The Stoneman Murders is based on the horrific serial killings in Mumbai in 1983. Using a stone, a psychopath crushed the heads of sleeping pavement dwellers. The killer was never found.

Debutant director Manish Gupta creates a fictional thriller around these murders, attempting to explain what happened and why the mystery remains unsolved. The idea is compelling but the execution is limp.

Gupta, who earlier wrote Sarkar, takes us on a Ram Gopal Varma-like journey through narrow gullies in shanties, sweaty chases in train stations and Mumbai police politics.

He creates a few genuinely creepy moments but The Stoneman Murders is undone by a sagging script and a feeble conclusion.

The big twist at the end is both limp and predictable. Kay Kay Menon, playing a diligent police officer, works hard to bring gravitas and credibility to the script but even he cannot pull off dialogue about tribal ritual murder with any degree of conviction. The Stoneman Murders is for die hards only.