Zero
Reviews
timesofindia
'You're so easy to love' reads a wall hanging in the apartment of Bala and Priya, the leads of Zero. It is a killer in-joke in a film that deals with the trauma that follows for these two characters who do not have any idea of what is about to happen because of their romance. He is a social worker with a successful lawyer for a father. She is an orphan. They have married against the wishes of his father, who has a valid reason for his reservations about this match. Priya's long-dead mother, Devi had become mentally unstable during her pregnancy to such an extent that even her husband had to leave her. Bala's father is apprehensive that Priya, too, might become crazy. If anything, debutant director Shiv Mohaa is ambitious. He could very easily have turned this construct into a horror film, but he reaches for more. He spins out a Biblical fantasy that starts at the very beginning — the birth of the universe, and races towards a situation that could destroy the balance in the universe. The director keeps things very much ambiguous in the first half. Even though we see that Bala (Ashwin Kakumanu) and Priya (Sshivada) are clearly in love with each other, we can sense that things are off-kilter. Bala keeps running into Solomon (JD Chakravarthy), who speaks to thin air but maintains that he is speaking to his dead wife Andrea. Priya turns real nasty when she is called a thief in a store. She sleepwalks. She hears noises. She gets visions. Of a white serpent. Of her mother taking her into another world, a world that has white women roaming about in a daze. Is it the loneliness at home (she is a university rank holder who says she is content being at home) that is playing a trick on her? Is she imagining these things because she has read her dead mother's diaries and is influenced by those writings? Is she really becoming mentally unstable like her mother, just as Bala's father feared? Even though we are soon told that the answer is none of the above, for a while, these thoughts stop us from predicting what might happen next. Zero is certainly that rare film where the audience is unsure where it will go next. The weirdness in the scenes are, at times, spine-chilling. Like in the scene where Priya is seen talking to Bala and the doorbell rings and she opens the door to find Bala standing there! The scene turns even more bizarre when she finds herself seeing four to five figures who all look like Bala. And when the phone rings, guess who it is on the other line! The filmmaking in these portions is also solid. The film has a surprisingly large number of tight close-up shots and these superbly convey the helplessness of the two characters. The actors are perfect. Ashwin Kakumanu's low-key performance acts as a superb counterpoint to Sshivada's intense turn. The latter is a role that demands a real actress and we can see why the director chose this under-appreciated actress and not a star. She is excellent and shifts her expression from sheer terror to apprehension to vulnerability in a few seconds and sometimes all at once. Even Ravi Raghavendra and Thulasi are perfectly cast. It is only in the second half that Zero's minuses become evident. Once we realise that there is a supernatural element at work, the film loses out on suspense. And while Shiv Mohaa's script actually clearly delineates the events that happen, we somehow begin to get the feeling that things are getting too messy and complicated. Even Solomon's character, which is built up quite a bit as an intriguing one, turns into something of a routine. And once the fantasy element starts to take over the plot, the events, involving a likely end of the world due to a demonic force, feel somewhat similar to that of the underrated 2014 horror film Ra. While that film was bold enough to end on a nihilistic note, Zero sticks to its romantic outlook. Somehow, the latter view doesn't feel satisfying. But most importantly, as the ambition of the plot keeps getting bigger and bigger, the film struggles to match up to it visually. By the time the film ends, we begin to feel that this story might have worked even better as a novel. Perhaps, we all have our own versions of God, Satan, Adam, Eve and Lilith in our heads that whatever that we see on a large screen might not be as impressive.
Movie Recommendation
The Great Wall2016-12-16European mercenaries searching for black powder become embroiled in the defense of the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.More...
Kabali2016-07-22A gangster in Malaysia goes in search of his family after 25 years of imprisonment.More...
Vaaliba Raja2016-03-25A man who has difficulty in choosing between two girls for his life partner approaches a psychiatrist for help.More...
Oppenheimer2023-07-19The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.More...
Julieta2016-04-08The film spans 30 years in Julieta’s life from a nostalgic 1985 where everything seems hopeful, to 2015 where her life appears to be beyond repair and she is on the verge of madness.More...
Boss Level2021-02-19A former special forces agent is trapped in a time loop and relives his death over and over again. To escape the terrible situation, he must track down those responsible and stop them.More...
Tenet2020-08-22Armed with only one word - Tenet - and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.More...
Joker2019-10-01During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.More...
The Suicide Squad2021-07-28Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese.More...
Cruella2021-05-26In 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, a young grifter named Estella is determined to make a name for herself with her designs. She befriends a pair of young thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they are able to build a life for themselves on the London streets. One day, Estella’s flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness von Hellman, a fashion legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute. But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable and revenge-bent Cruella.More...
Mulan2020-09-04When the Emperor of China issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Chinese Army to defend the country from Huns, Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father. She is spirited, determined and quick on her feet. Disguised as a man by the name of Hua Jun, she is tested every step of the way and must harness her innermost strength and embrace her true potential.More...
PK2014-12-18A stranger in the city asks questions no one has asked before. Known only by his initials, the man's innocent questions and childlike curiosity take him on a journey of love, laughter and letting go.More...
South Park: Post COVID: The Return of COVID2021-12-16If Stan, Kyle and Cartman could just work together, they could go back in time to make sure Covid never happened. But traveling back to the past seems to be the easy answer until they meet Victor Chaos.More...
Enola Holmes2020-09-23While searching for her missing mother, intrepid teen Enola Holmes uses her sleuthing skills to outsmart big brother Sherlock and help a runaway lord.More...
Eden Lake2008-09-12When a young couple goes to a remote wooded lake for a romantic getaway, their quiet weekend is shattered by an aggressive group of local kids. Rowdiness quickly turns to rage as the teens terrorize the couple in unimaginable ways, and a weekend outing becomes a bloody battle for survival.More...
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)2020-02-05Harley Quinn joins forces with a singer, an assassin and a police detective to help a young girl who had a hit placed on her after she stole a rare diamond from a crime lord.More...
19172019-12-25At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers.More...
Soul2020-12-25Joe Gardner is a middle school teacher with a love for jazz music. After a successful audition at the Half Note Club, he suddenly gets into an accident that separates his soul from his body and is transported to the You Seminar, a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child. Joe must enlist help from the other souls-in-training, like 22, a soul who has spent eons in the You Seminar, in order to get back to Earth.More...
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers1988-10-21Ten years after his original massacre, the invalid Michael Myers awakens on Halloween Eve and returns to Haddonfield to kill his seven-year-old niece.More...
Extraction2020-04-23A hardened gun-for-hire's latest mission becomes a soul-searching race to survive when he's sent into Bangladesh to rescue a drug lord's kidnapped son.More...
Similar Movies
Sis-Ter
2023-11-16A kid witnesses the death of her pregnant mother while filming her with a hand-cam. Years later, he finds an old cassette left on his door. While he tries to find a way to listen to it, he is drawn into a dark abyss of memories.The Day After Tomorro...
2004-05-26After paleoclimatologist Jack Hall is largely ignored by UN officials when presenting his environmental concerns about the beginning of a new Ice Age, his research proves true when a superstorm develops, setting off catastrophic natural disasters throughout the world. Trying to get to his son, Sam, who is trapped in New York City with his friend Laura and others, Jack and his crew must travel to get to Sam before it's too late.The Hole
2001-04-20Four teenagers at a British private school secretly uncover and explore the depths of a sealed underground hole created decades ago as a possible bomb shelter.The Green Mile
1999-12-10A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.The Conjuring: Last R...
2025-09-03Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren take on one last terrifying case involving mysterious entities they must confront.Curse of the Mayans
2017-01-02Danielle Noble (played by Carla Ortiz) and her team of expert cave divers led by an ambitious american archaeologist (Steve Wilcox), undertake an expedition in search of the lost Mayan Library, without imagining they will instead find the hidden gates of hell known as Xib'alb'a.Twin Peaks: Fire Walk...
1992-06-03In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.The Ghost of Kelly Wi...
2018-06-05A woman, haunted by the guilt of her best friend's tragic death, is persuaded to go to a Christmas party. In a cruel twist of fate, something follows her there and suddenly the events of that horrible night come flooding back.Ghost Squad
2018-11-28After a group of girls get murdered, they come back as ghosts and seek revenge.The Jigsaw
2014-01-08The purchase of a mystery Jigsaw Puzzle from a strange and unsettling vendor leads a man to an evening of frightening consequences.Commandment I
No data for this movieThis Bryan Adams UIL film submission was shot, directed, and edited by Malaki Young in about 8 hours It is a tale about a boy who try's to summon a god but it backfires and he loses everything.Dogma
1999-10-04An abortion clinic worker with a special heritage is called upon to save the existence of humanity from being negated by two renegade angels trying to exploit a loophole and reenter Heaven.Inkheart
2008-12-11The adventures of a father and his young daughter, in their search for a long lost book that will help reunite a missing, close relative.My Oni Girl
2024-05-24A shy teenage boy's inability to say no is tested when a headstrong girl drags him on a mystical journey amid summer snow to find her missing mom.Konthayum Poonoolum
2014-03-14The movie deals with the trials and tribulations of multiple disconnected characters trying to find meaning in the spiritual and super natural experiences they have. The intertwining story threads include a baker (Kunchako) going to meet his pregnant wife (Bhama), a moneylender (Manoj K Jayan) with an imaginary friend (Saiju Kurup), an atheist policeman (Kalabhavan Mani) who is unfaithful to his wife, an old man (Janardhanan) whose daughter (Anju Aravind) gets into a road accident, a photographer (Joy Mathew) and a college girl (Sarayu) trying to prank her room mates.The Blair Witch Proje...
1999-07-14In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.Ring
1998-01-31A mysterious video has been linked to a number of deaths, and when an inquisitive journalist finds the tape and views it herself, she sets in motion a chain of events that puts her own life in danger.The ParaPod: A Very ...
2020-01-07A lifelong believer in the paranormal invites a hardwired sceptic on a road trip of the UK’s most famous haunted locations, in an attempt to convince him of the existence of ghosts. A journey of true discovery, shocks, emotional turmoil, hilarious conflict and a bewildering climax.I Can Only See
2021-07-21A comic horror drama depicting a grotesque situation that occurs with the appearance of a supernatural entity navigating between the filming teams at the filming site.The Night of the Hunt...
1955-07-27In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.