| Director: | R. Ajay Gnanamuthu |
| Cinematography: | Harish Kannan |
| Editing: | Kumaresh D |
| Music: | Sam C. S. |
| Studio: | BTG Universal White Nights Entertainment Gnanamuthu Pattarai |
| Distributor: | Red Giant Movies |
| Runtime: | 144 minutes[1] |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Tamil |
Demonte Colony 2 (also marketed as Demonte Colony II: Vengeance of the Unholy) is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language supernatural horror thriller film directed by R. Ajay Gnanamuthu and produced by Bobby Balachandran under the banner of BTG Universal, together with Gnanamuthu Pattarai and White Nights Entertainment. The sequel to Demonte Colony (2015), Arulnithi reprises his role as Srinivasan, alongside Priya Bhavani Shankar and Archana Ravichandran in the lead role. Whilst Tsering Dorjee, Arun Pandian, Meenakshi Govindarajan and Sarjano Khalid in the supporting roles.
In 2022, Venky Venugopal was announced as the director of the sequel. That November, however, Gnanamuthu replaced him, while he would still be part of the writing team. Principal photography commenced the same month and was predominantly shot in Chennai. Filming wrapped by late-June 2023. The film has music composed by Sam C. S, cinematography handled by Harish Kannan and editing by Kumaresh D.
Demonte Colony II was initially scheduled to release in September 2023, but was postponed due to reasons unknown. The film was released by theatrically on 15 August 2024, coinciding with Independence Day. The film received positive reviews from critics and audiences praising it's screenplay and casts performances.[2]
Past (2009, June 6): On that fateful night, Samuel "Sam" Richard, who had bravely battled cancer and made a remarkable recovery, took his own life by hanging, alongside his friends who fell from an apartment building. Debbie, who loved and married Sam despite his previous illness, suspects that Sam's death was not accidental. Debbie's mother was furious when she discovered that Debbie had attempted artificial insemination to become pregnant using Sam's stored sperm, which had been preserved before his passing.
Past (2015, June 6): Six years after Sam's passing, Debbie is on her way to open her restaurant in Chennai when she witnesses an astrologer's suicide and stumbles upon Srini. She senses Sam's presence and hence meets a Daoshi to attempt again to communicate with Sam's spirit on the sixth anniversaryof his death. In Hyderabad, Raghunanthan's "Raghu" late father's will is revealed, bequeathing his vast estate of 2500 crores. Srinivasan "Srini", Raghunanthan's estranged twin brother, inherits a surprising 70% share, while Raghunanthan receives 25%, and Aishwarya, their step-sister, gets a mere 5%. Aishwarya and Raghunanthan decide to contest the will in court, determined to claim their rightful share of the inheritance. To facilitate communication with Sam's spirit, the daoshi sends Debbie to the spirit world. Transported to this realm, Debbie's spirit sees Sam, who appears trapped and she frantically scribbles "help". Simultaneously, in a surprising twist, Srini, who had fallen to his death from the flat, awakens. Debbie scribbles on the paper: "This will repeat" with an eerie doublet image of Srini's face, hinting at an ominous connection between the two events.
Present (2021, June 6): Six years later, Daoshi advises Debbie to perform a Mahakala Mahayana Pooja while Srinivasan lies in a vegetative state, under life support, treated by Dr. Richard, Debbie's father-in-law. Raghu obtains a court order in their favor, allowing for the passive euthanasia of Srini, which would enable Raghu to usurp the 70% share of the inheritance for himself. As Raghu and his associates search for Srini, Debbie intervenes, warning Raghu that if he harms Srini, he will also meet his own demise. It is revealed that on June 6th, 2015, a simultaneous event occurred where Srini fell from his flat, and Raghu, intoxicated, fell from a hotel terrace after an argument with Dayalan. Miraculously, Raghu survived, and Srini fell into a vegetative state. The daoshi explains that the twins, Raghu and Srini, originated from the same atom and were born at the same time, making them cosmically entangled and so they will die at the same time.
Dr. Richard reveals that when trying to connect with Sam's spirit, both Srini and Raghu's faces appeared. Debbie and Richard investigate further and discover a mysterious book, "Unsung King of a Fallen Kingdom," which Sam and Raghavan had finally read. The book had only been checked out once in six years, and whoever took it never returned it but died mysteriously on June 6th. The old librarian had recovered it and placed it back in the library. Upon further investigation, they find "Demonte Colony" script written by Raghavan, which tells the tale of an evil force that comes every six years to claim the chain, killing its beholder. The spirits of the dead are trapped in Demonte's world without rebirth. However, if there is no death due to the chain in a six-year cycle, the sinister cycle will end. Richard pleads with Raghu to save his son's spirit for a peaceful departure to rest in peace.
The daoshi sends Debbie, Raghu, and Dayalan to guard the Demonte house, warning them to prevent anyone from entering, as the amusement of fear would only perpetuate Demonte's horror. Despite the daoshi's warnings, Raghu, Dayalan, and the inspector, accompanied by a few policemen, rush into the building after hearing a scream. They find four girls held captive by three female ghosts, who vanish upon Raghu's arrival. Aditi, one of the girls reveals that they were teleported from their college hostel room to Demonte's house after reading the mysterious book from their library. Dayalan investigates the college security camera footage and identifies the librarian, Alphonse, who had given them the book. Aditi confesses to chanting hymns from the book to obtain the chain, which she had secretly placed in Raghu's coat. The daoshi fears for Srini's life and instructs the other monks to begin the Mahayana pooja, using the phurba when necessary.
Trapped inside the restaurant, Raghu, Debbie, and the daoshi see a video showing Raghu killing daoshi and a small boy who had come to order from the restaurant, while Debbie is trapped in a mirror room. As Raghu attacks Debbie, the video abruptly ends. Debbie and daoshi proceed to the room they saw in the video, where they find the Sigil of Baphomet, associated with Satan or Antichrist worship. The daoshi begins the rituals as the chain heats up, causing Raghu distress. Meanwhile, Richard is choked to death. Demonte's spirit arrives, throws the daoshi into the fish tank, and kills him. Demonte's spirit then possesses the daoshi's body and attempts to kill Debbie, but, Raghu harnesses the power of the phurba and kills the possessed daoshi. Dayalan and Aditi track them via the My BMW Application and arrive at the restaurant to find no one inside, while Debbie and Raghu are screaming for help right in front of them. Raghu breaks open the window but still finds them trapped. A massive flock of bats then attacks and surrounds them, as Debbie remembers that there was the Mahakala statue buried earlier which provided a temporary refuge. Above that place, Debbie and Raghu plan to break open the glass dome and escape. As they prepare, Sam's spirit appears among the bats, revealing Debbie is pregnant and asking for help to rescue his spirit from Demonte's trapped spirit world. However, Raghu intervenes, realizing it to be Demonte's spirit. Demonte's spirit attacks Raghu, but he still steps out to fetch the chain and hands it over to the pregnant Debbie to escape.
Demonte attacks Raghu, but he kicks the phone towards Debbie, allowing her to contact Dayalan. Meanwhile, Demonte's spirit possesses Srini, disrupting the ritual and beginning the sacrifice thereby burning the daoshi. Just in time, Dayalan and Aditi arrive to rescue Debbie. One of the monks knocks the phurba on the wall, causing the possessed Srini to shout, and the sacrifice is stopped midway. The morning, the police arrive to find the chain missing once again. Srini has recovered, but Raghu has fallen into coma. Debbie reveals that Demonte himself is performing the sacrifice for a 15th-century Portuguese king which Aditi too confirms. The police search for Alphonse, the librarian, and discover his haunted house, where he had self-sacrificed and tortured himself to appease Demonte. They also find a series of photos of the annual sacrifices to Demonte.
In the outskirts of Bihar, a limping person, presumed to be the librarian, Alphonse, is seen walking with photos of the sacrificed individuals, kills another person, and offers it to Satan. Srini vows to find him, his family, and their connection to Demonte, and end this sinister cycle to rescue his brother, Raghu, and break the curse by June 6th, 2027.
Seven years after Demonte Colony's release, it was reported that production for a sequel of the film would begin soon. The lead actor, Arulnithi, would reportedly reprise his role and R. Ajay Gnanamuthu, who directed the earlier film, would be writing the sequel while his associate Venky would direct it.[3] That May, Gnanamuthu confirmed the project, and revealed that Venky would be directing it.[4] [5] Gnanamuthu also stated that he will also be funding the project and that production will begin in July.[6] The sequel would be the second instalment in the franchise.[7] The project would be funded by Gnanamuthu's Gnanamuthu Pattarai, along with Kasi Viswananthan's Wild Nights Entertainment.[8] The companies made a public announcement on 30 November 2022, however,[9] revealing that Gnanamuthu had replaced Venky in directing the project.[10] Subtitled Vengeance of the Unholy, Priya Bhavani Shankar was announced being part of the cast the same day.[11]
On 8 January 2023, the makers had released a 2-minute video, which revealed the cast and crew, which includes Antii Jaaskielainen, Tsering Dorjee, Arunpandian and Muthukumar in the cast roles, while composer Sam C. S., cinematographers Harish Kannan and Deepak Menon and editor Kumaresh D in the crew roles.[12] Gnanamuthu had also chosen production designer Ravi Pandi, stunt choreographer Ganesh, costume designers Navadevi Rajkumar and Malini Karthikeyan and visual effects supervisor Fazil for the technical crew. Mugesh Sharma and VG Balasubramaniam were chosen as the executive producers.[13] [14]
Principal photography began with the first schedule on 30 November 2022 in Chennai. Arulnithi had wrapped up shooting his portions by 18 May.[15] The whole film shooting wrapped up by 28 June.[16] On 8 July, the team released a behind-the-scenes video also announcing the film releases in September 2023.[17] By August, Bobby Balachandran of BTG Universal had acquired the film's complete rights, and would be credited as producer.[18]
| Demonte Colony 2 | |
| Type: | soundtrack |
| Artist: | Sam C. S. |
| Genre: | Film soundtrack |
| Label: | Think Music |
| Language: | Tamil |
| Producer: | Sam C. S. |
| Prev Title: | Idi Minnal Kadhal |
| Prev Year: | 2023 |
| Year: | 2024 |
| Next Title: | Retta Thala |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
The soundtrack and background scores for the film is composed by Sam C. S. in his fourth collaboration with Arulnithi after Iravukku Aayiram Kangal (2018), K-13 (2019), Thiruvin Kural (2023); maiden with Ajay. The first single "Naraga Melangal" was released on 4 January 2024.[19] The second single "Nodigaley" was released on 31 July 2024.[20] The third single "Why Are We Wandering" was released on 3 August 2024.[21] The remaining three songs were released on 4 August on the film's jukebox.[22]
Demonte Colony II was initially scheduled to release in September 2023, but was postponed due to reasons unknown. The film was theatrically released on Independence Day 2024.[23] [24]
The post-theatrical streaming and satellite rights of the film were acquired by ZEE5 and Zee Tamil, respectively.[25]
Harshini SV of The Times of India gave three point five out of five stars and wrote, "Besides the mostly engaging screenplay and performances, what urges you to overlook the flaws is how Demonte Colony 2 is arguably one of the most compelling sequels to come out in Tamil cinema and that we would be happier even if the mystic chain is stolen yet again".[26] Avinash Ramachandran of The Indian Express gave two point five out of five stars and wrote, "Apart from the supernatural, I quite liked how Ajay sets up Demonte Colony 3 with newer villains, who stay true to the horror genre. Will this film see the light of day? Probably yes. Will I still be seated for the third part knowing novelty might not be the filmmaker’s forte? Probably yes, again. Third time’s the charm, they say".[27]
Anusha Sundar of OTTplay gave one point five out of five stars and wrote, "Demonte Colony 2 wants to become a horror film franchise that wants to keep its central conflict the same. But to even understand the conflict, seems to be tiresome. The film does not give a leeway to make you get involved in its haunted world, keeps you at bay, and hardly has meaty portions that a horror film would demand. It only turns out to be a cursed sequel, which is louder in its presentation and lacks mettle to give you an adrenaline rush".[28] DT Next critic rate three star out of five and wrote that "Demonte Colony 2 is a winner in terms of technicality."[29] Praveen Sudevan of The Hindu said, "Just as a cursed necklace plagues the characters in the Demonte Colony franchise, Tamil horror, it seems, is shackled by the chains of comedy".[30]