Aranmanai 4 movie review: Age old formula & redundant plot twists serve this horror film for kids well, adults stay away

Cast: Sundar C, Raashii Khanna, Tamannaah Bhatia, Kovai Sarala, Yogi Babu

Director: Sundar C

Aranmanai 4 is the fourth film in the franchise that has been repeatedly panned by the critics for different reasons. Yet, the producers have managed to release another iteration, also directed by Sundar C. The film stars the director, along with Raashii Khanna and Tamannaah Bhatia in lead roles. Aranmanai 4 may be a horror film, but the target audience is clearly not adults. The number of holes in this paper-thin plot are too easy to pick apart. Yet, if you were to look at it from the perspective of a child, the film can be turned on its axis entirely. While I did find the laughs and scares too silly or even jarring at certain places, there is potential in these scenes as the kids in the theaters seemed to enjoy it. So, that’s the truth about Aranmanai series that we must take with a pinch of salt.

Now, let us look as this film outside of it catering to a juvenile audience. The story of Aranmanai 4 is something that we have all seen before. A powerful ghost ends up getting freed by an innocent young girl, following which the ghost decides to continue its journey towards attaining power. In this film, the power comes at the cost of three lives, and one of the lives is closely connected to the main character. I believe the main character is Selvi, a mother of two children who lives a peaceful life in domestic bliss, in the company of a thoughtful and loving husband. However, Baaku, aka the power hungry ghost destroys everything that Selvi holds dear. Her brother Saravanan ( Sundar C ) ends up reconnecting with his sister’s family after an unfortunate incident, thereby bringing the presence of ghosts into his life.

As a lawyer, Saravanan is logical. As a brother, he is extremely protective of his sister, and the combination of two leads to him trying to make sense of a situation that is nothing but a mess. Unfortunately, the reveal that happens post interval is not the kind that would surprise a seasoned audience. Meaning, we could easily figure out the ghosts’ intentions, and their actions too. Yes, there is not one, but two ghosts; and no, this is not a spoiler.

Through Saravanan’s journey, we realize that there is a way to overthrow the ghost and stop it from committing further crimes. We follow along for the most part not because it’s exciting or its funny, but because, here is a film that has delivered exactly what it promised. Even as I watched this shapeshifting evil ghost slap Yogi Babu a hundred times in the hopes of eliciting laughter from the audience, I was not angry at the filmmakers for putting me through this experience. Yes, I did grit my teeth multiple times at the silliness of it all, but it was all as I had expected. The difference this added to my movie-watching experience, to be honest, is huge.

So, Aranmanai 4 is exactly as it seems on the surface. A silly horror movie made purely to attract young kids with its so-called humour, and as a result, successfully hooks in the family audience. If you can gloss past the glaring issue of pace in the first half, and an overall insipid plot just in favour of juvenile humour, then this film is definitely for you.

Rating: 1.5 (out of 5 stars)

Aranmanai 4 is playing cinemas