Kumari (2022) User Reviews

A decent attempt despite its shortcomings as a horror fantasy

[Jithindurden · 6/10 · 1 November 2022]

I'm confused on so many levels about this movie. On the one hand, the visuals and the music together make a great atmosphere throughout the movie making the horror fantasy feel of it almost perfect. On the other hand, the dialogues are horrendous with a stage drama-like style to them and the direction of the actors seems to make it worse. It's only when the actors deliver something beyond the dialogue, some things they are already comfortable with outside of this movie, that the acting works very well. Shine Tom's recent unhinged interviews now feel like an extension of this character. Either you will love it or you will hate it. I loved his performance in this movie so much that no one else deserves a mention about their performances after his one in this movie.

There is an attempt to use folklore and bring it to a western sensibility without losing our perception of such folklore. That aspect is clearly inspired by Tumbbad but it doesn't really translate beyond the basic idea and some creature designs used. Due to this attempt, there are a lot of things in the movie that doesn't make a whole lot of sense but the movie doesn't really want us to think that deeply either.

Overall, I think Kumari is a decent attempt despite its shortcomings as a horror fantasy. It could've been easily a better experience just by trimming around 30 minutes out of the movie.

By making Ranam and Kumari, placing both films on extreme ends of the spectrum in the visual landscape and making both of them aesthetically stunning yet lacking something in the writing department, Nirmal Sahadev proves his aesthetic sensibilities and the need for a better screenwriter for his stories.

Potential spoiled by lousy screenplay.

[genisis_tp · 6/10 · 28 October 2022]

Let me get this straight first, this is by no means a bad film, but screenplay doesnt give the story enough strength to give the audience the needed effect.

The first 20mins of prelude had some of the best story telling i have seen in some time but from there the screenplay meanders. Cinematography was top notch with some brilliant shots, nusic was okayish though i dont think it fits a period fantasy film.

Aishwarya lekshmi gives it her all.

There are portions of the film that we wish we had a forward button and the climax showdown looked amateurish.

As i said in the beginning its not a bad film by any means but leaves a lot to be desired.

"Tummbad* in a Tharavad.

[Drarjunmenon · 6/10 · 23 November 2022]

A decent attempt to make Tummbad in a traditional Kerala household setting, which unfortunately ended up becoming a cheap replica of the original, with a few redeeming qualities.

The visuals were enchanting but anyone who has seen Tummbad can make the connection within the opening act (my 5 yr old daughter could spot it by then.)

Shine Tom and Aishwarya were majestic but the Demigods were reminiscent of the 80's Hollywood creature-flick atrocities, which kind of made the final few shots unpalatable.

The movie has taken inspiration from a variety of sources but managed to incorporate them beautifully, the character development and atmosphere building were impeccable.

If it hadn't been for the lackluster climax, this would've been a spiritual successor to the genre defining cult classics like "Manichitrathazhu" and "Anandabhadram", alas, it wasn't to be.

If you haven't seen Tummbad, brace yourself for a memorable watch that will stay with you for a long time, both for it's aesthetics and pitiable climax sequences.

Overall, a decent attempt at recreating the on-screen magic of Tummbad.

Excellent till the point of culmination

[Raul4ever · 6/10 · 29 October 2022]

Kumari, produced by Prithviraj, promises a lot of intrugue, mystique and thrills in the trailer. It succeeds in providing the intrigue and the mystique but fails in the thrills dept. The movie is the fable of a woman named Kumari who gets married and travels to a small village steeped in folklore and the tale of two opposing demons. The first half does a good job of building up the storyline and sets clear expectations of what to expect in the second half. The background score also sets the mood of the film. I expected more horror elements but all you get are a few jump scares which was disheartening.

The second half carries on from the first in much the same fashion and your expectation builds up only to be let down in the climax. Without spoiling, I'll just say that the prosthetics looked cheap and the action underwhelming. Also, what were Shine's dialogues in the movie? He kept mumbling in a raspy voice all throughout and I was not able to understand more than half of what he said.

Overall, the acting is top notch by entire cast. The stand out performance for me was Surabhi Lakshmi. Absolutely amazing. She also had to learn a weird malayalam dialect which required subtitles for the viewers to understand.

6/10.

It's just okay! Tumbbad inspired.

[Movie_buff_shree · 6/10 · 27 November 2022]

Let me come straight to the point, Surabhi Lakshmi was terrific. The casting was perfect, the colour grading & all is perfect as well. But it's the screenplay which falls flat after that 1st half & the animations could have been better. The character of Shine Tom Chacko can be a little irritating at times but he did shine in his role. Aishwarya lekshmi did her part well especially during the 2nd half. The timelines in the movie is quite confusing as the songs & certain aspects do not match with the time period. The songs were unnecessary & few of the BGM seems a mismatch to the time period. Aesthetically the movie is quite appealing but the story seems thin. The opening sequence is literally the same as tumbbad. Give it a watch for a Saturday night movie.

Good mix of occult and thrill

[rsridhar2005 · 6/10 · 19 November 2022]

Barring a few scenes, the movie is refreshing and with a lot new and chilling ideas. Aishwarya Lakshmi as Kumari is really terrific. She excels in many scenes.

Apart from her, Shine Tom Chacko, Swasika Vijay and Surabhi Lakshmi make their presence felt.

The background score by Jakes Bejoy is pulsating and a couple of songs are really good.

Nirmal Sahadev's story is a heady mixture of fantasy and horror. As the director, he did a clean job of presenting an eminently watchable movie, if you can excuse him for a few boring scenes.

The locations are very good and carefully chosen by the movie team. Overall, a paisa vasool movie.

A solid first half, but loosing its steam in the next by a lacking script.

[vinayaksnaira · 6/10 · 29 October 2022]

Starting off as a grandmother narrating a story to her granddaughter, the movie gets a solid first half with good performances from the cast, beguiling colours and fabulous background scores from Jakes Bejoy which plays a strong role in lifting up scenes at multiple places. The script is paced well and keeps viewers hooked throughout the first half of a little more than an hour.

But this slowly dies down in the second half of the movie. The script loses its depth and by that the hook it seemed to have in the first and also climax was visibly lacking - be it for the execution, or the performance from the leads.

Also was there are subtle and not so subtle hints of manichithrathazhu at certain places.

The song which introduces the character of Kumari and people dancing around for the same seemed a bit of a misfit for a movie of this time.

The art(except for that of the chatanmar which seemed more of something from a movie to come 10 or even 20 years back) ,makeup and lighting departments sure deserve praise for their impeccable work throughout the movie. The night shots especially, which are aplenty here were magnificently lit to say the least . Dubbing seemed to be lacking for many of the side casts.

Surabhi Lakshmi deserves a special mention for the killer performance put through within the limited screen time given.

Overall a decent movie worthy of a theatre experience.

A great tale after a long time......

[snehaamalaselvester · 8/10 · 1 November 2022]

It's been years since a horror fantasy mystery (like Ananthabhadram) in Mollywood. Kumari may not be a watch for all but for me it was a bliss ✨. Apart from small trails and non understandable dialogue delivery of Shine Tom Chacko It was a pure joy of wonderful screenplay ,music and great performances of all the cast. Everyone was beautiful in every screen notably the main cast . Eventhough ,it was a beautiful theatre experience it was underwhelming to see vacant seats on the third day of release . It is a must watch for all those who love to hear stories of the land and to escape from the real world to a world of mysticism ,witchcraft which hasn't lost its relevance even today...

Occult and folklore brought to life with powerful visually

[vinods75 · 7/10 · 23 November 2022]

With an opening narrative of captivating notes and some powerful imagery and cinematography, the movie starts strongly outlining the backstory of how a family gets cursed by demonic forces.. generations later events unfold again and you have new characters suffering the consequences.. Aishwarya essays the character wonderfully, others less so but still without too much to fault .. it is a theme which is heavy on occult and dark forces and so very little to distract and hence needs a tight screenplay and second half is not taut enough .. On the whole this is a geniune attempt with some technical finesse to bring to the screen a tough theme to pull off and it is a good effort .. not for everyone though I would imagine ..

Good effort, nice concept, but misses the mark somewhere

[gangeshgnair · 5/10 · 27 November 2022]

An amazing concept, but fails to impress in execution.

First 15 minutes of the movie, I was very hopefull that this is going to be a nice movie. The concept of the folklore story was very exciting. The movie nicely establishes the plot but failed to emotionaly invest me in the story. The visuals were amazing. The cinematography by Abraham joseph was a big positive. Aishwarya lakshmi was good. The songs were nice, especially the one introducing kumaris character. Amazing set designs. The technical department did a great job. All the actors who came as extras did a good job.

As a fantasy movie, the movie fails to set the rules in the world. So feels pretty inconsistent in most parts. Shine tom chakos character did not work for me (his sound modulation didnot work either). Could have focused on writing a little more.

Good effort, nice concept, but misses the mark somewhere.

The Beauty of Kerala

[aregh1999 · 10/10 · 3 December 2022]

I loved the movie. I just wanted to say that I don't get to watch a lot of Malayalam movies so I have definitely not seen every single movie out there. BUT the way they filmed Kerala and showed the beauty of the culture was just so ONE OF A KIND!! So beautiful. 100/100 I loved seeing my culture portrayed in the most authentic self! Also the characters were amazing too! I will definitely recommend this movie to people that are not from Kerala, just to show a clear representation of the beauty of the land, aesthetic, culture etc. I would love to see more films like this on Netflix & looking forward to following the cast & director.

Mysticism, Occult, Supernatural, Demons, Ghost, Spirit Tantra

[divinedesign-69225 · 7/10 · 24 February 2023]

First the good points * Interesting horror side engaging with tales of demons, spirits tantra and a look at ancient kerala and landlords thamburatti, *Simple costumes, real outlook without glamour and fanfare * Authentic tantrik practices and temple worship system depicted

Spoilers * Car, Bikes, Wrist watch are shown but then in the landlord house there is no electricity and oil lamps are used * Dhruvan cuts off three fingers in later part of movie the fingers are back again * In modern time of car, bikes the labour and birth of child is done in house with midwives.

Murder is committed in open fields no cops or police

Actual year is not disclos.

So much wasted potential

[krisnha-41922 · 3/10 · 14 October 2023]

This movie could have been prolific if it had more thoughtful and consistent writing and a more visionary director. It has so many intriguing story elements but every one of those was matched by something as redundant and confusing. The sense of mystery and discovery was something completely killed off by the narration in the beginning which could have been incorporated into the main character's arc of discovering the history of the family. Though there is so much potential to bring about the concept of the divine feminine, about female strength and triumph, it really fails to hit the target.

Acting-wise everyone did well except Shine Chacko. He failed to be mad and failed to be sane and most of all his dialogue was unintelligible during many key instances. He failed to be convincing as an abused person. Also having heard that a man you barely know but now have married is actually a murderer, would your first response be to comfort him? Or to be afraid?

The actors in the first half of the movie were not assisted in telling the story because of the way the shots were structured at all, however, this was rectified in the second half of the movie. This is why it became difficult to connect. There were some beautifully crafted scenes and shots when Chathan and Gari Devan were initially introduced but then later the forms of especially Chathan felt very disappointing.

The song introducing Kumari tried too hard in the beginning to be "Barso Re" and though succeeded in creating an impression of her, could have been used to perhaps show her strength and to pre-empt that Nangakutty was waiting for her for 12 generations.

The brother's character was a complete waste and the "prostitute" character was acted so beautifully but felt like a device to get to the older brother's death without actually giving her any other link to the rest of the story.

I have plenty of ideas on how I would have rewritten this story to make it flow better and tie together more beautifully and that is what occupied my mind throughout the entire movie. So much wasted potential!

Great story with potential, but spoiled by dubbing and screenplay

[codenamebigb · 7/10 · 6 January 2023]

Good one. A folklore thriller story, a genre that has been missing in Malayalam for a while. The story and cinematography are excellent. The practical effects does a great job. Negatives are the length and slow first half. Dubbing has been inconsistent with Shine's character. Aishwarya could not do much as her expressions does not do justice to the scene's potential impact. The editing towards climax is lousy with repeated bg music. Could have been much better. Many unwanted characters including Aishu's brother and Shine's mother. Their scenes doesn't add any impact to the script. Surabhi's character is amazing.

Art at its best

[franchesyk · 9/10 · 19 November 2022]

One of the best movies i have seen so far.

Technically sound usually expected fromprithviraj productions. Colour grading, camera, lighting, scenes.

Shine Tom and Surabi Lakshmi was superb in acting. Dhruvan and Surabhi's character might have been hard to even conceive. On one occasion when both were on the same scene, the energy was building on each other. Eventho Aiswarya's character is the main character of the story, it was not a challenging character compared to the other two. However the scene killing of Dhruvan Aishu over delivered.

The fight scene was the most impressive for me. No video effects, but felt so real.

Proud such a great art form came from Kerala my own place while the world movie industry is struggling to find new themes.

Strong story line, technically sound, great direction and good acting. Lets not forget that cinema is a directors art so all credit finally goes to the director Nirmal Sahadev.

Pathetic film

[Alrkkk · 2/10 · 21 November 2022]

Most pathetic film the start was alr to an extent then from there it had just gone downhill the storyline was alright but the production and actor are horrible they show it so badd worst attempt to make a horror film the only reason I had watched this film was because I heard apparently it was a good horror film but it was sooo pathetic the actors and director had ruined it 4/10 for storyline and pathetic 1/10 for actor that's why I am giving this a kind 2 which it doesn't deserve can't imagine they spent 500 million on this pathetic film worst film ever don't watch wast of time and just the story line is good somewhat.

Pretty good attempt in a folklore

[Oopsilon0047 · 8/10 · 26 November 2022]

A decent movie with a lot of folklore and fantasy elements. CGI is a bit bad in the end. Still, the manner of storytelling is good. You are taken into the world of Kumari, where chathan, devi and many such fictional creatures live. After ananthabhadram, another good attempt in fantasy using the traditional fictional characters.

Some dialogues seems to be a bit bad. However the overall experience is a good one. The frames are good. However, the climax seems a bit off. The execution part in climax was not so good due to bad CGI as well as poor execution. The movie tries to tell about Kumari trying to save his son from the society who wants to sacrifice her son inorder to save the land from the wrath of chathan who was angry due to the bad deeds of thuppan thampuran (Living zombie without the brain eating stuff). The movie also portrays various emotional themes like greed, loneliness of Shine tom chacko and he did a pretty good job in acting. Aiswarya lekshmi was also good and Surabhi in acting the role of the tribeswoman also did a good job.

Terrible Movie

[anupnn · 2/10 · 23 November 2022]

Terrible movie!!! In today's world of science and technology, showcasing such movies filled with superstition and regressive thinking is really disappointing. Some reviews are comparing this to the epic movie Manichitrathazhu; one can only laugh at such baseless comparisons. Some are even saying Shine Tom Chacko is like Manoj K Jayan in Sargam; in fact it cannot be further from the truth. He seems completely out of place in the character with complete lack of intensity and does not scare us even for a moment. Lesser said about the VFX, the better. Such movies show India in poor light and it's sad that Prithviraj chose to produce it and Netflix is promoting it.

Really brilliant at the beginning and middle parts

[merischanghi · 8/10 · 10 December 2022]

The movie starts with an enticing goddess story and then develops into a creepy one with a cursed land and diseases. A semi-God cursed the ground due to a homicide. To fight against the curse and survive, the landlord had no choice but to worship another God.

After he finished the ceremony, everything seemed to be expected. However, At that time, he didn't know what he would have to pay or what the future had in store for his family.

The peace broke when a woman, Kumari, came to this family after 12 generations since the last ceremony. Kumari married the son of the landlord of that cursed land, and when she got pregnant, some foreboding things occurred.

At the beginning and middle parts, the movie was fantastic, a successful mix of occult and horror. But when it draws near the end, the story evolves into a fight between two semi-gods, which eradicate the mystery, the thrill, or the fear that people feel facing the unknown.

Poor attempt, Don't watch it

[cool_andhot · 3/10 · 2 December 2022]

Great concept and good acting but poor story, screenplay and direction made it into a disaster.

There is an evil in the village and to defeat that evil the ruler of the village summon another evil. This is not a good Vs evil story, which is actually the basic of any Muthashikatha ( bedtime stories). None of the characters are well developed. After watching 2 hours of the movie you will feel that you got each one of the characters for just 10 minutes. The final fight scene was kind of comedy instead of thriller or horror. There was no slow revealing suspense kept. Everything was out in the open scene after scene.

This is a horror-thriller, but the storytelling and long shots will blow you away

[neelarindam · 9/10 · 13 March 2023]

The storytelling And Making of this movie is so pure and extinguish that It will hook you till the end.

I love the way of building characters through their different visions, story and timing that Nirmal Sahadev made. Each screen is so natural and grounded that will make your mind to believe in the story, even though those supernatural subjects.

The storytelling is the most crucial part for this movie that had done preciously amazing by Mr. Nirmal. This movie contains everything that a thriller movie should.

The acting and the make-up! Such a prestigious thing that happened on this section. There's no need to introduce this beauty of Malayalam Cinema that has amazed me for decades!

After all, this one is a horror-thriller Genre with an ancient story of Southern India. Somewhere's I feel that make-up could be better if they had more budget of using advance VFX, that's all. In another way, this one is a 09/10 movie, a must-watch.

It's our affliction that this movie should release in other language also. So that people from around the world could give special love. Otherwise, the language isn't any barrier, if you love Cinema.

Good storyline but still not a good movie

[varshafreedom · 5/10 · 22 January 2023]

I must say, storyline is superb. What i like in this movie: Story, suspense,scenic beauty and the best thing.. Lead actress Aishwarya Laxmi. She nailed her job. So beautiful and natural. I love her character. How emotional, sensitive and strong she was.

What i didn't like: All scenes where blood stains/blood is shown, i was about to vomit. Don't need to show such filthy scenes.

Lead antagonist, Dhruvan's character, i hated it most, how inhuman, cold and shot tempered, like he is a beast.

In climax, we think soul of chokkan is now free from grief and pain but in lastest scene his soul is again shown and he was calling the infant baby towards him.

However chokkan was a positive character but what does it mean, his soul is still wandering and following that family.

That house was haunted and inauspicious, so many deaths took place but still Kumari lives there with her baby. Yes, it's true it's not possible to leave that such big and ancestral house and shifting to another place with a little baby but still how one can live there, too many crimes and inhuman things happened there.

According to story and acting

[souravjaxspire · 10/10 · 17 September 2023]

This movie is incredible, this movie is in Malayalam language but I request you to watch this movie, no metter this movie in which, watch it by the subtitles, i don't know Malayalam I understand by the subtitles. I appreciate this movie because the acting and the visual appearance was next level. This movie is go beyond the limits one of the masterpiece, in front of this movie kantara and tumad is nothing.

You find something great experience about some cultures in India. If this movie having several languages then really it will be a blockbuster.

I appreciate the story writer, script writer, the director and most to the actors who make this movie unbelievable. I request to the makers to add Hindi language in this movie, really believe me it will be a blockbuster in OTT platform. I am writing this just after watching the movie.

This could not be any more pathetic.

[kanisquemeena · 1/10 · 8 December 2022]

I watched this movie at 1.25x and still it was so slow that I had to skip forward multiple times. No setup, no payoff. No meaningful conflicts or motives. Waste of time. I watched this movie at 1.25x and still it was so slow that I had to skip forward multiple times. No setup, no payoff. No meaningful conflicts or motives. Waste of time. I watched this movie at 1.25x and still it was so slow that I had to skip forward multiple times. No setup, no payoff. No meaningful conflicts or motives. Waste of time. I watched this movie at 1.25x and still it was so slow that I had to skip forward multiple times. No setup, no payoff. No meaningful conflicts or motives. Waste of time.

Beauty, Beasts and the barbariac superstitious beliefs.

[kothapallibalaganesh · 9/10 · 22 January 2023]

Kumari on Netflix is an Indian-originated mythological folklore told with utmost ingenuity and enchanting visuals. Right from its engrossing premise to the climax, the film sticks true to its genre and nature with an astounding soundtrack and a dreadful back-story that teleports audience to the bed-time grandma story ambience.

The film perfectly blends the genres like folklore horror, mythology, thriller and mystery purposefully channeled into contributing to a tale dotted with empowering performers by Shine Tom ,Aishwarya Lekshmi.

Nirmal Sachadev's bold attempt at redeeming the folklore genre to its original glory succeeds with slight incoherency which is clouded by the film's novelty.

The film is a must watch for its bold attempt, authenticity and 3-dimensional characters.