Murmur movie review: A technically proficient found footage film with horror compromises

What separates a well-made film from a television series is the immersive theatrical experience that the former often offers its audience. Take Murmur, for instance. Murmur is undeniably a technical achievement, boasting strong sound design, cinematography, and editing that contribute to an immersive viewing experience. Yet, despite these strengths, the film struggles to maintain audience engagement, as it prioritises world-building over establishing compelling emotional connections.

In Murmur, a group of content creators goes to Javadhu Hills to document their journey through vlogging. They tag along with a local who acts as their guide through this adventure. The hurdles and conflicts they face form the rest of the film.

Director: Arivazhagan
Cast: Richie Kapoor, Devraj Arumugam, Suganya Shanmugam, Yuvikha Rajendran, Aria Selvaraj

Murmur starts with a piece of text and a radio show-like voiceover that offer an insight into the film's documentary-style making. We see Richie Kapoor's Rishi, Devraj Arumugam's Melvin, and Suganya Shanmugam's Ankitha getting ready for their adventure and sharing their thoughts about it. They play with each other, call each other names, and use small interactions to let the audience understand who they are. This second-person perspective keeps the proceedings quite engaging, if not spectacular. Further, the characters are meticulously set up, and their journey, from an apartment in Chennai to the forest in which they are supposed to shoot content, is detailed. However, we still find it hard to root for the characters.

Rishi, Melvin, Ankitha and Jenifer are joined by Yuvikha Rajendran's Kaantha, the guide for their adventure. Despite extensive character building, the film fails to tell an impactful story, ultimately detracting from the horror and contributing to some indulgence. On the flipside, however, spending this much time with the characters results in clear themes for the film to highlight. Each of the content creators represents a vice. All of them make choices akin to what they represent, and they live and die as a result of those decisions. Rishi, as a person with no direction in his life, who seeks immediate gratification, dies following a loss of focus from his objective. Melvin is an ambitious man who wants to achieve his goal without caring for the consequences of his actions and hence dies due to his never-ending thirst for contentment. Narcissism reigns high with Ankitha, whose fate ends with her dying alone as a result of neglect. Jenifer, the naive one, is never self-sustaining and dies due to a lack of awareness. The representation of these themes throughout makes Murmur feel like a compelling case study of human flaws.

Cinematographer Jason Williams, editor Rohith, and especially sound designer Kewyn Frederick, along with director Hemanth Narayanan, create a technically masterful film. A vlogging setting for the story can make it difficult for a cinematographer to choose the right angles that make sense for it, but Jason Williams uses this to his advantage to portray the story through interesting angles that align with the setting. Editor Rohith uses the presence of multiple cameras for the characters in the story to his advantage. Switching between shots that showcase different characters' perspectives, Rohith makes sure the audience follows the events of the film without being confused by them. Sound designer Kewyn does not falter at any moment as he gives importance to every layer of sound that makes the film feel real.

Hemanth Narayanan's Murmur achieves its ambitious goal of being a technically sound found-footage horror film. Its horror elements, while sparing, do deliver the necessary thrills. However, the flimsy story gets in the way of the technical brilliance and leaves the audience with a sense of unfulfilled potential. A good horror film sets itself up well and delivers a knockout punch—Murmur lacks the latter but still has much to admire.