Mrs. Serial Killer Parent Guide

Sona (Jacqueline Fernandez) is happily married to respected gynecologist Dr. Mritunjoy Mukerjee (Manoj Baypayee) until the good doctor is arrested for a nasty string of serial murders. Aware that lynch mobs want to kill her husband and most lawyers refuse to touch his case, Sona takes matters into her own hands. With a pretty good idea of who actually committed the murders and the determination to see her husband freed, Sona realizes that if the killings continue then the authorities will know the man behind bars isn’t responsible. Now she just has to find the right victim…

As dark comedies go, there are bleaker premises. There are also much funnier movies. Mrs. Serial Killer has a very thrown-together feel, with plot elements slamming into one another rather than lining up. Things happen in ways that seem absurd, just so the plot can continue to traipse along. Maybe this is just one of those cultural humor gaps, and that reads as funnier to an Indian audience - but it doesn’t translate well to this North American viewer. And, speaking of translating, you should know that the dialogue in this movie takes place in several different languages, including English. Unless you are fluent in several Indian dialects, you had better enjoy reading subtitles if you want to watch Sona’s killing spree.

The sets are elaborate and colorful, and for me, the best part of the movie. The cinematography may be a little much, but at least it’s fun. Big dramatic zooms and camera sweeps at least give you something to look at while the characters make a general mess of things. All of this is exacerbated by the fact that almost everything is overdramatic to an almost ludicrous degree. Again, this may just be a cultural translation failure, but it really is jarring. It feels like a slapstick comedy for kids - right up until you see another decaying corpse.

So, as I might have hinted, this isn’t great family entertainment. There are some issues with profanity, but a larger problem is the gore and the mature subject matter. But more than being inappropriate for younger (and more squeamish) audiences, it isn’t terribly entertaining. If you’re going to subject yourself to a parade of content concerns, you may as well pick one that’s actually worth watching. Something with some kind of moral lesson, or maybe something that’s at least fun. This is neither, and worse, it’s slow. It’s not a good sign if I start feeling jealous of the corpses when there’s still half an hour left in the run time.