Not every horror film begins with a haunted house or an abandoned mansion. KA-18 takes a different route. Set over the course of a single night, the film unfolds on an isolated stretch of road where two people find themselves caught in a series of unsettling events.

Launched recently with a traditional muhurat ceremony, KA-18 is written and directed by Mohan Chikki and produced by ATM Manju under the Appaji Productions banner. The project also marks Manju's acting debut as a leading man. The film is being made simultaneously in Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam.

The cast includes ATM Manju, Tanisha Kuppanda and Sonia Rawat, who is also associated with the film as co-producer and will appear in a special song. Deepu plays the antagonist, while Vardhan, Viji and Pooja round out the supporting cast.

Chikki describes the film as a horror-suspense thriller centred on two principal characters, playing out between 6 pm and 6 am. Rather than relying on constant jump scares, he says the narrative gradually introduces different elements as the night progresses. The makers plan to complete the film's shoot in a single schedule in Chikkamagaluru.

Interestingly, the initial idea for the story came from a real-life experience. Manju says he revisited an incident he witnessed during a trip to Kemmannugundi with his father in 2000. That memory eventually grew into the premise of KA-18, where a journey to investigate the reason behind an underdeveloped stretch of road takes an unexpected turn. As the characters move deeper into unfamiliar terrain, they encounter a series of obstacles that blur the line between rational explanation and superstition.

Tanisha Kuppanda, who plays Ankita, says her character travels through a forest route with a stranger, forcing her to confront situations that test instinct, trust and survival. If the film delivers on its premise, KA-18 could find its appeal in atmosphere as much as in scares.