For its unique storyline and thrilling action scenes, Suspicion by Tosin Igho makes for a fantastic and exciting watch.
By Fejiro Sagua
Every legendary superhero has an origin story. Superman’s father placed him in a spacecraft and launched it to save him from Krypton’s destruction. He landed on Earth and was adopted by a couple who taught him to use his superpowers to help people. Batman witnessed the murder of his parents and swore vengeance on criminals.
However, if Batman and Superman were placed in a melting pot, the result would be a superhero with characteristics similar to Voke, the hero of Suspicion from South-Southern Nigeria. Voke uses his spiritual powers, inherited from his parents, to fight crime after witnessing felonies committed against two people dear to his heart.
African spirituality, locally termed juju, is often portrayed in Nollywood films as “black magic”, practised with vengeful, greedy, and sometimes murderous intent.
Even when movie characters resort to juju to solve problems in desperate times, they soon suffer for it and are shamed by viewers and other characters in the film, who judge them and accuse them of choosing a “dark path”.
However, through his own Urhobo ethnicity, film director, Tosin Igho, explores African spirituality in Suspicion from a unique and intriguing angle, one so different that it prompts a re-evaluation of everything the mainstream media has ever portrayed about juju.
Set in urban and suburban areas of present-day South-Southern and South-Western Nigeria, Suspicion follows the life of a man named Voke (Stan Nze). Born into a family of traditionalists, Voke inherits extra-terrestrial powers from his parents, including the ability to uncover truths and invincibility, or odeshi in local parlance.
The story begins when he loses his best friend, Rogba (Uzor Arukwe), shortly after his daughter, Lolu (Ashafa Sakamoto), is kidnapped. He soon receives a call from a friend in the area, informing him that the corpse of a little girl who resembles Lolu, Rogba’s daughter, has just been brought into the mortuary.
He identifies the body as Lolu’s, and something quite interesting happens when he touches it: he unlocks a new power—the ability to uncover murder weapons. From that moment, Voke masters the use of his powers and, with them, pursues a career in crime-fighting.
The story then takes a sharp turn five years later when a serial killer emerges, using that same weapon in his operations. And so, the hunt begins.
With its blood-pumping action scenes and thrilling plot twists, Suspicion can be rightly categorised as an action-thriller.
The film promises an engaging story, brilliant sound and cinematography, and solid performances from veterans such as Tina Mba, Ron Mgbatogu, Kalu Ikeagwu, Tony Akposheri, Frank Konwea, and Richard Mofe Damijo, alongside actors like Stan Nze, Omowumi Dada, Uzor Arukwe, Uche Elumelu, Francis Sule, and Boma Akpore, who are at the peak of their careers.
Uche Elumelu’s performance, though brief, stands out as she brilliantly portrays the daughter of an Urhobo traditionalist torn between rage and grief at the death of her lover.
Her command of the Urhobo language and the depth of her intonation are profoundly impressive. The lead actor, Stan Nze, also fits perfectly into the action-thriller genre, delivering a strong portrayal of a combatant detective passionate about his work.
Suspicion, however, suffers greatly from flagrant continuity issues, which are common in Nollywood thrillers. These continuity flaws give the impression that the production was hastily done, with certain important details carelessly neglected.
It is perplexing to wonder how the murder weapon seemingly travelled from the hands of Lolu’s killers to a certain murder suspect five years later, and then to the real killer. More importantly, how did the suspect, who had nothing to do with any of the murders, come to possess the murder weapon while the real killer was using it? This does not add up.
Furthermore, the representation in Suspicion feels lazily executed. Being an Urhobo story, the production should have infused more of the Urhobo language and included adequate subtitles for the little that was spoken, rather than relying more on traditional names and accents.
It defeats the purpose of portraying a minority ethnic group to the world. Additionally, although Stan Nze plays his role terrifically, his Igbo intonation often overshadows Voke’s Urhobo accent, which detracts from the authenticity of the portrayal.
For its unique storyline and thrilling action scenes, Suspicion by Tosin Igho makes for a fantastic and exciting watch. As is typical of a good thriller, the story unfolds smoothly, drawing the audience in as the plot thickens. The plot twist catches them off-guard and leaves them with lingering questions.
Rating: 2/5.
Suspicion is streaming on Prime Video.
Fejiro Sagua is a writer and film enthusiast who loves diving into the world of movies. She’s always on the lookout for great stories and new films to watch. When she’s not busy writing or watching movies, you can find her reading books, at the gym, creating content, or having interesting conversations with friends, family, or even strangers.