3:33 is a film written and directed by Nambikkai Chandru, starring Sandy Master and Shruthi Selvam in the lead roles while Mime Gopi, Saravanan, Rama, Reshma, Gautham Vasudev Menon and others play crucial supporting roles. The film is produced by Jeevitha Kishore under the banner Bamboo Trees Production. It has music by Harshavardhan Rameshwar and cinematography by Satish Manoharan.
Sandy(Kathir) and his family have shifted to a new house and since then they experience weird incidents. Kathir's girlfriend gifts him a new clock which makes a new sound at 3:33 as per Kathir's customised setting. But in addition to that, the starts getting sleep paralysis at 3:33, and it is revealed that the time is the spirit here. Whether he escapes the spirit's wrath or not forms the rest of the film.
In terms of treatment and the plot line, 3:33 is a very unique film. For instance, the climax is something we've rarely seen in Tamil horror films, and even the usual flashback portions of the spirit is different here. The director doesn't waste time trying to force humour and stays true to the horror genre as much as possible.
The writing too is fairly solid, with flaws here and there. There are a few logical mistakes that are visible to the plain eye itself. The opening stretch which lasts for around 30 minutes, has a few repetitive scenes where the film has a possibility of losing the viewer's attention. But once the dust settles, there is no turning back.
Among the performances, Sandy is a surprise revelation. His performance in the emotional scenes is unexpectedly good. It's unexpected not because of doubts in his talent but this is a side of him that has rarely been projected to the public. The rest of the actors do their best but their reactions keep fluctuating between borderline over-the-top and lack of spontaneity.
The horror portions are interesting after the first 30 minutes once the presence of the spirit is confirmed. But after a point, the narrative becomes slightly predictable. The film which so far tried to avoid all cliches, resorts to jump-scare moments and templates that drive every horror film. It's not sure if the back story of the spirit will convince every one, but it is different for sure.
The background score by Harshavardhan Rameshwar is refreshing and pulsating. It lifts the film several notches higher. Cinematographer Satish Manoharan and the editor's work complements the writing well. One scene where the camerawork stands out is when a door handle starts shaking, and instead of showing us the door, the camera is placed in the handle's point of view to cover Sandy's reaction.
This scene is also a testament to the fact that the film is constantly trying to be a better one. It wants us to take it seriously. While it works only half the time in a film that's approximately two hours long, the film can definitely be given a watch for the effort and it won't disappoint you.