It might be tempting to dismiss Asvins at first glance for placing his mood piece in a haunted house, an overused jewel in the crown of classic horrors. But like many fans of the genre would agree, there is nothing more deliciously creepy than a haunted house classic when it’s done right. Tarun’s Asvins places five of his young protagonists on a tidal island in London, with spotty mobile signals and ominous darkness. The YouTubers — Arjun and Ritu (Vasanth Ravi and Saraswati Menon) are a couple looking to make a new life in London, Varun is a teenager with a flair for sounds, Rahul, the leader of the team is Varun’s brother, and Grace, a cameraperson — plan to scour a creepy mansion overnight and get out by sunrise. It sounds like a good plan, but of course, they are paid frequent visits by its resident murderer and deceased archaeologist Aarthi Rajagopal.
But Asvins doesn’t want to be just another haunted horror mood piece. So, we get a compelling subplot following the Hindu twin gods Aswini Kumaras and a glitch in ancient history that provoked the devil. The film also spends much of its runtime delving into the dualities of the world — “Everyone has two minds and two lives. And in the end, you’re only as strong as your strongest mind,” says Arjun, who has this uncanny ability to hear whispers in a room that nobody can.