Pizza stood out as an embodiment of revolutionising the horror genre in the Indian film industry. It brought about dawn of a new era. Ever since then, the directors have altered their vision towards fabricating an intelligent yet intriguing plot to portray horror with a pinch of other genres, usually. Kudos to Karthik Subbaraj who ingeniously through his narrative made the world witness one hell of a movie, both literally and figuratively speaking.
Karthik Subbaraj mesmerised the audience with his art of direction through his very first movie. The movie had a formidable base with several highs and lows all the way through. The enormous, deserted mansion, trinkets that frighten you out of your wits, tunes that presage adverse and the spirits that scream out of nowhere, are the true justifications of a horror movie. But the eeriness reaches ridiculous heights when the first 30 mins of the movie are spent in scaring the protagonist and the audience. The major wonder while watching the film is going to be the question of how the maker would untangle the stories snared in knots? But he managed to pull it off quite well.
Pizza is primarily hallmarked as an impactful movie in Vijay Sethupathi’s career which opened up a new phase in the film industry for him. The evolution of acting has begun in 2012 after this movie or maybe this was when he truly made us all witness his true potential to score big in movies. He is shown as a pizza delivery boy in this movie after his rustic role in Thenmaerkku Paruvakaatru and a small-town guy in Sasikumar’s Sundara Pandian. When a pizza delivery boy enters a bungalow that’s filled with deep, dark secrets, little does he know that his job has gotten him into big trouble? The movie’s premise was completely based on the protagonist’s belief that divinity and paranormal activity is a sham. He has played his part well by exploiting his fears with maturity and restraint.
The plot and the visualisation are top-notch. From creepy creatures crawling around the dead bodies in slow-mo, Pizza leaves no stone unturned to send chills down your spine. Though there’s hardly any path-breaking innovation in terms of offering those creepy ghosts more thrillingly and interestingly.
It is the screenplay that doesn’t render much help. And that’s why you feel restless in the first hour or so of the movie. But the twist in the tale works pretty well. Truth is stranger than fiction, mainly because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t. The notion of introducing a supernatural element to conclude the otherwise engaging drama is what works flawlessly for the crew. An inadequately constructed plot twist here would have dampened the taste and the essence of this Pizza. The liberal transition of the horror tale from fiction to fact lacks shock value. The twist doesn’t surprise you to the extent that you want to jump out of your seat if not out of your skin. It simply draws a sigh of relief to acknowledge that the makers have tried to pull off something unique.
The cast of the movie has done its job well. Remya Nambeesan has justified her main but petty role alongside Sethupathi. The makers could’ve used her in a much better way. Pooja Ramachandran and Bobby Simha have their dead-pan zombie expressions spot on, kudos! But the bizarre end, the fact to fiction and back to an unconvincing fact-you get it only when you watch it, leaves a memorable taste in your mouth, but you find yourself craving a more logical end.
In a nutshell, pizza is a great watch on a rainy weekend evening majorly because it’s a breezy watch. You might like the toppings served differently, but if you have got an appetite for a cheesy twist offered in the end, this is for you.
