"Katangari Goes to Town"—and Gets Lost on the Way

Bold as it may be, the First Features Project's whodunnit offers little to captivate its audience.

“Katangari Goes to Town” is directed by Reuben Reng. It is currently streaming on Prime Video. Like, Share, and Subscribe.

The First Features Project series has been a remarkable initiative, offering new and eager filmmakers an opportunity to bring their ideas to life. Stories that might otherwise never have been told get their time in the sun. The series has undeniably introduced fresh perspectives and ambitious narratives to Nollywood. Yet, as the project has evolved, so too has its penchant for tackling bigger stories than its premise allows with increasingly uneven execution. Katangari Goes to Town, the latest entry in the series, unfortunately continues this trend. It’s a challenging watch from start to finish.

The film introduces us to Katangari (Segun Arinze), a reclusive, retired police officer with a prickly personality. Through a series of opening events, we’re thrust into Katangari’s world and learn of his reputation for being difficult. We see this in the way he disperses a local militia and learn that despite his aversion to community engagement, he has been appointed head of the local vigilante group. These early moments are meant to establish the film’s setting and Katangari’s larger-than-life persona. However, the clunky dialogue and stilted performances make these scenes almost unbearable, setting a grim tone for what’s to come.

At the heart of the story is the mystery of Chief Bello’s death. While the official report attributes his demise to natural causes, in a sly show of hand in death, Bello says in a pre-recorded video played during the reading of his will that someone in his household was out to get him. Tasked with unraveling the truth, Katangari, Bello’s cousin and reluctant investigator, gets to work, despite their well-documented mutual dislike.

Borrowing heavily from the framework of an Agatha Christie-style whodunit, Katangari Goes to Town attempts to craft a suspenseful thriller. However, where Christie’s works excel with intricate plotting, compelling characters, and sharp tension, this film delivers none of these elements. Instead, it offers a dull, lifeless narrative that struggles to hold interest. Even compared to recent Nollywood efforts in the mystery genre—like A Weekend to Forget or the ludicrously entertaining Hotel Labamba—Katangari Goes to Town fails to measure up. It neither carves out a unique voice nor characters to deliver a memorable story.

The cast of suspects initially promises intrigue, with characters who, on paper, could create a rich, layered mystery:

• Sofia: The young wife with an air of secret around her.

• Ulan: The ex-wife with expensive tastes.

• Wash aka DJ Weez: The son and heir who dreams of spinning records, not inheriting the keys to the kingdom.

• Chatong: The daughter with ambitions of power.

• Pastor Dominion: The greedy man of God with a deviant sexual history.

• Audu: The business partner with a scheme.

• Mima: The personal assistant who seems the most harmless.

Character posters | First Features Project

Unfortunately, the film fails to inject any real tension or intrigue into its proceedings. Essential elements of the genre, such as clever misdirections and flashbacks, are glaringly absent when they’re needed most. Instead, these techniques are reserved for a lackluster third act weighed down by flooding of exposition and new information. Budget constraints may explain the lack of flashbacks, but their omission—and the absence of smart twists—leaves the narrative flat and painfully predictable.

The lack of chemistry among the cast is another glaring issue. Across the board, there is a shortage of much-needed chemistry to further exemplify the relationships of these characters stuck in close quarters. Their interactions fail to convey either love or the simmering hatred that is repeatedly stated but never felt. The dynamic between Katangari and Mima (Patience Ujah), Chief Bello’s assistant-turned-deputy, is particularly disjointed. Both actors spend the most time together on screen and appear ill at ease, delivering awkward dialogue with no spark. The palpable resentment between the bickering family should have been the emotional core of the mystery—a web of animosity for Detective Katangari to untangle. Instead, the film offers characters who declare their hatred for Chief Bello but fail to convince the audience of its authenticity.

Director Reuben Reng shoulders much of the blame for these shortcomings. While even the most lackluster script can sometimes yield standout performances, there’s none of that here. The absence of subtlety in the direction exacerbates the film’s flaws, telegraphing its twists and robbing the story of suspense. The killer’s identity is obvious well before the film’s climax. The movie wants you to know who did it and spares no coin in pretending otherwise. And while the killer’s motive is eventually revealed, it feels neither compelling nor earned. The anticlimactic plot twist further underscores the film’s inability to execute its lofty ambitions.

Katangari Goes to Town aims high, aspiring to join the ranks of beloved whodunits. Yet, the filmmakers seem unprepared for the challenges of the genre, delivering a film that feels both overreaching and undercooked. While it’s commendable to see Nollywood filmmakers continue to take on ambitious narratives, this effort highlights the importance of strong screenplays, cohesive direction, and compelling performances in bringing such stories to life.

For a film about uncovering hidden truths, Katangari Goes to Town leaves its audience with only one certainty: some stories are best left untold.

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Directed by: Reuben Reng

Screenplay by: Emil Garuba

Starring: Segun Arinze, Ireti Doyle, Munachi Abii, Gbubemi Ejeye, Patience Ajuh, Bethel Njoku, Sani Mu’azu, and others

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Katangari Goes to Town is the eighth film from the First Features Slate from Natives Filmworks and Michelangelo Productions.