Bhoothakaalam Movie Review: Shane Nigam and Revathy's film is moving mental health drama disguised as horror

Bhoothakaalam is a Malayalam horror film directed by Rahul Sadasivan and co-written by Sreekumar Shreyas. Starring Shane Nigam and Revathy, the film is about a troubled young man, Vinu, and his clinically depressed mother, Asha. Bhoothakaalam is two-thirds a drama about a mother and son’s dysfunctional relationship and one-third a dull and formulaic haunted house movie. While Vinu and Asha are well-written and well-performed, the horror and mental illness themes do not mesh well. The film suggests that Vinu and Asha’s haunted house is a vampiric machine that absorbs negativity from its residents, amplifies it, and transmits it back to Vinu and Asha, worsening their condition. However, the balance between horror and mental health drama is uneven. The absent one-third of the mental health drama in Bhoothakaalam leaves some questions unanswered. Meanwhile, the absent two-thirds of the horror film left the reviewer unsatisfied.

Shane Nigam, known for his role in Kumbalangi Nights, portrays Vinu, an unemployed, self-absorbed young man who spends most of his time indoors, drinking and smoking away from the glare of his overbearing mother, Asha. Vinu’s father died when he was seven, and Asha had to raise him on her own. Her world revolves around her son, and she can’t bear to see him leave her for an outstation job. Vinu’s angst seems to stem from Asha’s controlling nature. Asha forced him to study medical science, but he quit and half-heartedly got a diploma in pharmacy, hoping to find a job and escape the house. However, Asha keeps stopping him from moving to a different city, and there are no jobs for him in their small town. Asha is also clinically depressed, and there’s a paralysed grandmother in the house. Once the grandmother dies, Vinu starts to crack, and the hauntings begin.

Vinu and Asha are well-written and well-performed, and that’s what’s great in Bhoothakaalam. The writing, acting, and direction leave us in no doubt about Vinu and Asha’s loneliness and heartache. All communication has broken down between mother and son. Both Vinu and Asha feel they don’t understand each other. They are right. The film suggests that Vinu and Asha’s haunted house is a vampiric machine that absorbs negativity from its residents, amplifies it, and transmits it back to Vinu and Asha, worsening their condition. This is a time-tested conceit, going all the way back to Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House, most recently adapted as a Netflix miniseries.

However, the horror angle and the mental illness angle just do not mesh well. One aspect of the film is stronger than the other, making the incompatibility between the film’s genre and concerns glaringly visible. The Babadook is a slightly different film. There, the supernatural horror aspects of the movie were inextricably tied to the film’s themes of dealing with trauma and grief. One facet did not work without the other. In Bhoothakaalam, the horror angle and the mental illness angle just do not mesh well. One aspect of the film is stronger than the other, which makes the incompatibility between the film’s genre and concerns glaringly visible.

The absent one-third of the mental health drama in Bhoothakaalam leaves some questions unanswered. Meanwhile, the absent two-thirds of the horror film left the reviewer unsatisfied. Perhaps, it was Sadasivan’s intention to make the balance between horror and mental health drama

In conclusion, Bhoothakaalam is a film that tackles complex issues such as mental illness, trauma, and dysfunctional relationships, but struggles to fully realize its potential due to its uneven blend of horror and drama. While the performances of Shane Nigam and Revathy are outstanding, and the writing and direction are well-done, the film's horror aspect feels formulaic and underdeveloped, while the mental health angle is not fully explored.

The film's exploration of how a haunted house can amplify negativity and worsen mental health issues is an interesting concept, but it is not fully fleshed out. The ambiguity that is crucial to successful horror films, like The Babadook, is not maintained until the end, leaving the audience unsatisfied.

Overall, Bhoothakaalam is a film with good intentions, but its lack of cohesion between its horror and mental health elements make it an unbalanced viewing experience. However, it is still worth watching for the performances of Shane Nigam and Revathy, and for its exploration of important issues that are often stigmatized in society