Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: HALF [Fantastic Fest - Austin, Texas]

There are not often horror films mare with a genre crossover in India. Gore effects have been used but it is interesting to see the melding. The film "Kill", which played Fantastic Fest in 2024 was a landmark simply because of its thrust of action and how far it would go. One specific action unleashed hell in the second half of that film pushing it over the edge. That film worked very well in a theater but lost some of its luster on the small screen. "Half" is a different monster but begins with the same brutality albeit in a different environment and section of society. A gangster collaborating with the local cops sets up almost a death road where unknowingly tourists and family are diverted off the main highway where they meet an interesting fate. It feels like partial Mad Max in a way but it is brutal. The main story interestingly enough starts with twins Ethan (Ranjith Sajeev) and Ivy (Aiswarya Raj). They have a certain lineage which is not really clear in the beginning but clearer after a fate befalls them as we see in the beginning. While they likely dealt with this before, the stage it sets for how the scavengers debase them (especially Ivy) is probably even worse in India. Seeing her reaction is what fuels the film. Ethan may give her crap but they are two sides of the same whole. The reason many of the sequences work is that is not just Sojeey simply kicking everyone’s ass. Raj is doing her own thing but from a slightly different angle but with comparable brutality. The humor comes out of that play.

One gets a sense as soon as they decide to go all in. The fight choreography is by the man who did The Raid 2…and while it works, it is not as hard hitting as that film. This might be because of the sound mix. There is a lot of motion going on and this is done in a desert landscape. The term "curry western" is thrown around but it is not quite that though there are similarities especially in term of the El Guapo metaphor. The big boss wants to make these twins suffer when he finally decides to get his hands dirty. Director Sanjab keeps building up the different places the twins bust up. The first one is a home and it is fun and close quarters using grease and household items. Ethan doesn’t save Ivy at all but only helps a little when needed. She has her headphones on (she is deaf) but that detail slowly seems to fall away though it keys into the motif that her other senses make up for it. Another location is a fight club in the desert with the interesting open-hand slap contests many people have seen on reels and Tik Tok. The initial hit is pretty good but then the fighting does disappear into a water pit which is meant to mix it up but tends to slow down the action. A bigger hunter is brought in to up the ante but he doesn’t seem as dangerous as he could be. A fight. as Ethan goes it alone at one point, happens in an outside open air tavern and that retains the most western feel in terms of how he uses the girders. Ivy meanwhile becomes somewhat of a guinea pig but it very much spells out the pain quotient of the two which becomes a major point toward the end of the film in the climax. That sequence takes place in a more a wide open space and the plot contrivance that gets them there is a slight problem because there is another way the problem would have been solved (an underground incinerator). However but that likely would have unleashed a different kind of evil.

Again the team of Ethan and Ivy is what keeps this working because they are fraternal twins, a brother and his slightly younger sister, protecting each other no matter what. They are not PDA heavy. They don’t say what they feel. They simply understand each other and act accordingly by instinct. And that is what anchors this. At the apex of a fight though when all is lost, something happens which really strains suspension of disbelief though it comes after a particularly brutal torture of our main characters (though the bad guys don’t do the one thing that would end the fight pretty quickly). But that never happens. Ivy gets her revenge for sure in a very specific way which is satisfying and again Ethan doesn’t get in the way. He understands that she has to do this. In a way, beyond the action (which is effective), it is the characterization of these two that really makes the film watchable. The issue is that it feels the need to tell more story than needed. A border issue is mentioned in the film and the epilogue speaks to how it affects the two of them. But this point wasn’t necessary since it takes away from the power of what we saw. "Half" is a continual move in a different direction for Indian cinema (this seems to be made more independently). "Kill" still has it beat but taking into account the different environmental challenges "Half" definitely works while still understanding that the lead characterization of the twins is the vital part of the picture. And they are bad ass. 85%/B

By Tim Wassberg