Annabelle Sethupathi review: This Taapsee, Vijay Sethupathi film is a fantasy comedy with a paranormal twist

Taapsee Pannu and Vijay Sethupathi’s latest Tamil outing Annabelle Sethupathi (2021) starts off as a horror thriller, then smartly turns all the tropes associated with the genre on their heads by bringing in a fantasy element about the concept of reincarnation.

The film is centred on a bunch of ghosts who are stuck in a grand palace and waiting to be freed. Had it been a regular horror flick about a few ghosts vying for revenge, it would have been a boring affair. Thankfully, first-time director Deepak Sundarrajan presents the film as a fantasy comedy with a solid ensemble cast which rises to the occasion with memorable performances.

The story is about a huge palace which was once owned by king Veera Sethupathi (Vijay Sethupathi), who had built it for his wife Annabelle (Pannu). Sethupathi brings in the best masons from different parts of the world to make the palace one of its kind and its glory draws some evil attention. Cut to a few years later, the palace is inhabited by a bunch of people who have turned into ghosts after a curse. The curse doesn’t allow them to step out of the palace and the story is about the reason for the curse.

The film has a simple premise but what works in its favour is the fantasy comedy angle. Quite early on, the film teases the audience via a dialogue that one shouldn’t expect logic when it comes to ghost stories and goes on to demonstrate it with the subplot about reincarnation.

This is the kind of film that expects its audience not to take anything seriously or try and analyze the happenings. If you like illogical comedy and don’t mind sitting through a film that has ghosts singing, dancing and having a gala time; you wouldn’t mind Annabelle Sethupathi. It’s not a film without its flaws and grouses, but given the overall mood and what it tries to achieve with its quirky plot, one shouldn’t be disappointed.

Taapsee Pannu gets a meaty part as a small-time crook who robs people with her family. Scenes with her father (Rajendra Prasad) serve as some of the best moments of the movie. The film could have been funnier with such a huge cast of popular comedians, but it just manages to evoke some laughs here and there. Vijay Sethupathi appears only in the second half and his scenes with Pannu (in a dual role) could have been more emotional to make us root for the pair. 

Annabelle Sethupathi doesn’t try to stand out and there is no need for it to. It’s a film in which the influences are quite evident. It works better as a fantasy comedy, barely as a horror flick.

Annabelle Sethupathi is now available on Disney+ Hotstar.