Athidhi Review (2023): Stale Horror Flick is a Repetitive Dumpster Fire

Athidhi Review (2023): This horror-thriller TV series is written and directed by Y.G. Bharath and stars Venu Thottempudi, Avantika Mishra, Gayatri Chaganti, Venkatesh Kakumanu, Ravi Varma, Bhadram, Gautam Aditi, Chanakya Teja and others. The series has 6 episodes, each with a runtime of around 30 minutes.

Athidhi Plot

When a mysterious guest appears at his doorstep one rainy night, Ravi Verma is taken aback by her beauty. However, this is no ordinary guest, and as the night goes on, horrific events start to unfold that Ravi is unable to write off. Unfortunately, the situation isn’t as easy as it seems, with the hunted becoming the hunter and ghostly things coming out from behind closed doors.

– Athidhi Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –

Athidhi Review

Athidhi tries to scare us with its usual woman with long hair seeking revenge for something in the past. The rain and thunderclap don’t help to break the cliched stereotype that the genre has become known for, especially in Indian media, but I feel like the Indian audience has moved on from this mess of a stereotype that neither thrills nor chills.

The series, which has a short enough runtime to create an impact without being too annoying, is unable to use that to its advantage because of its predictable and, frankly, embarrassing writing, with nothing feeling even remotely scary from the moment it starts. The characters, trying to be very mysterious in order to create some sort of shock, are uninteresting and boring and have nothing to offer other than the roles that they have been assigned. Ravi is the token protagonist who is confident but clearly has something else going on behind the scenes, Savari is that annoying YouTuber who will scream “ghost” the moment he sees a woman, and the mysterious guest Maya is, well, mysterious.

There is nothing in Athidhi that will leave you feeling scared or make your mind race asking what is happening. Venkatesh Kakumanu’s Savari is just so annoying – he is the token horror movie character who screams at the slightest of provocation (or lack thereof) and is a general nuisance. Why he constantly screams, asking Ravi to leave with him when no one is asking him to stay at this dilapidated mansion, is beyond my understanding. Ravi’s uninterest in everything also dampens the mood significantly and makes it seem like he’s uninterested in doing anything other than looking at everyone with this heavy-handed gaze.

I would also like to know why ghosts want to adorn themselves with jewels and dream of seeing themselves as a bride in this day and age – do women have no other wish than to marry? It’s 2023; women have other hopes and dreams that don’t involve a spouse. It would, thus, be nice if women (regardless of whether they are alive or not) would want to avenge something else, other than their unfinished need to be a bride.

In the latter half of Athidhi, it goes down this odd rabbit hole of things happening just because as a lame attempt to get you intrigued and continuously introduces twists that are less thrilling and more unnecessary and annoying. Why these characters are in this situation together will be the only thing that you think about. At least it completely gives up on trying to be a horror show and becomes a thriller, but it never really answers why anyone is doing anything or why these characters are the way that they are. It feels half-hearted and cheap and is neither scary nor intriguing.

The problem with Athidhi is not the twists – it’s that they are so predictable and remind you of so many other horror movies that it is embarrassing. Fans of the genre will be able to remember from where each scene is inspired, but that being said, the last episode is quite a fun twist and will give you a nice enough shock regardless of how stale it is. Venu Thottempudi’s uninterested demeanour is somewhat explained towards the end, but then again, with a boring and repetitive first half, most would be uninterested in the second.

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The others are fine as well, although Venkatesh Kakumanu’s Savari needs something else to function other than being the token funny guy who screams at every inopportune moment. At least they give Maya something more to do other than looking menacing. There’s a huge exposition dump in the last episode that is weirdly thrown at the characters’ and our faces. A forceful attempt to create some backstory is boring at best and thoroughly unnecessary.

Athidhi Review: Final Thoughts

In the end, Athidhi’s one fun twist doesn’t save it from being a stale and empty horror thriller without much purpose other than to pump out previously-watched scenes from other shows together and try to create a mysterious and impactful experience that never really comes around.

Athidhi is streaming on Disney+ Hostar.

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