Rating: 3 stars on 5
When sci-fi horror series “Stranger Things” dropped on Netflix, it had record viewership and is still one of the best series to ever be created. It is but natural that the success of this series inspires others in different languages and “The Village” seems to be one of them. Adapted from a graphic novel titled “The Village” (written by Shamik Dasgupta, artwork by Gaurav Shrivastav and colouring by Prasad Patnak), six-episode web series is directed by Milind Rau and releases on Prime Video on 24 November.
As we begin the series, we go back numerous years when a van full of people driving at night near Thoothukudi when they come to a bridge that’s obstructed by fallen trees. The driver decides to take a shortcut through an abandoned factory and a deserted village, Kattiyal, though some of the passengers say it is dangerous. Just as they cross Kattiyal, they hit a man who runs in front of their van and suddenly the van is attacked by unseen forces and everyone is killed.
Cut to present day, we meet Dr Gautham (Arya), his wife Neha (Divya) and daughter Maya, who decide to take a roadtrip. As they near Thoothukudi there is an unprecedented traffic jam and the couple decide to take a dirt road shortcut to reach their destination faster. When their vehicle has a puncture at Kattiyal, Gautham heads to find help. But people in the neighbouring village initially refuse to help him citing demons and evil spirits in Kattiyal. When Gautham returns to his vehicle with some villagers, his wife and daughter are missing. Why was that factory abandoned? Why is Kattiyal a deserted village? What do Gautham and the village men discover?
“The Village” is not a straightforward horror series but it has numerous layers to it. With Arya playing the lead and carrying forward the narrative, the story is about a village and its people and what happened to them. The story combines science fiction with local folklore to tell us how this village ended up becoming “haunted” so to speak. But it doesn’t end there. The series is also infused with the theme of the relationship between man and nature (which seems to be a common theme now on OTT). “The Village” combines science fiction in this equation making it novel fare for the audience.
Originally shot in Tamil, the series is an interesting and decent watch.
(Note: This review is based on the first three episodes)