Identity

Posted on November 27, 2025 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: I have been thinking about changing my identity.

Vampire Bat: The vampire one or the owl one?

Vampire Owl: The undead one to be exact.

Vampire Bat: You are already dead and returned. That cannot change.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein has changed his identity multiple times.

Vampire Bat: He never had any real identity.

Vampire Owl: Yes, Frankenstein, the genius scientist.

Vampire Bat: The pseudo-scientist, to be exact.

Vampire Owl: He is more, for he has invented vampire mechanics.

Vampire Bat: The only thing he has invented is pure nonsense.

[Gets a chilli chicken pizza and three cups of Darjeeling tea].

What is the movie about? :: A recently engaged young woman Emy John (Nilja K Baby) finds herself blackmailed by a man named Amar Felix (Arjun Radhakrishnan) with the help of a techie and occasional hacker Nakul Sachdev (Vishak Nair), as he had recorded her half-naked through a mobile phone kept in a changing room. He threatens to spread her nude videos all over internet unless she gives him three lakhs to which she agrees, but after many blackmails of random people, this time he finds himself facing a mysterious individual who kills him in his own warehouse which looks abandoned from outside. Alisha Abdul Salam (Trisha Krishnan) is the only witness to the murder as she had seen the person coming out of the warehouse after burning it, as she was passing through. CI Allen Jacob (Vinay Rai) is assigned the case, and decides to keep the witness in his home for protection, as advised by DYSP Dinesh Chandran (Aju Varghese). They feel the immediate need to get a sketch of the killer done as Alisha says that she has seen the face clearly, but protecting her is the top priority.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Allen is helped by his highly influential friend Supriya Gopal (Mandira Bedi) who provide him with much needed information. Meanwhile, Haran Shankar (Tovino Thomas) is a part-time karate instructor and a genius in multiple subjects who suffers from OCD, and lives with his sister Devika Shankar (Archana Jose Kavi) and half-sister Neerja Sudip (Gopika Ramesh). Allen, after seeing a sketch made by Haran, decides that he should be the one to bring the identity of the killer to light. As Allen asks Haran to make a sketch, and as he does so with the help of the description given by Alisha, a few more things come to light, including the fact that Alisha can no longer identify human faces after an accident which followed the murder. This makes things further complicated, as finding the killer seems almost impossible, and Amar’s past also seems to catch up to the situation. It seems that things are just getting more and more complicated, but for how long?

The defence of Identity :: There is a certain amount of style related to how this movie looks, and the visuals remain stunning throughout its run. The technical strength is visible right there. We have not seen such over-reachers among the movies of this industry, unless it is Lucifer and its Empuraan, but this one has managed that extra load quite well. The movie nicely builds the tension, which keeps us interested. The twists are always present, and some of them are rather too nice. The action sequences are maintained well and kept under control without being overdone. The beginning of the movie was so good that we are attached to the proceedings so early. We wonder where the connections would be made, and that happens nicely too. The final fights are also well-executed, maybe qualifying as among the best-done moments. The performances remain of top quality, not really holding back even because of character complications. There is a certain amount of polishing that is visible there, moving further ahead of the usual movies. The background music also remains something of interest.

The claws of flaw :: The movie just seems to have taken so much for granted. After starting so well, and ending with a deviation, but in an interesting way, the middle part seems to have lost in the process. There are so many moments which seems over-stretched, and we feel that there was no need for that much of a detail in between, and the explanations which go long, just gets longer as we see and experience less twists in real-time than what we hear and find in flashbacks. The big reveal about the main character feels like a rather forced addition. The characters are not given the importance that they need, and the hero is just given that push. Many characters just come of nowhere and become part of that world of twists, making us not that interested in them. Even the leading lady is not given that strength and feels misplaced as a character. The other female characters are also not given that much of a background. The emotional depth is not that much there, and the pace is also uneven, often also struggling with the pace. Then the antagonist is also pushed out of nowhere right after a twist.

The performers of the soul :: Tovino Thomas leads the way here in style. When thinking about that one action hero of the industry, he comes first to the mind. We have seen that even with superheroes of Minnal Murali and Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra. Tovino handles this role in a way that we will remember, and gets into the genre really well as expected. Vinay Rai becomes a fine addition around here as he shines in the form of a strong antagonist, someone who aligns with the overall mood of the movie and the twists. Aju Varghese’s serious police role is a joy to watch, and it is to be noted that this time, the character do not follow the stereotypes. Trisha Krishnan comes back to Malayalam after Hey Jude with Nivin Pauly, and here she plays a main character and has just enough to do as the leading actress. Shammi Thilakan and Vishak Nair have some interesting things to do here. Archana Jose Kavi and Gopika Ramesh shine in their comparatively smaller roles, and Nilja K Baby contributes well in a small role too. It was good to see Mandira Bedi around too while Giju John and Sujith Shankar gets the due in the final minutes.

How it finishes :: This one was that opportunity with scope for big heights to become one memorable thriller above many more. Known as The Sketch Artist in Hindi on Jio Hotstar, this one would work better with that particular audience. If you like such stylish thrillers having action, twists, and a lot of ambition behind, this will feel a lot grand, as you remember from movies like Christopher. But that big a plot and well-developed characters would not be there that much for your attention here. Creating characters our of nowhere and using them here and there with twists that sometimes work like boomerang might not be for everyone’s love. But seeing the cast of this movie, you know that the movie will always be capable enough. It is available in Hindi on Amazon Prime Video going by the name, The Sketch Artist, even though one would be wondering why that name even came into picture. Unlike some other movies, this Hindi version is very well-created, and you might wish to have a look at that one.

Release date: 31st December 2024
Running time: 158 minutes
Directed by: Akhil Paul, Anas Khan
Starring: Tovino Thomas, Trisha Krishnan, Vinay Rai, Aju Varghese, Archana Jose Kavi, Sujith Shankar, Nilja K Baby, Giju John, Gopika Ramesh, Shammi Thilakan, Vishak Nair, Major Ravi, Asha Madathil, Mandira Bedi, Arjun Radhakrishnan, Mahima Radhakrishnan, Shinu Shyamalan, Litty Thomas, Vriddhi Vishal, Mohan Thankam, Sethu Lekshmi, Adam Sadiq, Akhil Paul, Anas Khan

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous South Indian film review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous Malayalam film review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Golam

Posted on October 13, 2025 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: I see that this is one investigation movie that we had missed.

Vampire Bat: This was also one of the most appreciated movies which we had missed.

Vampire Owl: We do not usually miss films of this genre, especially when appreciated.

Vampire Bat: But we have returned, thanks to Amazon Prime Video.

Vampire Owl: There are some fine thrilling additions to Prime, I see.

Vampire Bat: I would consider this to be the best option as delivery is included.

Vampire Owl: There have been so many classic additions in the last few months itself.

Vampire Bat: You know that we are not done with the reviews yet.

Vampire Owl: Yes, miles to go before we sleep, right?

Vampire Bat: In our case, kilometres to go before we sleep.

[Gets a milk peda and three cups of Ceylon tea].

What is the movie about? :: Issac John (Dileesh Pothan) is the Managing Director of V-Tech Company, a renowned IT-company in the city. He is a strict employer who does things done efficiently. One day, during working hours, he is found dead inside the washroom of his office with the door locked from the inside. The police are informed immediately by Rajeev (Ansal Palluruthy) who is the very next in charge, and Issac’s partner Gibson (Sunny Wayne) is also asked to come. Though first presumed to be a case of accidental death from a head injury caused due to slipping and falling in the washroom while trying to clean the coffee stains from his coat, there is also the possibility of a murder being talked about by the investigating officers. ASP Sandeep Krishnan IPS (Ranjith Sajeev) is certainly not satisfied here, as he points to murder and decides to keep all the staff there itself. He begins to question each of them, and feels that there is some clue left behind somewhere in the office.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: City Police Commissioner Babu Thomas IPS (Srikant Murali) has taken special interest in this case, even though he does not suspect any foul play. CI Abdul Raheem (Alencier Ley Lopez) is there to support him in the cause, but he feels that this is just a case of accident, and that the employees could all be sent him, and he could attend the booze party that he was supposed to attend. Sandeep is still adamant that something is missing, as he questions all employees starting from Meera (Chinnu Chandni) who organizes the whole team, followed by others, Neelima (Gayathri Satheesh) who has a mysterious look, Neena (Sheethal Joseph) who has sleeping pills with her, Bibeesh (Sanjay) who had a fight with the Managing Director, Arun (Anu Anand) who looks like too decent a person, Albert (Kaarthik Shankar) who has everything perfectly done, Dona (Rilnaah) who is only interested in packed drinks, Sara (Gouri Parvathy) who seems to be concerned, Sebastian (Praveen Viswanath) who seems to be too stable, and others, but things still seem to be okay – can he find any real foul play in this death?

The defence of Golam :: The film does maintain a certain amount of mystery throughout, and the twists that defines the murders is incredibly clever. The nonlinear storytelling which runs through the movie and classic revelation of secrets keep us more and more interested in this world which has more to hide than to reveal. The thrilling side never gets behind, as the movie keeps on being engaged throughout its run, and with a length slightly shorter than two hours, this one manages to keep things perfect. The performances here are really solid, and even with those many new faces around, we do not see anyone lagging behind. The movie is also very nicely edited, as we see how well things move forward, and the flashbacks also enter in the right manner. The revelation reminds us of the evil that has been going on in our world, and the evil that has always existed in different forms in the medical field and in the form of viruses and antidotes, as nobody really seems to realize where the corona virus had gone.

Positives and negatives :: The start might feel usual, but that nicely blends in here with the rest of world which switches to the new mood with ease. The light-hearted feeling in the beginning takes not much time to change the gears by a long way. Maybe, some characters could have been explored more, but with this length, the lack of the same is justified. The revelation also happens rather too early without making the viewers guess to the maximum. Still, in the layers, so much of skills seem to have been put in use. The thrills only become more and more effective as the movie moves on and on. The visuals remain good throughout the run of the movie, and the same starts from the office itself. The final elevation of the movie is something that we would remember, as we await a possible sequel, but still we feel that there are other moments were the film could have stopped and made us wait for the next. This is the kind of movie that we have all asked for as long as the genre performance is concerned.

The performers of the soul :: The movie led well by Ranjith Sajeev who comes up with a solid performance as the police officer who investigates this particular case, and one can only hope for things to get better from there, once he arrives on the screen. Dileesh Pothan’s good work is limited to only a few minutes while Sunny Wayne has made a fine buildup for the next movie if there is one to follow. Siddique and Alencier Ley Lopez brings some fine moments to make the whole thing feel more solid. Among the long supporting cast at the office, everyone contributes so well, with Chinnu Chandni seemingly on the lead with Kaarthik Shankar and Praveen Viswanath keeping it going in a very serious manner, and leading to hope for more. Among the rest of the cast, the first people we notice are Sheethal Joseph and Gayathri Satheesh, who are seen like the faces we are going to see again, and we feel the need to see them around for long. Gouri Parvathy, Rilnaah and Arifa Hind also comes in with work to do, and manages the same very well. The rest also follows nicely in this progress which depends on them all.

How it finishes :: Malayalam movies have not been short of some fine thrillers, and this one adds to that long classic list which is led by Memories and taken over by flicks like Forensic, Anjaam Paathira, Abraham Ozler, John Luther and Kooman among others. With the kind of ending that it managed to get, it has a better chance of getting a sequel more than most of the other thrillers – there is the feeling that the tale is already supposed to be a two-chapter story. One cannot stop wondering if this would have been a bigger hit if there was more marketing. I do not remember the existence of this particular movie before the news that it had released on OTT and could gain many positive reviews. Well, the sequel would surely bring a lot of audience, and a classic ending is what this upcoming franchise deserves. It would mean that thrillers would stay alive and can also leave us with a hidden message like Joseph did years ago. The quality of this movie is surely an early reminder of the same, and would make us hope for more of similar films.

Release date: 7th June 2024
Running time: 119 minutes
Directed by: Samjad
Starring: Ranjith Sajeev, Dileesh Pothan, Sunny Wayne, Alencier Ley Lopez, Siddique. Srikant Murali, Rini K Rajan, Asha Madathil, Priya Sreejith, Ansal Palluruthy, Sudhi Kozhikode, Praveen Viswanath, Gayathri Satheesh, Sheethal Joseph, Gouri Parvathy, Rilnaah, Kaarthik Shankar, Anu Anand, Ala S Narayana, Pranav Ekaa, Vijaya Sadan, Unni Deshaposhini, Unni Vaikom, Sanjay, Remadevi