“Footfairy,” an Indian psychological thriller released in 2021 by Kanishk Verma, follows the barbarous pursuit of a serial killer with an odd fetish for female feet. It is a Netflix movie featuring Gulshan Devaiah as CBI Inspector Vivaan Deshmukh, assigned to trace down a serial killer who is always one step ahead of him.

Synopsis:

Inspector Vivaan Deshmukh is a high-level officer of the Central Bureau of Investigation in Mumbai. He is assigned to the case of a series of gruesome murders where the killer asphyxiates female victims and cuts off their feet, leaving their bodies in suitcases. As the body count increases, the media dubs the unknown assailant “Footfairy.” Vivaan and his team, including officers Harsh and Rishabh, follow different leads, but the killer is always one step ahead, dodging capture at every turn.

The Prime Suspect: Joshua Mathews:

During the investigations, Vivaan’s girlfriend shared a peculiar restaurant owner, Joshua Mathews, who was shrouded in an unusual fixation with women’s feet. It was one lead that ended up compelling Vivaan to delve more into Joshua’s background. A few women testified allegedly discomforting encounters with Joshua, as they found him strangely obsessed with their feet. Substantial probing finally reveals that many of their victims did partake of a meal at Joshua’s restaurant shortly before their deaths. Despite all these circumstantial connections, Joshua’s residence is investigated, and DNA testing doesn’t yield promising results to connect him to the murders.

A Personal Loss and Professional Setback:

The investigation becomes all too personal when Vivaan’s 15-year-old next-door neighbor turns out to be the fifth casualty of Footfairy. Faced with devastating loss and a sense of helplessness, Vivaan attacks Joshua, hoping he will crack. However, Joshua proves to have an alibi for the time he was attacked by Vivaan, and, with no evidence pointing to his crime, Vivaan is forced to resign from CBI after being sued for defamation by Joshua.

The Unsolved Climax:

Years later, after moving to Bangalore and settling down, Vivaan goes back to one of the murder sites.

A casual conversation with a child reveals that another man had recently inquired about the same location, which gives an indication that the Footfairy killer is still active.

An end-credit scene also presages that the killer may have emigrated: a woman in a snowy setting is assailed in a fashion consistent with the MO of the Footfairy.

Thematic Implications and Open-Ended Conclusion:

“Footfairy” does not explain the mystery at its root. This, in fact, is a realistic ending, just like in real life, when criminals are never caught, and the investigators leave with their psyches wounded, leaving the crimes to haunt them. It is a dedication to Bong Joon-Ho’s “Memories of Murder,” where this frustration is told in an unsolved case.

Audience Reception and Speculation:

The ambiguous ending has led to a lot of discussions among viewers, with the possibility of Joshua having an accomplice to Vivaan being the perpetrator. Some even feel that Vivaan’s obsession with the case and his deep knowledge of the victims point to a darker personal connection. Some believe that the real Footfairy is a member of the investigative team and that the whole theme of the movie is based on the perpetrator hiding in plain sight.

Conclusion:

“Footfairy” differs from most movies in the crime thriller genre in that it will not neatly tie everything together for its audience. Instead, it’s delving into obsession, the elusiveness of truth, and the psychological implications of unsolved mysteries present an interesting way for the viewers to contemplate their humanity and justice. Its conclusion serves as a reminder that some stories will not be able to conclude with any finality of answers and is intriguingly unsettling at the same time.