Welcome to the Blumhouse: "Nocturne" and "Evil Eye" Reviewed

Wrote about two Blumhouse features locating scares in familiar territories.

Zu Quirke's notable debut plays a high note on insecurities stemming from jealousy. It's a competitive world out there, and we are told to fight. Survival of the fittest, if you may. Suppose the competition is from someone you know, say family. Furthermore, the achievement may or may not boost future prospects. How far would you go? It is easy to give a neutral answer when you might have fought over a piece of biscuit with your sibling. Now, that fight is not a big thing so let's pump up the situation. What if you and your sibling competed for fame. Only one could stand in the spotlight. What moral decisions will you make now? The answer is more deeply rooted in psychology than one can admit, and Nocturne takes us through this symphony of hell.

The opening scene of Nocturne calls back to The Grudge. In one of the installments (probably the first that came out in 2004), a woman wakes up to see her husband (or boyfriend, can't seem to remember) jumping from the balcony. There goes your good morning. In Nocturne, it's the woman who jumps. Before that, she greets us with Tartini's "Devil's Trill Sonata." A quick Google search informs me that Tartini allegedly said that a devil asked him to be his servant, in his dream. A devil, bright as Sun, will make an appearance here. Though, I see Nocturne be about the devil within than the devil summoned out of a book. A creepy book guides Juliet (Sydney Sweeney) towards her desire. It is a deal with the devil, and she has signed on it. Sabrina would have warned her better. There is a reason why she resisted signing the pages of Lucifer.

Juliet is blind to the obvious. As long as her sister, Vivian (Madison Iseman), is defeated, everything is fine. Both the sisters are talented, but Vivian is considered more successful. She is happy, has a boyfriend, and is almost ready to perform a concerto. She is everything Juliet desires. The resentment increases, and Juliet enrolls in the audition. She also decides to play the same note as the one chosen by Vivian. Yeah, things will not get any better from here. With the stealth of a sneaky Satan, she will snatch Vivian's aspirations (and other close relations) but won't go very far. The deal is sweet, but the destination is small. The path opens up shortcuts but closes on dead-ends. "We're both failures, you and me, but at least I have an excuse," Vivian summarizes aptly.

Notice how Juliet's wardrobe matches the surrounding. The background is kept in sync with her dressing choices. That is until she starts taking a turn for the worse. Slowly, this camouflage starts disappearing and finally plucked out. It ends with a haunting image of a dead body being ignored by the crowd. They just walk oblivious to it. Nocturne forces us to evaluate our sacrifices made in favor of careers or dreams. Does the hard work return any benefit? Was it worth it? Are you merely another fly on the wall? It's unusual for a horror movie to put you in such weighty thoughts.

Almost anyone who has spent time away from family can recognize Usha's (Sarita Choudhury) and Pallavi's (Sunita Mani) phone conversations. She goes on about superstitions and by-the-rules guidelines, which her daughter doesn't take much seriously. My hostel mates used to ignore any statement regarding not eating non-veg on a particular day passed on by their mothers. Pallavi is 29, which not only means she is about exit the sweet-twenties. Being single at this age comes with an unavoidable subject of marriage.

Usha sets up meetings with suitable boys. Pallavi does the job of rejecting them. The cycle continues. And it may have gone for much longer, but Pallavi bumps into Sandeep (Omar Maskati). He is wealthy, caring, and supportive. As someone points out, he is too good to be true. Of course, perfection lies in the realm of fiction. Anything human cannot be devoid of mistakes. Usha has other reasons to make her skin crawl. She thinks Sandeep to be a reincarnation of a man she once loved and who tried to kill her. It was an abusive relationship. He was not able to forget her. One night on a bridge, he got violent. One thing led to another, and Usha threw him down the bridge. Sandeep's behavior and some of his lines bear a resemblance to that man. The question is simple - Is he really who Usha thinks he is?

Pallavi won't indulge in her mother's beliefs. First of all, Usha's past is hidden from her. Second, even after she comes to know about it, Pallavi rejects anything related to reincarnation. Even Usha's husband (Bernard White) won't buy into it. So far, the typical reaction to Usha's story seems to be, "Are you serious?" "Have you seen a doctor?" says Pallavi after listening to the theory. "You sound like you believe what you're saying." And she does! The split-screen only connects the feelings, the physical (and mental) distance remains. The way Sarita dismisses her daughter, saying, "There's nothing wrong with me," with a strong belief and calm head should be appreciated. Yes, a movie like this needs strong performances. Otherwise, the balance would be disturbed. You need to always be with characters, allowing them to manipulate with our minds. Is she right? Is she wrong? These two questions should be running on our minds. Sarita and Sunita are good actors. I was asking questions, though, not constantly. There are times when Evil Eye (based on Madhuri Shekar's audio play) feels to drag or on repeat. Thankfully, the story makes sure to not let you wander around for a very long time.

Reincarnation thriller aside, Evil Eye successfully manages to bring forth the minute horrors present in it. There is horror rising from too much care and love from the mother. Maybe, she doesn't just trust any person who is not filtered through her. I wonder what Ari Aster would have done. He is known to expose familial demons in unexpected ways, dragging it down to the evil beneath. Another horror rises from the controlling nature of the family. Usha tries dictating Pallavi's life, leading to suffocation when all she wants is air to breathe. If only, for once, Usha cried in joy in support of her instead of finding flaws in her decisions.

Directors Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani with writer Madhuri Shekar mostly keep you on edge. I am not entirely on board with the conclusion. All that mental build-up giving way to a slasher-like scene didn't feel very imaginative. It is a letdown, especially when this portion has everyone exhausted. None of the actors seemed to be serious. I believe it was meant to be taken seriously. One of them laughs as if about to break character. (Slight spoiler, I guess, starts here). I saw one of the posters with the line "Trust Your Mother's Instincts." The person behind this idea and the one who approved must be rapped hard on the knuckles. Here you are trying to create confusion between who is right and who is wrong, and the tagline leaves no room for surprises. Much intelligence, total wow. (Spoiler ends here).

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