D Block movie review: An insipid murder mystery that shows much promise in the beginning

1.5/5

Plot: A series of murders happen in an Engineering College, built amidst a forest area in Coimbatore. Arul (Arulnithi) and his friends attempt to unravel the mystery and motive behind these killings.

Review: Arulnithi is an earnest actor, and has proved his spontaneity, in all films he has done so far. But somehow, I felt D Block is his weakest film, to date. While good movies have had good trailers, some average films have had trailers that are better than the film itself, and D Block is one such. The Engineering College where Arul pursues his degree is built by encroaching a vast forest area, and mysterious incidents occur often there. His girlfriend Shruti (Avantika Mishra) gets entangled in it. How Arul traces who is behind these incidents, forms the rest of the story. The story of D Block gives the writer and director ample opportunities for staging some of the film's most riveting dialogue-driven moments, but you end up being disappointed.

D Block is not so bad in the way it is executed but the story just gets progressively convenient, although the makers claim the film was based on a chain of events that happened in real life. It is a film that does not fit into any genre properly, and that is the failure of the narrative. It is neither a complete thriller nor an engaging campus-based drama. Girls of the Engineering College are found dead one after another. As a measure to protect their reputation, the authorities concerned blame wild animals for their end. But, that's not what it is. Arul senses a psycho killer's involvement, and all hell breaks loose…

The plot is an old oft-told one. It's the scripting and the treatment that could have infused it with an amount of freshness and novelty. But an insipid screenplay and weakly fleshed-out characters ensure that boredom sets in midway through the narration. A breezy campus story turns into a murder mystery and loses focus as the narrative constantly struggled to weave in its many different aspects.

D Block, written and directed by Vijay Kumar Rajendran of Eruma Saani-fame, looks like a lazy mishmash of cliches about a murder mystery, presented using the ideas, Tamil cinema audiences discarded a long time ago. Truth be told, this could have been a big break for Arulnithi. But neither the story nor the screenplay helps! The second half is a total mess. It feels stretched, underwritten and sometimes meandering all over the place. Kaushik Krish's original background score accentuates the thrill element and also stays with you for a while.

Verdict: Please binge-watch your favourite film on Netflix instead of wasting your time on D Block.