₦airaland Forum

It's been ages NL, but I am back with another movie review for the newly released, Suspicion on Prime Video.

It is one of very few commissioned Nigerian movies on Prime, alongside Breath of Life, and was released on the 28th of November. The premise of this movie is one that has not been extensively explored in Nollywood in recent times, and it really makes you wonder why, because, I mean...supernatural (Juju) doings? It should be second nature to a country that is as spiritually inclined as Nigeria.

I won't dwell too much on the introductory part of this article, so, without further ado, let's dive into the supernatural world spun by the Ighos.


Movie Title: Suspicion


Cast:
Stan Nze
Uzor Arukwe
Omowunmi Dada
Tina Mba
Kalu Ikeagwu

Director: Tosin Igho

Screenplay: Tosin Igho, Igho

Run Time: 1 Hr 55 Mins

Plot:

A young man's journey of vengeance, after the death of his best friend and goddaughter, leads him to uncovering shocking revelations about the life he once thought he knew.


Review:

This movie takes us on a journey, introducing us to our lead, Voke (Nze), a young man with great potential, that just hasn't materialised into anything. Whatever Voke seemingly lacks financially, he makes up for with the love of his girlfriend, Chisom (Dada), as well as his best friend, Rogba (Arukwe), and Rogba's daughter, Lolu, who also doubles as Coke's goddaughter. We see how much Voke loves Lolu, with how easily be indulges the little girl. So, when a groups of kidnappers attempt to snatch Lolu on her way to school, Rogba and Voke put up a good fight to hinder that. Their fight is, however, all for nothing, as the kidnappers successfully snatch up Lolu.

Now that tastebuds have been sufficiently whet, let me pause on telling the storyline and get into what worked in this movie. I absolutely hate spoilers, so, I won't spoil this for anyone who hasn't seen the movie.

The things that worked in this movie, were first, the fight scenes. Every single time there was a fight scene, the actors sold it, and the gore....oh, the gore! The knife slashes, the bullet shots, if the director was going for shock value, he hit it quite smoothly.

The storyline was also good; of course, it deals with love, loss, grief, vengeance, betrayal, among other things. I won't say I was particularly shocked by some of the revelations as the story went along, but just because I expected the reveal, didn't make it any less an interesting watch. I enjoyed how the story unraveled, how the suspects switched up. This was an under 2-hour movie, but a lot happened in that time. It did not drag, and this is saying a lot, because in recent times, Nollywood has had a number of movies that were just as long, but they threw in a bunch of filler scenes the movies could have done without. Every scene in this movie belonged in it. Even if there were filler scenes, they worked to further the movie, they weren't just there like, "Okay...so, what's the point?"

The use of Juju (black magic), was well done to an extent. It established that Voke is from a family gifted in the dark arts, hence, the powers he possesses. I like that something relatable to the African society was chosen for a paranormal movie. Juju is not a foreign concept, so, choosing that, in telling a tale such as this, and going on to show how his gifts helped him in his battles, made for an interesting watch. Juju being used as just a tool of investigation, and not necessarily portrayed in a negative light, was refreshing.

The Special effects were also well done, it did not look tacky, there was no annoying sound to show the Juju was in effect, or anything of such. There was this scene, where a certain old man was narrating what happened to Rogba (Uzor), to Voke (Nze), the use of special effects in the storytelling was absolutely brilliant. It's a standout scene to me.

Another thing that worked was the acting performances. Stan Nze and Uzor Arukwe are brilliant actors, who never disappoint in executing their roles. Stan had a rather muted performance as Voke, his emotional range in this was a bit flat, and I'm choosing to believe that's what the character was supposed to give off; muted, especially after his many losses. Uzor, as Rogba, pulled a little more heartstrings with his distraught disposition at the kidnap of his daughter, but Tina Mba's dilemma when her son, Voke, sought her help to save the woman he loved, quite possibly, snatched the plaque from Uzor's grip as far as emotion-laden performances go. The lady who plays Onajite (Uchechika), although present for a few scenes, had the most emotional range. Kalu Ikeagwu's performance as Tony, was also a decent highlight from this movie, he brought a sprinkle of humour to this Thriller.

That's enough for what worked. Let's move on to what did not work, for me, in this movie. The first thing that did not work was the dialogue; specifically, the use of language. The pidgin English was not well done, it did not sound like the actors were native speakers of the language most of the time. In fact, aside Onajite and maybe Rogba, everyone else who spoke pidgin here, sounded almost as bad as Ryan Reynolds did when he spoke Igbo in that X-Men movie. It just kept grating my ears. I don't know why the language did not flow as well, but yeah, it didn't work like I assume it was supposed to.


Another issue, how Voke's powers are gotten is not made very clear; yes, we see his mother soak him in some charmed water in the opening scene, but we don't learn how these powers come about; is it hereditary? Do you get it once you're soaked in that water? Is it a combination of both? We also don't learn what his powers really are, his mother mentions he is one of few people with more than 2 powers, but she doesn't state what these powers are. We see he can stop bullets and can't be pierced by normal harmful objects like a bullet and a knife, he can also tell when juju has been used, but there is no explicit mention of his exact powers. It can be overlooked because there is only so much depth a movie can sink into, but it would have been nice to have his powers clearly stated.

Another thing that served as a distraction for me was the aged makeup Voke had on, I don't know if it's because it was poorly done, or some other thing, but it just looked off everytime I saw him in it.


Also, that Lolu babe was not a very smart girl for the duration of that kidnap scene, because what do you mean they shot the man that had just saved you, and you just stood there, waiting for them to come and snatch you up? Leg no gree you run? What happened to your survival skills?

All in all, Suspicion was a very good watch. In a year when Nollywood has released so many underwhelming productions, Suspicion has truly taken this anchor leg of the race seriously and I appreciate this 90+ minutes screamer Tosin Igho has shot for the industry. The great thing about this movie, is that it has great potential for a sequel, and even for a series if they're up to it. The possibilities are endless, and I have great faith in Tosin Igho, to pull it off, if he does get around to making one of those.

Rating: 6.8/10

If you've watched this movie, what did you like about it and what didn't you like? If not, you should get on that Prime Video app and enjoy a good watch.

A movie that JuJu was used for an investigation Is what U rated 8.5

Weldone. I don't even have time to be watching movie now.

Try and review this Itele the icon movie …KESARI

I love the gore,

Great Review as always

Honestly Nigerian movie industry are really trying now even though I am not a fan. But I will always prefer my old comedies nollywood movies with the likes of MR, IBU, SAM LOCO, CHARLES etc.

to watch movies this day is one of the hardest things to me.

afterall Nigerian daily life is a movie of its own
and our social space is awash with many action

Obedient Movement vs Emilokan parambulation
Nigerians vs S/Africans/Ghanaians
Davido Vs Wizkid
Burna Vs Akpi
Dele Farotimi vs Afe Babalola
Tax reform vs Northern Governors
VDM vs every other stupid person/organization

Who dey watch movies dis days?
Hunger dey

shawnfamous:
A movie that JuJu was used for an investigation Is what U rated 8.5

The Plot is centered on Juju.

Stop acting like Juju don’t do those things , even in the Asian countries , they use Juju for investigation

The character , cinematography and cgi were pretty good , compared to the nonsense in Lisabi , Abi Wetin dem Dey call am.

I only subbed to watch the Set Up which I can say is one of the best Nollywood movie in a very long time

Following...

Yet to see the movie, so i cant comment

After giving us expo that voke got 3 super powers which no one known yet has , they failed to detail the uniqueness of this super powers .and still a bit confused with the character played by RMD , can we say he's a good or the bad guy ?

vowiski:
The Plot is centered on Juju.

Stop acting like Juju don’t do those things , even in the Asian countries , they use Juju for investigation

The character , cinematography and cgi were pretty good , compared to the nonsense is Lisabi , Abi Wetin dem Dey call am.

I only subbed to watch the Set Up which I can say is one of the best Nollywood movie in a very long time

For you to love the Set Up so much to cite it as example shows that you love Nigerian crime related movies more. The Suspicion is about Nigerian crime, like all those the Trade, Gangs of Lagos, Brotherhood, King of Boys, etc.

Not sure a person that wants to enjoy a thorough movie filled with both fun, serenity, gladness and maybe some lessons too about reality would love the Set Up, or this Suspicion (I only watched the trailer of the Suspicion by the way).

Too much fake juju frustrates audience because the movie lines would be hard to follow through.

nairalee:
to watch movies this day is one of the hardest things to me.

afterall Nigerian daily life is a movie of its own
and our social space is awash with many action

Obedient Movement vs Emilokan parambulation
Nigerians vs S/Africans/Ghanaians
Davido Vs Wizkid
Burna Vs Akpi
Dele Farotimi vs Afe Babalola
Tax reform vs Northern Governors
VDM vs every other stupid person/organization

damn i feel same way too.

Saw it 3 days ago, cool rating 7.2
Nice CGI, good movie plotting and average storyline.
Downloaded from Awafim

8.5/10?

Una no know movie rating.

Even fast and furious no reach 8.5

shawnfamous:
A movie that JuJu was used for an investigation Is what U rated 8.5

Fastest and easy way investigation

@Safarigirl, your film ratings are too high. Much of your reviewed films that I eventually saw weren't up to par i.e Kill Boro, Far From Home, Blood Sisters. I think you should see what the Koreans are doing. They are nowhere compared to what Nollywood is showcasing.

nairalee:
to watch movies this day is one of the hardest things to me.

afterall Nigerian daily life is a movie of its own
and our social space is awash with many action

Obedient Movement vs Emilokan parambulation
Nigerians vs S/Africans/Ghanaians
Davido Vs Wizkid
Burna Vs Akpi
Dele Farotimi vs Afe Babalola
Tax reform vs Northern Governors
VDM vs every other stupid person/organization

You forgot
Portable
That only fans girl nko
Baltazhar too
Steady nude leaks Dey drop

kingthreat:
@Safarigirl, your film ratings are too high. Much of your reviewed films that I eventually saw weren't up to par i.e Kill Boro, Far From Home, Blood Sisters. I think you should see what the Koreans are doing. They are nowhere compared to what Nollywood is showcasing.

I rate my films according to what I like, not according to what the Koreans are doing.

I don't watch Korean movies. The reality of Korea is that it is a highly misogynistic and racist country, and I cannot suspend belief enough to patronise their movie industry.

I'm a Nollywood buff, and I write for fellow Nollywood buffs, not for people who enjoy Korean drama, since our tastes and likes will differ. But thank you for your feedback.

Most of my ratings are made on first watch, and tend to change after I watch them again, but I don't come back to change it. I do agree that they are unnecessarily high though and have modified this one.

Cbn

shawnfamous:
A movie that JuJu was used for an investigation Is what U rated 8.5

I don reduce the rating on second watch, but it is not because Juju was used for investigation. It is because there were other aspects of the movie that did not work well. The premise of Juju being used for investigation is brilliant.

But, if you have issues with it, can you tell us what is wrong in a movie where Juju is used for investigation, and how it differs from a production like Supernatural, for instance, or Heroes, or any of the other Hollywood paranormal movies Nigerians have watched and enjoyed in the past?

What is wrong with a movie that has such a premise?

shawnfamous:
A movie that JuJu was used for an investigation Is what U rated 8.5

Certainly you have not seen the movie 🎥

I will rate the movie 8.5 if not 9 /10 I was a complete different movie from the usual Nigerians movies

From the story line to the acting

Nive
I appreciate the fact that African story is what they are trying to say, but won't these writers evolve.

safarigirl:
I rate my films according to what I like, not according to what the Koreans are doing.

I don't watch Korean movies. The reality of Korea is that it is a highly misogynistic and racist country, and I cannot suspend belief enough to patronise their movie industry.

I'm a Nollywood buff, and I write for fellow Nollywood buffs, not for people who enjoy Korean drama, since our tastes and likes will differ. But thank you for your feedback.

Most of my ratings are made on first watch, and tend to change after I watch them again, but I don't come back to change it. I do agree that they are unnecessarily high though and have modified this one.

What do you even mean by Korea is a highly misogynistic and racist country? 🤷🏼

Do people just throw words around on the net. Kindly explain what you meant. Thank you!

safarigirl:
I rate my films according to what I like, not according to what the Koreans are doing.

I don't watch Korean movies. The reality of Korea is that it is a highly misogynistic and racist country, and I cannot suspend belief enough to patronise their movie industry.

I'm a Nollywood buff, and I write for fellow Nollywood buffs, not for people who enjoy Korean drama, since our tastes and likes will differ. But thank you for your feedback.

Most of my ratings are made on first watch, and tend to change after I watch them again, but I don't come back to change it. I do agree that they are unnecessarily high though and have modified this one.

Also, you're saying you don't rate films based on Korean standards cause you don't watch Korean movies, fair play. But, you're also saying Korea is misogynistic and racist, and that's why you can't vibe with their movie industry. That's a sweeping statement. Lol

Now, how can you make a judgment about an entire country's film industry when you don't actually watch their movies? It don't make sense.

Are you confused?

Botragelad:
What do you even mean by Korea is a highly misogynistic and racist country? 🤷🏼

Do people just throw words around on the net. Kindly explain what you meant. Thank you!

I mean it as it is said. I have read many many articles detailing the fact that the way male protagonists are written is not quite as the men are in the country, and let me not even get into the bullying culture that permeates the entertainment industry there.

There is an entire movement called the 4B movement, which has women refusing to procreate with the men in that country because of the misogyny levels. I don't know if you've read about that, but yeah, I'm not throwing words around, but KDrama addicts are okay with overlooking such things, which is still good for them.

Anyway, if I don't see people of a darker persuasion, I don't care for it. Media greatly affects perceptions, and I make a conscious effort to watch people who look like me more than others.

mamatayour:
Try and review this Itele the icon movie …KESARI

Itele is a very good actor but should not have any business in writing or producing a movie