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IMDbPro

Stephen

  • 2025
  • 2h 3m
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
914
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
275
171
Gomathi Shankar in Stephen (2025)
Delves into the mind of a confessed killer being evaluated by a psychiatrist on a chilling case. The psychiatrist soon finds herself entangled in a mind-twisting mystery, which begins as an evaluation but leads to eternal darkness
Play trailer2:40
2 Videos
4 Photos
TamilPsychological ThrillerMysteryThriller

Delves into the mind of a confessed killer being evaluated by a psychiatrist on a chilling case. The psychiatrist soon finds herself entangled in a mind-twisting mystery, which begins as an ... Read allDelves into the mind of a confessed killer being evaluated by a psychiatrist on a chilling case. The psychiatrist soon finds herself entangled in a mind-twisting mystery, which begins as an evaluation but leads to eternal darknessDelves into the mind of a confessed killer being evaluated by a psychiatrist on a chilling case. The psychiatrist soon finds herself entangled in a mind-twisting mystery, which begins as an evaluation but leads to eternal darkness

  • Director
    • Mithun Balaji
  • Writers
    • Mithun Balaji
    • Gomathi Shankar
  • Stars
    • Smruthi Venkat
    • Shrisha
    • Harija
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.4/10
    914
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    275
    171
    • Director
      • Mithun Balaji
    • Writers
      • Mithun Balaji
      • Gomathi Shankar
    • Stars
      • Smruthi Venkat
      • Shrisha
      • Harija
    • 22User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos2

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:40
    Official Trailer
    Official Teaser
    Trailer 1:33
    Official Teaser
    Official Teaser
    Trailer 1:33
    Official Teaser

    Photos3

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster

    Top Cast8

    Edit
    Smruthi Venkat
    Smruthi Venkat
    • Seema
    Shrisha
    Shrisha
    • Krithika
    Harija
    • Mary
    Amruth Balaji
    • Mithun
    Kuberan
    • Stephen's Dad
    Gomathi Shankar
    • Stephen Jebaraj
    Michael Thangadurai
    • Michael
    Vijayashree
    • Stephen's Mom
    • Director
      • Mithun Balaji
    • Writers
      • Mithun Balaji
      • Gomathi Shankar
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews22

    5.4914
    1
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    Featured reviews

    7murshidakbar

    Deferred

    The difference attempt in Tamil Cinema. Most of the Tamil audience, maybe not like this movie bcz the tamil directors work with same scripts. So Tamil audience have gotten used to it. This maybe new for them. But it was good attempt. And the second thing is Stephen (hero) his acting was superb like a experience actor mentality.
    7SaraJ-41

    Honest review

    "Stephen" is a distinctive and highly appreciated addition to Tamil cinema, presenting a different type of psycho-thriller story with an absolutely twistful climax that truly delivers, primarily held together by the brilliant acting of the lead actor, Gomathi Shankar.

    While all the cast and crew have done a very good job in their execution, the story felt like it was missing something to fit the emotional depths of its characters, and the narrative sometimes felt like it was somehow trying to rush to the climax.

    Furthermore, the film's gritty realism means the violence is a bit more intense than expected, but its unique plot and Shankar's compelling performance make it a memorable, if emotionally reserved, cinematic experience.

    Movie ends with a leads scenes to next part as per audience expectaions.
    6pammoo

    Better than thug life. But then anything is...

    For the reviewers who talk about unknown, amateurish actors, compare that to the seasoned cast of thug life. They could not avoid the oncoming disaster.

    Songs were nice and so were the main actors. Story stalled around 2/3rd of the movie but resumed soon enough.

    The twists and turns made it worth the roughly 2 hour long movie.
    7bonny-09140

    "Stephan" (Netflix): A Psychological Crime Thriller Masterfully Executed.

    Mithun Balaji directs this OTT-released dark thriller, presenting an exceptionally well-crafted screenplay. The film's experimental narrative is anchored by Gomathi Shankar's tremendous, applause-worthy performance as Stephan Jebaraj (a role he co-wrote with Balaji). The palpable dedication and commitment from the entire team make this a mandatory watch.
    8lunarknight-51526

    Unique screenplay carried by good performances and technical team. Climax is the hero in this ferris-wheel like screenplay.

    Stephen is a psychological thriller film that relies on familiar tropes, cliched ideas, but reinvents them or inverts them to create a unique screenplay. Written by Mithun and Gomathi Shankar (both on debut), have taken an experimental route in a genre that most filmmakers would stay away from, on their debuts. There's always a twist around the corner, and the need to sit through few sequences pay off, few don't. But the climax compensates for all that, which might divide the audience; I liked it though.

    Performances of lead actor Gomathi Shankar carry the film throughout, supported by secondary characters in Kuberan(Stephen's unnamed dad- interesting) and Smruthi (psychiatrist).

    Dialogues could've been sharper for secondary characters.

    Technically Stephen is a sound film, but the constrained budget is visible at places.

    Visually the film guides you into the dark unexplored parts of Stephen's mind, Background music your trusted companion.

    Though the film is mostly taking place in Coimbatore, it doesn't serve a pivotal purpose. For a debutant film (from a team of debutants), Stephen mostly surprises you, leaves you wanting more (sssshhh... sequel?), but for a film like this, its best to not see reviews with spoilers.

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    Related interests

    Kamal Haasan in Nayakan (1987)
    Tamil
    Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl (2014)
    Psychological Thriller
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • December 5, 2025 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • India
    • Official site
      • Official Twitter
    • Languages
      • Tamil
      • Telugu
      • Malayalam
      • Kannada
      • Hindi
    • Also known as
      • 史提芬的自白
    • Production company
      • JM Production House
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 3m(123 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Atmos
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39:1

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