What the Film Tries to Be
Fourth Floor sets out as a supernatural mystery before morphing into a conspiracy thriller. Directed by Sundarpandi, the film begins with an intriguing premise: a haunted apartment where eerie visions connect a man to his ex-lover’s disappearance.
At its best, the film wants to explore themes of:
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Communication with the dead
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Guilt and unresolved relationships
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Corruption hidden behind urban development
Unfortunately, ambition outweighs cohesion.
Narrative Structure – Where It Falters
Dheeran (Aari Arjunan), a software engineer, arrives in Chennai after receiving a call from his ex-girlfriend Anu (Pavithra). He moves into Flat 4A at Royal Town — a dusty, seemingly abandoned apartment. Anu soon becomes unreachable.
Strange visions follow:
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Dreams of being pushed from the fourth floor
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A photograph of Anu with a child in the attic
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Ghostly traces of past residents who didn’t leave voluntarily
Just when the supernatural tension builds, the film abruptly pivots into:
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A real estate scam
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Covered-up murders
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A political nexus
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Corrupt cops
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A journalist silenced
Scenes don’t organically evolve — they merely stack up. A tense apartment sequence suddenly gives way to a fistfight. A courtroom petition interrupts horror buildup. A vision cuts into political exposition.
The structure lacks flow. Instead of escalating suspense, the film feels episodic and disjointed.
Character Utilisation
Dheeran – The Reluctant Investigator
Aari Arjunan carries the film with sincerity. He handles investigative portions with conviction, keeping the narrative from completely derailing. However, the character itself feels underwritten. Dheeran often reacts rather than drives events, leaving emotional beats underdeveloped.
Anu & Swetha – Functional Roles
Anu’s disappearance sets the plot in motion, but her character remains largely defined by mystery. Swetha (Deepshika), the neighbour, serves as support but doesn’t evolve beyond the trope.
The supporting cast largely fills narrative requirements rather than inhabiting fully realised characters. Thalaivasal Vijay brings some needed gravitas, but even that can’t elevate the scattered storytelling.
Visual & Technical Merits
Technically, the film shows flashes of promise:
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The dusty, cobweb-filled apartment creates an effective eerie atmosphere.
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Certain night sequences generate genuine unease.
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The haunted-building setup initially works in the film’s favour.
However, tonal inconsistency dilutes the impact. Horror, action, romance, and political drama jostle for space without blending seamlessly.
A tighter edit — especially given the two-hour-plus runtime — could have significantly strengthened the narrative.
Theme vs Execution
The idea of communicating with the deceased is not new, but it remains fertile ground for storytelling. The problem here isn’t the concept — it’s the overload.
The film piles on:
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Romance flashbacks
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Songs
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Fight sequences
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Political land grabs tied to an international company
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Court petitions
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Media conspiracies
The political nexus angle — corrupt cops and land sharks — feels like a recycled trope in Tamil cinema. Fourth Floor adds little freshness to this familiar formula.
What could have been a tight supernatural thriller becomes cluttered and unfocused.
Plus Points
✔ Strong screen presence from Aari Arjunan
✔ Promising haunted-apartment premise
✔ Occasional effective horror moments
✔ Thalaivasal Vijay’s gravitas
Minus Points
✘ Disjointed narrative structure
✘ Tonal inconsistency
✘ Overstuffed plot elements
✘ Underdeveloped supporting characters
✘ Overlong runtime
Final Verdict
Fourth Floor starts with an intriguing supernatural hook but gradually loses structural stability — much like the building it revolves around. Despite Aari’s committed performance, the film struggles to maintain narrative cohesion or thematic focus.
With sharper editing and a more disciplined script, this could have been a gripping thriller. Instead, it settles for scattered intrigue and familiar political tropes.
Rating
⭐ 2.5 / 5
An interesting idea weighed down by cluttered execution and uneven storytelling.
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