Sumathi Valavu

Sumathi Valavu attempts to blend horror with comedy, but the results are mixed. While the horror elements shine through effectively-especially the forest sequences which were genuinely eerie and well-executed-the comedic portions fail to land. The timing and delivery often fall flat, making the humor feel forced rather than natural.

The film's tone during daylight scenes leans heavily into typical drama, losing the quirky charm that horror-comedies usually rely on. Moreover, the songs feel unnecessarily inserted into the narrative and don't add any emotional or entertainment value-rather, they interrupt the flow of the film.

Several scenes appear disconnected or included just to stretch the runtime, without contributing meaningfully to the plot or character development. This lack of rhythm throughout the movie makes it difficult for viewers to stay engaged or emotionally invested.

Sumathi Valavu had potential with its horror elements, but the lack of effective humor and a disjointed narrative weakens the overall experience. A one-time watch for horror lovers, but not much beyond that.

I watched Sumathi Valavu today, and it was one of the most boring and poorly made movies I've seen in a long time. The film had a potentially good subject, but the terrible direction, weak storytelling, and unnecessary songs completely ruined it. The pacing was painfully slow, and the director failed to create any emotional connection with the characters. Instead of focusing on a gripping narrative, the movie wasted time on meaningless songs that added no value to the story. The screenplay was disjointed, and the performances felt forced, making it hard to sit through. What could have been a powerful or engaging film turned into a snooze-fest due to bad writing and lazy execution. Even the technical aspects like cinematography and editing felt amateurish. Overall, Sumathi Valavu is a classic example of how a good subject can be destroyed by poor filmmaking. Save your time and money this one isn't worth it.

I usually do not catch films on the week of their release due to high ticket prices but went for Sumathi Valavu last day due to low prices. I have to say it was an entertaining watch. Save the aberration that are most of the songs in this, there's a cool story somewhere in here that uses folklore to a good extent. More than the horror, it was the dark humour that got me, delivered in a deadpan manner by the likes of Siddharth Bharathan and Balu Varghese. Although the finale was lukewarm and did not use the buildup properly, there's more to like here than dislike. If you ignore the petty elements and focus on having fun, you may like it. I saw this just after Detective Ujjwalan, I have to say, I really like what I'm watching these days.

Rating - 3/5

A fun horror film with a cliche storyline.

The plot of the story revolves through the lives of the villagers and the scary myth and strange incidents surrounding the mysterious road curve forms the base for the story.

Abhilash Pillai has penned a simple story with horror sequences for entertaining the family audience to enjoy with a bag of popcorn. This is a generic film that is enjoyed in festival seasons with fun, humour, drama, romance, emotions, but misses out on high goosebump moments in the story though managed with good technicalities.

Abhilash Pillai as usual has ensembled a huge cast and all has managed to performed their character decently. Good BGM's by Ranjin Raj and Shankar P V has effortlessly captured the night sequences. Good sound design by Rajakrishnan/Vishnu P C enhancing the visual experience.

Vishnu has executed the story technical well but the story treatment with simple horror elements makes Sumathi Valavu a one time watchable entertainer.

Disappointed overall. The film strayed far from its horror roots, stressing instead on a bland love story that failed to evoke emotions. I couldn't connect with the main characters, making the sad moments fall flat. The horror moments were just cheap jump scares rather than genuine suspense. Visually, the panning shots were beautiful, but excessive and loud background music ruined the atmosphere and immersion. Sound mixing felt like it was trying to be immersive but due to the narrow dynamic range, felt overly loud and distracting. The movie was painfully slow, dragging on with dull dialogues that lacked any character depth. The pacing made it boring, and the numerous songs made this worse. Honestly, it feels like this movie covers most of the lessons on how not to make a film. The writing was weak, and it failed to deliver anything close to an entertaining experience - let alone horror.