BHOOTHAKAALAM (2022)
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| Critic No. 259 |
Written by: Rahul Sadasivan
Produced by: Teresa Rani, Sunila Habeeb
Casts: Revathi, Shane Nigam, Saiju Kurup
Music: Gopi Sundar (score), Shane Nigam (song)
Language: Malayalam
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery
SYNOPSIS:
Following the death of a family member, a mother and son experience mysterious events which distort their sense of reality and make them question their sanity.
REVIEW:
Holding on to the core essence of the film and pacing it gradually in a horror film is an art and in Bhoothakaalam, I would say that director Rahul Sadasivan has honed it quite well. By creating a minimalist, eerie psychological horror that keeps you uneasy from the very first scene with flawed, affected characters, Sadasivan has patiently crafted a no nonsense realistic horror.
A young graduate, Vinu who is on the lookout for a job, stays with his mom, Asha (Revathi) and grandmother, both of whom suffer from various ailments. The grandmother’s death further impairs the already troubled mother-son bond, as both of them slide into depression which is apparently established as a genetic disorder that has been passed down. To make matters worse, things suddenly start going downhill in the house they stay too when a strong unknown presence starts to emerge.
The film revolves around the mental states of the characters and Sadavisan pulls us into their perspectives through simple but solid jump scares and eeries sounds. He really succeeds in injecting a sense of skepticism into the audience about the supernatural situations given the mental instability of the characters. When we first see Vinu getting trapped inside a room, we assume it could be due to his depression. However, in the second half of the film when a mental health counselor (Saiju Kurup) visits their house, and their neighbour opens up that, “Something is wrong with that house,” we finally see a nod to usual horror movie tropes.
It is great to see Revathi after some time essaying an intense role like this and Shani Nigam looks really apt as a delusional young guy. Shehnad Jalal’s slow camera moves and unconventional, constraint angles help the film to give the audience a claustrophobic feeling throughout. The sound design is effectively used to scare us without showing us the ‘real ghost’ but the score feels out of place at times.
The film does unwarrantedly feel slow at times and the ending feels quite perplexing though I understand that Sadasivan wants the audience to think beyond the film’s runtime. But kudos to the entire team for stepping out of the usual run of the mill format to give a realistic horror film with a tint of social commentary of mental health as well.
VERDICT:
Bhoothakaalam is a gripping psychological horror that unhurriedly creeps you with its somber tone, uneasy atmosphere and effectively paced jump scares.
CELLULOID METER- 3.5/5:
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