Kunjamminis Hospital movie review: This Indrajith Sukumaran, Nyla Usha ‘horror-comedy’ derides viewers

The story is set in Thrissur district and kicks off by introducing us to Riny Titus (Nyla Usha), who has her sights set on acquiring a building that has fallen into disuse after serving as a hospital in the past. Following the disbandment of the said Kunjamminis Hospital, the premises underwent a transformation into a lodge, before being abandoned indefinitely. Riny’s intent is to breathe new life into the structure by restoring it and establishing a new hospital there.

Nevertheless, what lies in store for Riny within those walls is a group of ghosts who met their tragic ends within the lodge and the former hospital. This spectral ensemble includes Dr Lyon Ilanjikkaran (Indrajith Sukumaran), Maala Varkey (Baburaj Jacob), and Susanna Johny (Sarayu Mohan), among others. As these ghostly beings start to interfere with the lives of others, complications arise, and a sense of fear begins to escalate. The rest of the film centres on Riny’s journey, aided by the previous owner of Kunjamminis Hospital, Dr Chacko (Prakash Raj), as they work together to uncover the enigma behind these eerie occurrences.

Right from the start, Kunjamminis Hospital swiftly makes it evident that it suffers from subpar writing. Even before setting up the foundation and introducing the living characters, the film unexpectedly redirects its attention to the ghosts, and subsequently shadows their movements, leaving the audience as mere onlookers to the spirits’ purposeless dialogues.

Moving aimlessly between moments and conversations, the movie continuously switches its focus without unveiling anything substantial or showcasing efforts that enhance the storyline’s coherence. Compounding this issue is actor Dhyan Sreenivasan’s ongoing commentary in the background, disguised as a voiceover. The rationale behind introducing a voice narrator in a dialogue-intensive film that leans towards the “tell, don’t show” approach remains a mystery.

Despite stretching out for a considerable runtime of 133 minutes, Kunjamminis Hospital falls short in presenting any noteworthy plot developments or scenes that stir up emotions, whether they are of horror or comedy. While there’s no mandatory rulebook for scripting, Kunjamminis Hospital waltzes in to show that occasionally, following the textbook isn’t entirely absurd.

The familiar approach of writers Abhayakumar K and Anil Kurian, evident in their earlier movies like Chathur Mukham and Priyan Ottathilanu, where they arrange moments merely sequentially without ensuring a smooth flow or strategically positioning situations to evoke audience emotions, has once again yielded negative results in this instance. It’s crucial for them to acknowledge that story and screenplay structures vary significantly.

Subsequently, director Sanal V Devan’s directorial debut becomes a forgettable event due to a series of unfortunate decisions. His inability to oversee and guide the film’s script is clearly visible through the incomplete nature of each scene. It is regrettable that the director failed to perceive the narrative’s lack of cohesion during the production process. Furthermore, the film’s unnecessary manipulation of aspect ratios during flashback sequences hampers the overall viewing pleasure. Filmmakers should note that aspect ratios serve specific purposes, and any unjustified changes to them will ultimately undermine the intended impact.

Meanwhile, the creative choice made by whoever—whether it was the writers or the director—to have one of the main actors assume a dual role, without any meaningful justification and merely to set up a weak joke at the conclusion, stands out as the most unfavourable concept in the making of this movie.

It’s also worth highlighting that all the actors, including Indrajith, Nyla Usha, Baburaj, Sarayu, Binu Pappu, Biju Spoanam, Alexander Prasanth, Shari and Sarath Das, made a commendable effort to compete among themselves in order to deliver the most unsatisfactory renditions, with the exception of Prakash Raj, Harisree Ashokan, and Mallika Sukumaran. However, the creators somehow succeed in undermining even these exceptional performances, attributed to the subpar dubbing given to Prakash Raj, the provision of a poorly crafted character for Harisree Ashokan, and the inadequate screen time allotted to Mallika. It’s also truly saddening to witness an extraordinary talent like Indrajith Sukumaran being squandered in movies of this nature.

The cinematography by Ajay David Kachappilly and the editing by Mansoor Muthutty also exhibit comparable unimpressive attributes, without a single noteworthy moment. Although Ranjin Raj’s music exhibits pleasant tones in certain segments, it falls short in salvaging the deteriorating project.

In short, Kunjamminis Hospital can be characterised as a movie that combines elements of comedy, fantasy, and horror. To clarify, the comedic aspect involves the makers intending to mock the audiences, the fantasy aspect revolves around their hopeful expectations for its success, and the horror comes from viewers’ realisation of the financial loss they incurred by purchasing this film’s tickets.

Kunjamminis Hospital movie cast: Indrajith Sukumaran, Nyla Usha, Baburaj, Sarayu, Prakash Raj, Harisree Ashokan, Mallika Sukumaran
Kunjamminis Hospital movie director: Sanal V Devan
Kunjamminis Hospital movie rating: 0 stars