In 2019, a scary experience while participating in an “escape room” game left local film director Rishi Varman wondering: “What if the doors couldn’t open and we were locked inside?”
This sparked the idea for Vidai, a horror film which premiered at Carnival Cinemas in Beach Road on June 30.
The story revolves around five friends exploring an escape room, only to face unexpected horrors within its confines, challenging their ability to escape.
An escape room, also known as an escape game or puzzle room, is a game in which a team of players discover clues, solve puzzles and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal in a limited amount of time. The goal is often to escape from the site of the game.
“The idea came from a time in 2019 when three friends and I entered an escape room in Bugis and one of the room doors wouldn’t open even after we completed the puzzle,” explained Rishi, founder of Shuffle Studios, a local multimedia and production house.
“We had to page in for a clue and that’s when the staff realised the door had malfunctioned. Later, the idea for an escape-room themed movie struck me.”
The 27-year-old, along with his three friends, took on the project a few months later.
After an intense and hectic 30 days of shooting, averaging 16 hours daily, filming wrapped up in 2020. But the Covid-19 pandemic halted post-production and release plans.
“We didn’t want to release the film without full theatre occupancy, so we held onto it,” Rishi said.
“I felt that local films hadn’t explored the mystery-horror trope all that much, and that’s what I wanted to do.”
Co-writer and actor Keerthana Kumaresan, 25, said the pandemic and the ensuing delay in production forced the script to adapt to modern advancements, including artificial intelligence.
“The challenge was to ensure that whatever was added to the script had a proper flow,” she said.
Despite being set in Singapore, Vidai was an international effort, with a diverse cast and crew from Singapore, Malaysia, India, UK and Sri Lanka.
It is Shuffle Studios’ second film, and Rishi, who has been running the studio for eight years, emphasised the importance of local support.
“There’s a stigma about locally produced films. If one film doesn’t work, we’re dismissed as a collective,” he said. “We need people to give us a chance and watch our craft because there aren’t many of us producing films – and when we do, we need the support.”
Audience member Rennuka Naranisamy, 29, a self-professed horror-movie buff, said she found the film a bit slow at first, but was captivated as it went on.
“It became riveting towards the end with a plot twist. It explored a psychological concept not widely known or spoken about,” she said.
“The acting and dialogues were engaging, and the film shows what can be achieved by young Indian talent in the local movie scene. It was very well done.”
Varman said there may not be any full-fledged theatrical runs of the movie, but his team is in discussions with streaming platforms.
He added: “We plan to have premieres in Malaysia, India and England since the actors who worked on this project are from there.”
