Bouma movie review: Even if director Rejin S Babu’s sophomore directorial venture Bouma doesn’t satisfy you completely, it will stay with you longer than average movies. A lion’s share of the credit goes to the technical departments, which have done a phenomenal job throughout the film, giving it an international texture while ensuring the regional essence isn’t lost.Celine (Revathy Sharma) and her live-in partner Jacob (Sagar Surya) are struggling youngsters who make a living as a singer at a resto-bar and as a food delivery agent, respectively. One day, a law firm approaches Celine, revealing certain details about herself that she didn’t previously know. They also inform her that she is the sole heir to a massive empire, including the infamous Rose Villa, where several members of her family died by suicide en masse when she was an infant. Realising that she is sitting on top of a goldmine, Celine and Jacob leave for Rose Villa to sell it off.Must Read | Melcow Pondicherry movie review: Calling Arjun Ashokan film ‘torture’ is an understatementIn parallel, police officer Esho’s (Dileesh Pothan) investigation into a murder starts getting complicated when he realises that this case has some similarities to the Rose Villa mass suicide case from a few decades ago. As all roads lead to the mansion, the dark secrets it has guarded are poised to be unravelled. But these roads only lead to Rose Villa and never back from it.Inside the eerie world of BoumaIn essence, Bouma can be described as a psychological gothic thriller that prioritises creating fear in the audience over just scaring them — and no, both aren’t the same thing. In an interview with a national daily before the movie’s release, director Rejin revealed that Bouma derives from the word for “earth (bhoomi),” suggesting the landscape plays as much of a role in the events as the characters and their actions. And he ensures that the movie stays true to its title.The writer-director has built the world around Rose Villa so well that the moment we step onto its premises, we feel we aren’t welcome there. In a way, Rose Villa is like the village of Churuli from director Lijo Jose Pellissery’s eponymous 2021 movie: it’s welcoming only to those who belong there; trespassers will be prosecuted.Even with its runtime of less than two hours, Rejin doesn’t rush or bombard us with too many elements. He takes his time building the world and the mystery before unravelling things one by one. But when it does, it’s almost like an autopsy — each layer is opened with much care and finesse and inspected thoroughly before going deeper.Story continues below this adPhenomenal cinematography and craftThe choreography of each scene is marvellous, and the positioning of subjects and objects within the frames speaks volumes. Sharan Velayudhan’s phenomenal cinematography is Bouma’s biggest draw, with his work here even better than in Sookshmadarshini (2024).Although Sharan often uses tight frames in Bouma, prioritising mid-shots and capturing the characters’ inner turmoil, when he switches to wide frames, he masterfully captures the labyrinthine nature of the environment. He also avoids sticking to the same visual language and colour palette throughout, giving Celine’s and Esho’s storylines distinctiveness.Cinema Anatomy | Scene: Suriya, Jithu Madhavan show the benefits of a movie not being a ‘fanboy sambavam’Appunni Sajan’s production design and Sibin Varghese’s art direction also deserve immense commendation for avoiding stock gothic aesthetics and creating a world from scratch that’s both rooted and eerie. The care with which Rose Villa has been set in the flashback scenes alone highlights their brilliant work.Story continues below this adSooraj ES’ extraordinary editing keeps Bouma extraordinary. The movie features both a parallel and non-linear narrative structure, and Sooraj brilliantly ensures there’s no room for confusion or for one narrative to diminish the intensity of another through odd placement. Christo Xavier’s chillingly alluring music also elevates the film further.Among the actors, Dileesh Pothan and Vineeth deliver brilliant performances that add further weight to the film.Where Bouma falters: Artificial dialogues and missing dramaAlthough Rejin’s script, based on Dony S Kadamanitta’s story, achieves its biggest goals, its effect is undermined by extremely artificial, uninspired dialogues. While Dileesh Pothan manages to work around this, the soullessness of the dialogues becomes especially evident when the other actors speak, significantly affecting the movie.Memories of Blunder | Zanjeer: Amitabh Bachchan may have cried in a corner after watching Ram Charan’s disasterStory continues below this adBesides, Bouma is pulled down further by the complete absence of strong drama. Given that the movie doesn’t rely on jump scares or other conventional ways to frighten the audience and focuses more on slithering under their skin, a bit more drama might have helped us connect with the characters beyond the surface, elevating the film further.While it’s understandable that Rejin may not have wanted us to forge such a connection with the members of Rose Villa, his script fails to establish the necessary connections between us and even the characters we should connect with, including Esho and Celine. As a result, Bouma makes us feel that there’s nothing for us in it and that it’s almost like a weird zoo, with us as spectators who paid money to watch the “animals.”Even though Rejin brilliantly weaves mystery, suspense, fantasy, and gothic elements into the narrative, the absence of a dramatic core keeps the movie from reaching its full potential.While his style of prioritising small surprises and twists over massive ones works well, thanks to his focus on masking and misdirection, the movie’s second half feels chaotic, and the final act is marred by convenient writing.Story continues below this adA troubling climaxMoreover, it’s unfair to end this review without pointing out that Bouma’s overt glorification — bordering on romanticisation — of black magic, occultism, Satanism, and cannibalism cannot be overlooked. While the makers deserve praise for exploring a subject rarely tackled in Malayalam cinema, Bouma’s climax, in a way, gives the impression that it endorses such inhumane practices.Bouma movie cast: Dileesh Pothan, Revathy Sharma, Vineeth, Sagar Surya, Aditi BalanBouma movie director: Rejin S BabuBouma movie rating: 3 stars