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If you ask me which is the greatest film that Malayalam cinema has given in 2024 so far, I would say it is Malaikottai Vaaliban.

Lijo, the most eccentric filmmaker of Mollywood has brought an epic never seen before, something fresh, stylistic and grandiose.

The visuals, score and story, all together are a well-crafted blend of a multitude of cultural elements, specifically from world cinema, brought into a plot that sounds subtly the ethos and elements of Indian mythology.

It contains a plot-line resembling Indian mythology and brings into it a Spaghetti Western-influenced score and setting, A Samurai-like character resembling Kurosawa's samurai films, and even elements of popular Indian cinema, like Sholay. Overall, it is a well-crafted blend.

Mohanlal, one of the greatest of Malayalam and Indian cinema, truly asserted the mythical image and stuns with a magnificent performance.

The only error that came into the writing is Vaaliban's lack of enough brawls. His magnificence and aura are built largely through praises from his companions, if a few more brawls were given, it would have been a perfect construction of his larger-than-life image, such an image, the film did create, but the lack mentioned here created a void, it was more rhetoric and less action.

Overall, the film is a wild wild experiment. Something totally fresh, and never seen before. And that is probably why the film failed commercially. The experiment was too big for the audience to comprehend.

This indie flick is something most cinephiles have absolutely loved. It has the speciality of being a Hindi film and also something really good, as this combination is a rare one these days.

The film perfectly utilizes the fascination-inducing capabilities of fantasy and mythology. A tale of how human greed ultimately leads to self-destruction, the story which is set in mid-20th century Maharashtra, coupled with good costumes and a well-worked production design, brings the perfect mood the film tries to give the audience. The scenes, frames, and sequences are directed without many flaws, which has given the film the right pacing to keep the viewers hooked.

Horror has the capacity to go much broader, rather than being stuck with ghosts and serial killers. And Tumbbad is a film that pushes horror in the direction of mythology and human emotions.

A must-watch for anyone looking for horror with a new face.

Power is something that kills the human that it possesses and creates only an image of the human, with the demon of power living beneath its flesh and skin.

Set in 17th-century Southern Malabar, in a caste-based surrounding that has a rigid power structure in practice, the ambience of which, is perfected through technical brilliance brought by black and white imagery, and creates an atmosphere of heart-trembling horror that grips and shocks the viewer from beginning to end.

The larger part of the story happens in a closed atmosphere, with a production design that is beyond perfect. The setting itself is inserted into a mythical sphere, incorporating elements from folklore and Hindu mythology, which acts as instruments to showcase the established power structure in the first half of the film, and the struggle to overturn and establish power in new hands, in the second half.

The horror is brought largely through the remarkable sound design, which spreads a fire in the chest of viewers with its intensity.

From beginning to end, not even a single second is left unwanted.

And Mammootty, the legendary actor delivers a completely new and exceptional performance as Koduman Potty. As a towering and monstrous figure, he shines on the screen.