The Demon (Doitto) (2018) by Tathagatha Ghosh


When a homeless man from a remote Bengal countryside claims to have witnessed the abduction and murder of his baby girl, a morally flawed and burnt out homicide detective must interrogate him thoroughly before a serial killer, preying on infants across the state, takes down his next victim.

From the start, it's most interesting facet is the strong story. A piece about the murdering and kidnapping of child is a powerful statement, and it's handled rather effectively. We get little pieces about the killer at large, detailing his crime-spree and what his targets are, that serve nicely to lead into the real target of the piece in the exploits of the police investigation. Due to the rather unreliable nature of the suspect in their custody, this one really speaks to the nature of the abuse of power meted out by the detectives on the case. Not content with just letting the case go, their idea of just solving the problem by doing away with the witness instead of solving the mystery speaks miles about this issue. Even with the tacked-on notes about the other murders in the area, this section of the short offers plenty of entertaining motifs about the police tactics in the region. While it ends without any kind of real build-up since the main confrontation doesn't exist, there's still plenty of potent force within this. Armed with a strong professional sheen and some atmospheric locations in the countryside, the short offers an additional high-quality look to go along with it's strong social commentary.

This was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.

Comments