Kalkokkho (2021)
7/10
Slow-burn spiritualism-filled supernatural tale from the Bengali cinema
15 December 2022
After being brought to a mysterious house, a doctor finds himself held captive by three women who require him to treat the eldest of the group, but regardless of his attempts he keeps repeating the day forcing him to find the reason why in order to save the family and leave alive.

Overall, the film has quite a lot going for it. One of the strongest factors is the rather intriguing setup that ties together numerous topical details into a mysterious and engaging narrative. The recent issues with the pandemic are employed front and center here with the household quarantined off, regularly being shown masking or taking hygienic precautions, and being filled with warnings about the dangers of going outside around others. These beats provide a necessary setup to showcase the plight of those stuck in their homes during the pandemic and forced to go through untold trials and tribulations to remain safe while also looking after loved ones. As time goes on and the more stays at the house, the hints about their relationship with each other and the outside world gradually come into focus which works quite well alongside the scattered attempts at being unnerving and terrifying. As this groundwork is being suitably laid out, this one takes the opportunity to weave a rather enjoyable air of genuine mystery and supernatural undertones throughout here. The repetition of the day where he keeps reliving the day from being awoken while still bound and tied up, going through the greetings of the day, and treating the grandmother becomes quite chilling as they keep happening. Regardless of how he tries to break the chain, waking up in the same situation and being forced to go through the same thing is a highly off-putting concept that's rife with psychological terror. When added together with the real-world implications of what's going on, the despair and depression that arises while in the midst of this situation offer a generally effective atmosphere that generates plenty to like about it. There are some drawbacks to bringing the film down. The biggest detriment here is the drama-heavy approach to the material that forces us to rely on the bizarre situation to generate its thrills. That so much of the first half here is built around how he gets brought into the family dynamic and forced to treat the ill grandmother only to be confronted with the generally otherworldly relationship that takes place between the women which are supposed to be the main driving point of the scares comes off underwhelming instead. The idea of calling each other the same name and repeating scenes from before works well enough at first but that only goes so far in building a genuinely unnerving atmosphere before it all comes off repetitive. That also comes about due to the obscene length present, regularly repeating scenes or topics so that it can build up a running time that's far too long for the type of content on display. Trimming some of that repetition down would've gone a long way to making what was already a really good film into a better one.

Rated Unrated/R: Language and traumatic themes.
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