Bhoothakaalam ((new)) -

Asha (Revathi) is a recovering addict haunted by the death of her husband. Shahaan (Shane Nigam) is a directionless youth who blames his mother for everything wrong in his life. Their conversations are painful to watch because they are real. The silence during dinner is louder than any thunderclap.

Bhoothakaalam (translating to "The Future Past" or "Time of the Ghost") is not just a horror film about a spirit. It is a eulogy for a family that forgot how to love each other. And that is a lot scarier than a ghost in a white sheet. bhoothakaalam

Director Rahul Sadasivan employs what I call the "Tarkovsky of Terror" approach. He holds the shot. He makes you wait. There is a sequence involving a rocking chair that lasts nearly four minutes with almost zero movement. Yet, by the end of those four minutes, your heart is pounding. The film respects your intelligence enough to know that the anticipation of the scream is worse than the scream itself. Asha (Revathi) is a recovering addict haunted by