Bhoothakaalam

Human mind is Very dangerous and subtle, Once on the edge, We are in really no control.

Revathi and Shane do a Class act and makes us feel to go through their experiences.

The sheer talent in the Shane Nigam, the much-maligned bad boy of Malayalam cinema has never been in doubt ever since he captivated us in Parava (2017), Kumbalangi Nights (2019) and Ishq (2019). He ventures into new territory with Bhoothakaalam donning the producer's cap along with the lead role in a film that beautifully merges the psychological with the supernatural, to devastating effect.

Shane stars as a quintessential just-out-of-college youngster, struggling to find work in his hometown so that he can take care of his clinically depressed mother. It is hilarious that he chose to embrace rather than shun the image the media has painted of him to enhance his character arc here, with alcoholism and addiction to cigarettes and drugs depicted convincingly to give us more insight into the character's mental and physical breakdown.

The first half of the movie is definitely a drag, but one gets the feeling that it was by design by director Rahul Sadasivan, to let the audience feel how mundane, depressing and repetitive the lives of this consistently down-on-their-luck family has become. It is into these psychological scars and mental anguish that the director then deftly throws in a supernatural element, to catch the characters and more importantly, us, the audience completely off-guard.

I personally loved the use of minimalistic sound design and lighting, especially shadows to generate genuine scares and spine-tingling suspense. Revathi delivers an absolute tour-de-force performance as the protective but often overbearing mother, who struggles to let her son spread his wings and become independent. Shane Nigam plays an able foil to the veteran actress, with his mannerisms and demeanour deftly changing to suit the diverse circumstances his character goes through.

Bhoothakaalam is a cerebral amalgamation of the horror and psychological thriller genres and despite pacing issues, is rendered an absolute must-watch due to the performances of its two leads and an absolutely chilling final act that will leave you stunned.

Highly recommended!

Totally satisfied with the way, the story has been pictured.

Unwinding the trauma of a crazy family that has been rocked by the mysterious shrouded from the past.

You are sure feel chill down your spine.

Be scared!

Bhoothakaalam is not just a normal horror film, it's about a relationship between a mother and her son. As the house of our protagonist had been shown many times you'll relate to their situation. Most of the horror elements are there in the climax and that will definitely scare you. Background sound is very important in any horror film and it was very good here.

Revathi is a great actor and no doubt she had done her job perfectly. But, l loved Shane Nigam more in this film, he was amazing. Lastly, there are certain questions I didn't get answers, that's the reason I liked the film more. So, if you're a horror/psychological genre lover you should definitely watch this.

Available on Sony LIV.

© MandalBros.

What did I just watch? Wow! Just wow!! To get the chills of fear and feel uneasy from watching a Malayalam movie hasn't happened to me in a long time.

Bhoothakalam. A trip into the psyche of the human mind interlaced with horror elements and superlative perfomances by Revathy and Shane Nigam!

The movie taps into the deepest parts of your senses, taking you along with the characters into their home and mind and then evoking in you, all the emotions and feelings that they enact/feel! And that's too damn creepy! I mean that in a good way.

Director Rahul Sadasivan captures the disturbed minds of a Mother and Son effectively, showing their strained relationship, placing the scenes inside a home, in natural settings and making us feel like we are a part of the narrative, due to the very fact that this is probably how every Parent/Children relationship is in Kerala. The bond and love for a Mother is always there but on the surface level there is always resentment and dissatisfaction.

I had watched the Director's previous work, "Red Rain", a sci-fi story which he calls an experimental movie. It was quite ahead of it's times and being a sci-fi junkie, I liked it. It was very underrated, not getting the recognition it deserved. It had good actors like Narain, including foreign artists which was quite rare in Malayalam movies and a unique story of connecting Kerala's Red Rain phenomenon with extra terrestrial presence. The CGI was pretty decent enough too. I appreciate Rahul for showing the will to try something new back then. I guess the general Malayali audience wasnt ready to accept such genres in Malayalam movies back then, with the popular saying being.....leave these themes to Hollywood!

But times have changed and so has a movie goer's taste in cinema. People are well aware of how movies are made around the world as they are readily accessible at their finger tips with the advent of OTT platforms.

This time around Rahul manages to move and shock the audience with a superb story, script and screenplay. And to get two supremely talented stars from two different generations to perform together was the icing on the cake. I have never seen Revathy like this. As a distraught and mentally disturbed mother, she nails it! Shane gets better and better with each movie. A sequence in a metro stands out. His helplessness when he realises that his girlfriend also doesnt understand his plight was enacted brilliantly. He was able to comminicate his mental trauma with subtle facial expressions and body language. Definitely a very talented actor. The director said in an interview that he wrote the story with Revathy and Shane in mind, hoping they will eventually agree to do the movie. Saiju Kurup's mental health counsellor character is probably used to bring out the viewer's rational thought process in such situations. A good performance by him also. One main character to be metioned here is the House itself! Is it haunted? Or it is just bad mouthed about coz of it's horrific past? The neighbours contribute a lot in that aspect. Just like how it happens in real life. Such things makes us identify more with the movie.

An intriguing movie that is open to interpretation. The final 15/20 minutes of the movie is quite terrifying. Without giving any spoilers.....One would think.....Are the apparitions real? Is it something the Mother and Son manifest due to their disturbed mental state? Something that made them understand as well as stand up for each other? It could be interpreted as a Mother and Son's journey filled with trials and tribulations, towards self discovery but cloaked as a horror movie. Whatever be the case, the Director effectively makes us tensed to the core! He makes us fear the dark corners of the house, the shadows and the silence. The brillianlty used bgm makes the fear much more gripping! Kudos to Music Director Gopi Sundar for that. And hats off to Rahul for emotionally bonding us to the characters and scaring us without the usual horror tropes used in countless other movies! The title of the movie has an interesting word play to it. The word "Bhootham" alone means Ghost. And "Bhoothakalam" means one's past. Food for thought!

Definitely watch BHOOTHAKALAM. You will have questions. There will be discussions. And that's always good.

Watch it at anytime but I do suggest a late night viewing as it's the perfect time for such a movie. Enjoy!