Movie Title : KM 17 Language : English Running time : 1 hour 24 minutes Release date : 2024 Streaming platform : Prime Video Director : Lyndsey Efejuku Cast : Toni Tones, Blossom Chukwujekwu, Theresa Edem, Kelechi Udegbe, Malvis Ann. PREMIUM TIMES delivers fact-based journalism for Nigerians, by Nigerians — and our community of supporters, the readers who donate, make our work possible. Help us bring you and millions of others in-depth, meticulously researched news and information.
It’s essential to acknowledge that news production incurs expenses, and we take pride in never placing our stories behind a prohibitive paywall. Will you support our newsroom with a modest donation to help maintain our commitment to free, accessible news? Some people’s grief can push them to unimaginable extremes, even to the point of becoming a psychopath who does not care about anyone or feels remorse. When the loss of a loved one turns into an obsession, it can drive a person to cross all moral boundaries, leading them down a dark and dangerous path.
The film explores how far a man who desires to resurrect his sweet mother can go, requiring the life of an innocent woman, which leads to his doom. The film is about two sisters and a psychopathic taxi driver obsessed with resurrection. He kidnaps Ada to use her as a sacrifice to resurrect his dead mother.
Her sister Cheeka is determined to find her, and she coincidentally enters the same taxi as her sister the day she went missing. Cheeka stops a taxi at night one day, and it is unknown to her that it was the same taxi her sister Ada was in the day she went missing. Minutes into the ride, she tells the Taxi driver to turn off the radio because of the kidnap news update.
The Taxi driver tries to initiate conversations, but Cheeka is not in the mood. Cheeka makes a phone call asking why the police revealed her missing sister’s name to the public, knowing full well she wants it to remain private. Cheeka receives another phone call, this time from her aunt, reminding her of the items she and her sister were supposed to prepare for their mother’s burial.
The conversation deeply upsets her, dimming her mood even further. Fighting back tears, the driver, Dorigho, notices her mood and asks if she is okay, and she explains she is having a rough day – a rough 29 days. She tells him about her mother’s death and her missing sister.
Shortly after, she notices his car’s plate number engraved on his back window. She immediately checks the plate number her sister sent her while she was trying to get help that night. The shocking revelation struck her.
Ada was in the same taxi the night she went missing. Startled, she questions the driver and decides to extend her ride after reaching her destination, eager to engage him further. Unsure of what to do next, she brings up the subject of her sister’s kidnapping and shows the driver a photo of Ada.
His reaction is sudden and violent; he angrily hurls her phone out of the car. This infuriates Cheeka, and she tries strangling him as he drives. A fierce struggle follows, leaving the driver injured.
He promises to take her to her sister, and she follows him. Amidst the struggle to escape from him, they arrive at Dorigho’s hideout, and to her surprise, Ada is alive but paralysed. He goes on to narrate a story about his “sweet” mother, who is late, and his attempts to resurrect her from the dead.
Still tied to a chair, Cheeka desperately pleads with Dorigho to let her take her sister’s place in the sacrifice. He coldly refuses, explaining that because his mother died in an accident, the sacrifice must also die by accident, which is why he hit Ada with his taxi. Determined to save her sister, Cheeka fights to free herself from the chair and eventually breaks loose.
She fights with Dorigho and eventually kills him and rescues her sister. Although they used limited casts to achieve this piece, they delivered their roles impressively, bringing the story to life. Blossom Chukwujekwu as Dorigho, the psychopathic cab driver played that role effortlessly giving off the vibes of a real psych.
Chukwujekwu’s performance is commendable judging by his effortless switch from being a cool driver to being an unhinged predator and from the use of pidgin to English. Although it seems as though he forgets he has a fresh gun injury and still acts extremely strong. Toni Tones’ performance as Cheeka the younger sister to Ada is able to draw the audience into fitting into her shoes.
Tones’ ability to convey a wide range of emotions through her facial expressions is remarkable, from the despair of her sister’s disappearance to the determination to uncover the truth. Ada (Theresa Edem) also gave us her best as the victim. Her performance is nothing short of commendable as Edem effectively conveys the helplessness and vulnerability of her character.
The film talks about a psychopath who feels he can resurrect his mother from the dead endangering the life of a young lady with the same birth date as his mother. The storyline at some point gets boring and quite unrealistic. Cheeka finds out through the engraved plate number that this is the same plate number her sister sent to her and instead of getting out of the car when she gets to your destination and alerting the necessary authorities, she decides to take the law into her hands.
This is a very unrealistic scenario that should be avoided in reality. She endangers her life to battle with someone who is bigger and stronger rather than make smarter decisions. The nudge to skip at intervals is irresistible for a boring movie with fewer activities.
Also, the two sisters had the opportunity to escape Dorigho but they just didn’t seize that opportunity. For Cheeka, we can make an excuse that she desperately wanted to see her sister which was why she did not escape nor kill Dorigho when the opportunity surfaced. The movie could have been more engaging if it had ventured beyond the car scenes and lengthy conversations.
Despite the inclusion of flashbacks, the story remained largely confined to the car, which limited its potential. However, the dialogue between the characters was rich and informative, offering depth to the storyline. Did they forget that Dorigho was shot in the side of his stomach? Despite being wounded, he didn’t bleed out and somehow still had the strength to chase after Cheeka and carry her to the hideout when his car broke down on the way.
Another glaring flaw occurs when Cheeka who has blood stains on her face from the beating Dorigho gave her, after encountering the police automatically has a clean powdered face. This continuity error could have been easily avoided with more attention to detail. Overall, the actors pulled their weight and gave the movie their best which is evident in the film.
Their action, facial expressions and transitions were quite professional. The cinematography including the lighting, video quality and camera movement was well-executed. KM17 now showing on Prime Video 4/10 At Premium Times, we firmly believe in the importance of high-quality journalism.
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