A young woman makes her way home on a moonless night. She starts to undress in front of an open window. A masked man strikes, leaving the woman in a pool of blood – and a string of jasmine flowers next to her.

The jasmine killer attacks again 30 years later, this time targeting the friend of a true crime show’s anchor. Sandhya (Sobhita Dhulipala) is an unusually sensitive journalist, unwilling to couch crimes in sensationalist language. Sandhya is also something of an amateur sleuth, helping and often surpassing the police in linking her friend’s slaying to the serial murderer’s previous exploits.

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Sandhya’s boyfriend Amar (Viswhadev Rachakonda) helps her as she attempts to unmask the killer. It’s a matter of time before the perpetrator steps in to claim credit for the crimes – and threaten Sandhya.

Sharan Kopishetty’s Telugu film is out on Prime Video. Written by Chandra Pemmaraju and Kopishetty, Cheekatilo (In the Darkness) is designed as a showcase for Sobhita Dhulipala, playing a feminist who smiles but rarely and bristles with concern for women who have been unfairly targetted.

As an entry in the annals of modern serial killer films, Cheekatilo is just about adequate. It has all the ingredients – grisly crimes, victims who are blamed for the violence done unto them, a doughty heroine, an unlikely murderer – but not the right mesh of tension and focus.

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While earnest and well-meaning in its messaging, the film loses its nerve in trying to maintain suspense over the serial killer’s identity and motives. Sandhya’s ability to commandeer the investigation relies too heavily on coincidence and implausibility.

Sandhya’s podcast makes connections that the police simply cannot – not because they lack the skills, but because the movie overly favours its dour heroine. The murderer’s delay in getting to Sandhya is among the many excuses that Cheekatilo makes in letting Sandhya seize the day, and the night too.