Fake Horror Movie Review

Fake Horror Movie Review

Submitted this for a zine – review of a fake horror movie.

I have been looking around for an international horror movie to review. After the recent success of RRR, I figured I’d check out more movies from the South Indian Telugu movie Industry (Tollywood.) If you have been living under a rock and haven’t heard of RRR, I would highly recommend watching both the “RRR Pitch Meeting” and “RRR Honest Trailers” on YouTube to get an idea of the sensation that is Telugu movies.

Damn Dayam (Damn Ghost) is a straight-to-VHS gem and a crossover movie: made by Tollywood starring Hollywood celebrity. They apparently spared no expense. The story starts, as all horror movies do, with a closeup of a tall, burly, handsome man. We then pan out to watch him throw a wispy looking woman and her puppy down the stairs, shoot them, and then chainsaw their bodies into pieces. Which part is puppy and which part is lady is a jumble the cops will need to solve.

There is a lot to like in this high-budget B-movie. Lighting, cinematography, and direction could give Hollywood horror a run for its money. The mies-en-scene rivals The Exorcist. They didn’t have to go so hard on the soundtrack but they did.

This movie has it all – gore, jump scares, a feeling of impending doom, characters being stupid, plot-convenient ghost powers, and – very important to any movie genre – skimpily clad actors. Skimp on men, skimp on women- there is no discrimination. There are also enough subplots to keep you engaged for the three hour runtime; you definitely get your money’s worth.
The downside is obviously the runtime.

They get a bit heavy-handed on their metaphors, but over all I’d give it a solid 3 souls out of 5. It’s a John Wick meets Taken Telugu horror!

I am unhappy with some of the plot points. If you haven’t watched the movie, beware, spoilers ahead.

My main complaint is that I never understood the motives of the Vampire Centaur. Was he trying to make more vampires to raise an army? Was he trying to win the horse race? Was it all a distraction so the Dayam could continue her plan of avenging her puppy’s death?
Who was the man that killed the woman and the puppy? Is the Dayam the woman or is it someone else? What were the motives? Are the subplots resolved? To answer these, we have to wait for part two – Dayam Damned.