especially the second half might look silly. When she faces the notorious serial killer(s), she has to survive. But thanks to the spirit of Amrutha, a girl who was hacked to death after she survived cancer thrice, Swapna gets not one but three lives.

Yes, life will not give us second or third chances. In fact, it ticked me off a little when I realized that there would be not one but three alternative ends here ( Black Mirror much?) But my fellow companion to the movie quite well pointed it out how this was Swapna’s win over her fears, over the fact that she can survive a new year, over her fear of darkness. The climax might not even be real, it might be an entire dream sequence that she sees. The film’s open ending would either make sure that you go home with the satisfaction of watching a great film or by scratching your heads!

The theme here is that of Pacman, a game that Swapna can be seen playing almost all the time. Writers Ashwin Saravanan and Kaavya Ramkumar have brilliantly penned this one and you would need to put quite some concentration and activate your grey cells to grasp its intensity.

Equally brilliant is the film’s cinematography. A. Vasanth captures minute details in this one. But all of this was made successful by Taapsee’s brilliant performance, along with Vinodhini Vaidyanathan" rel="nofollow">Vinodhini Vaidyanathan who plays the loving caretaker Kalamma. Taapsee puts the heartbeat in this intense film, and one would be able to see how much she had grown as an actress.

I have had just two problems with this movie. One is obviously the dubbing, which sometimes looks jarringly bad. This isn’t that big of a problem though.

The second one is more serious. There is a dialogue in the film where Taapsee says that she should have fought when she was being assaulted- “Chaahe jaan chali jaati, par ladna toh chahiye tha.” This is linked later to her fight with the killer. In a broader perspective, we know why this dialogue was integrated. But on a closer look, this is the very dialogue that kind of gives a nod to the concept of “death before humility.” (SPOILER)  No, rape definitely is something that scars the survivor in the deepest possible way. But we should not fan the notion that death is a better option than being raped.

This is a film that would require your full attention. If you are up or an intense film that has horror and psychological thriller mixed in one, definitely go for it. If you are looking for a light watch, then Game Over isn’t a good option!