Kingston raises several questions. However, none of them are borne out of intrigue or our interest in how the story unfolds. Most of the questions are directed at how the film chooses to take a perfectly good premise and convolutes it beyond any and all recognition. The film promises a ‘sea monster’ film and predictably, the monster was “the greed all along.” For a major portion of the film, we are teased ‘sea monsters’ and all we get are people in badly done horror makeup. Kingston forgoes any and all joys of the genre and focuses entirely on making itself look overly complicated.
Director: Kamal Prakash
Cast: GV Prakash Kumar, Divyabharathi, Chetan, Azhagam Perumal
A fishing village is devastated by a curse, which stops them from fishing, essentially destroying their livelihood. At several points in the film, almost every character gets to deliver a lengthy expository monologue. Everyone gets a chance to spout a needlessly extensive backstory. It becomes breathtakingly convoluted when we get to a point where there are backstories within backstories. The number of times you sigh when you see a flashback coming far exceeds the times you cheer in excitement, which comes to a grand total of zero. The story takes five steps backwards for every step it takes. As if sea-zombies are not enough, there is a don who controls all of Thoothukudi, a village head with mysterious intentions, a former military man, a cursed treasure, a blessed bloodline impervious to paranormal curse, a young boy on a mission to redeem his father, and a too-cool-to-care-about-anything-but-money hero. The problem is not the chaotic mix of all of these above-mentioned ideas but how they so are glaringly forced to fit each other.