If supernatural thriller meets procedural crime dramas is your thing, ‘Cold Case’ – streaming now on Amazon Prime Video – is just right for you. Set in the pristine backwaters of Kerala, the movie is a about a murder from a year ago, a determined cop who sets out to track the murderer and an investigator whose search for the killer is fed by paranormal clues.
Medha (Aditi Balan), an investigative journalist with a fascination for ghost stories, and seasoned cop Sathyajith (Prithiviraj) are following the same murder case, but they take their own paths to solving the mystery. A macabre, accidental discovery sets events in motion that have both cold logic and the paranormal vying with each other. In scene after hauntingly-shot scene, debut filmmaker Tanu Balak pits our rational sense of order against a reality beyond the realms of science.
Is our world driven by science and logic, or sentiments and spirits? You are drawn into the complex world of post-mortem evidence and investigative procedures that suggest an order to death, but only to wonder if science has all the answers minutes later. This theme binds the plot of the entire movie, stoking your curiosity as to which side will triumph, if either at all. The question that fuels the film is this: will this murder be solved in frigid forensic labs by an unemotional and practical cop, or does an unseen menace lurking in a bone-chilling paranormal zone have the answers? This tug-of-war creates a carefully crafted intensity. You have to wait till the end to decide which side makes a stronger case.
You will find yourself unearthing more layers to the title – ‘Cold Case’ – as the film proceeds. The icy temperature of forensic labs, the indifference of logic, a refrigerator with terrifying abilities, scenes that freeze your blood for a heartbeat – there is a lot to discover.
There are many legitimately scary parts in the movie, like the old doll attached to a child, possibly having sinister designs of its own. Not new to the horror genre, the little girl’s beloved doll, given to her by an aunt lost to tragedy, still works as an unnerving presence in a film already filled with enough hair-raising moments.
Medha and Sathyajith, unknown to each other, are in a race to find answers, long buried by family secrets and murky forces. Will their paths meet? Will the victim find justice? And what will triumph— science or the supernatural? These are the questions that will keep you hooked.
'Cold Case' has enough to go around for fans of both murder mysteries and horror films. If you enjoy a supernatural twist to your procedural cop drama, this one is for you.
This article was created by TNM Brand Studio in association with Amazon Prime Video.