Demonte Colony

Demonte Colony is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language horror thriller film written and directed by R. Ajay Gnanamuthu in his directoral debut .The film stars Arulnithi. Also starring Ramesh Thilak, Sananth and Abishek Joseph George, the film is a fictional story set at the Demonte Colony in Alwarpet, Chennai. Demonte Colony features cinematography by Aravinnd Singh, songs composed by guitarist Keba Jeremiah, and an original score by S. Chinna.

The film was released on 22 May 2015 to critical acclaim and became an blockbuster at the box office. In 2022, a sequel titled Demonte Colony 2 was announced, with Gnanamuthu returning as the director, and Arulnithi returning in the lead role.

Plot
Raghavan, Sajith, Vimal, and Srinivasan "Srini" are four friends. Out of bravado, they decide to visit a dilapidated mansion in De Monte Colony, rumoured to be haunted. They sneak into the house and get separated in the darkness, having a chilling experience. Despite this, all of them manage to come out seemingly unscathed.

The next day, the four men go to an astrologer. Three of them get their thumbprints and future predictions done, whereas Sajith is told the astrologer will predict his future later, as he does not have the corresponding paraphernalia. They return home, and everything seems normal. Sajith goes to bed, but while Srini is driving his bike, he gets a phone call from the astrologer, who wants to discuss an important matter. However, Srini is unable to hear the details, and the call gets dropped. When Srini reaches the astrologer's residence, he finds him dead.

Some time later, the friends are curious to know the story behind De Monte Colony. Raghavan narrates the story: Years ago, the area was a colony of the Portuguese business tycoon Lord John De Monte. He wishes to gift his wife a special necklace, but she becomes mentally ill. De Monte, depressed, travels to Calcutta to sell his properties in India before returning to Portugal.

Upon his return, De Monte discovers that someone in the house has raped his wife, leaving her pregnant. Fuelled by rage, he kills all his servants due to doubts over who raped his wife. The locals, angered by his actions, set fire to the house, resulting in an explosion that kills everyone, including De Monte. A curse is said to be set on the diamond necklace, ensuring that whoever tries to steal it will be killed.

Raghavan reveals that he had stolen the necklace to sell for money. Eerie things begin to happen in their room – the TV does not switch off, playing their own conversations instead of the DVD they had inserted. The power goes off, and Srini contacts the electricity board for help. Srini adds what happened to the astrologer, playing the call recording in which the astrologer reveals that Sajith has already died the previous night. They all turn towards Sajith, who is still sleeping.

The windows and doors do not open; the friends' cries for help go unheard outside. They use a ouija board, asking dreadful questions, and realise that none of them will return alive. Srini asks to burn the ouija, and it starts burning. "Sajith" wakes up, drinks water, oblivious to the events, and goes back to sleep. They get scared upon seeing him. Srini tells them to go back and sit at the same place where they used the ouija board. They realise the arrow points at Raghavan, and Srini and Vimal couldn't hear what Raghavan is saying. They realise he is haunted by the spirit.

Raghavan writes on the TV that De Monte is going to kill them all and dies in the same way Vimal died in the TV. Srini tells Vimal they don't know much about De Monte's house and they will return alive. He reveals that if the same thing shown on TV happens now, he managed to escape before by opening the main door. Srini gets haunted by the spirit, kills Vimal, and feels sorry for it. His room starts to freeze.

When Srini sees a portion of the room where a god was present and did not freeze, he goes there and remembers the DVD. After crossing some point, Raghavan was haunted by the spirit. Srini discovers a window can be opened in that part of the room. "Sajith" tries to stop Srini from escaping, but he remembers what the astrologer said – Sajith died last night. He steps back, escapes, and runs to a nearby tea shop, only to find that no one can hear him. He realises he has become a ghost after dying while attempting to jump out of the flat. Later, he witnesses the necklace being carried by "Sajith," returning to the De Monte Colony House.

Soundtrack
The music was composed by Keba Jeremiah and released via Orange Music.

Release
Demonte Colony was released on 22 May 2015. It was distributed by Sri Thenandal Films.

Critical reception
Malini Mannath of The New Indian Express wrote, "Brilliantly written and executed, gripping and refreshing, Demonte Colony is a must watch for lovers of the genre". Sify wrote, "Demonte Colony does sincere attempt to scare us and seriously it is one of the well written, superbly executed horror thrillers in recent times that keep us engaged throughout its crisp running time of 116 minutes". Anupama Subramanian of Deccan Chronicle wrote, "what really shines are the foundations and technical execution of the film: writing, narration, pacing (although first half drags a bit), lighting, cameras, and sound", calling the film "a scary and entertaining affair that promises to surprise and amuse you". M. Suganth of The Times of India gave the film 3 stars out of 5 and wrote, "R Ajay Gnanamuthu's Demonte Colony is a refreshing change – it is a pure horror film with no frills attached...and this alone makes us want to appreciate the director....But despite the visual flair, Demonte Colony at times gets bogged down by predictability and the lack of a genuine sense of dread".

S. Saraswathi of Rediff.com gave the same rating, stating, "Almost entirely shot in a single room with no gruesome ghosts or unnecessary build up, the director has skilfully created the eerie atmosphere, with incessant rain, a subtle aura of menace, unsophisticated characters and underlying hint of truth. The film is undoubtedly a fine attempt by the debutant director". Sudhir Srinivasan of The Hindu wrote, "you could make a case for Demonte Colony being a brave debut for R Ajay Gnanamuthu...He wants to shake you up and leave you walking out nervously, petrified of the dark and the dead. But he needed something more: new ideas to show the horrors unleashed by the evil spirit. The ones he uses aren’t enough".

Box office
Demonte Colony opened at the number one position at the Chennai box office, with an opening weekend gross of ₹6401,000, described by International Business Times as an "appreciable feat for a movie that does not feature an A-list star". The film collected nearly inr 170000000.

Sequel
In 2022, a sequel titled Demonte Colony 2 was announced, with Ajay Gnanamuthu returning as the director. Arulnithi returns in the lead role, with Priya Bhavani Shankar and Arun Pandian joining the cast. Ajay also announced his plans for a third and fourth film in the series.