Snakes and Ladders Series Review: A Puerile Thriller That Mistakes Convenience For Setups
Whenever Tamil filmmakers wish to direct a slick thriller, they immediately pack their bags and leave for Kodaikanal or Ooty. How else can you make a thriller without people in leather jackets and costumes that aren’t suitable for the sweaty plains of the state? And why should the characters be in such costumes? Because that’s what the American shows have, and naturally, the local inspirations carry not just the content but also the aesthetics. It just betrays the lack of originality of our creators and writers, who come up with narratives that are far removed from the reality or people in which the story is set. Snakes and Ladders is no exception to such a tiring trend. It is about four mischievous boys in a fictitious hill town Rettamugdu in Kodaikanal. When a thief attempts to rob the house of one of the four friends, the boy locks him inside a kitchen cupboard and suffocates him to death. The four friends then team up to hide the unintentional murder but find themselves committing more crimes. …
