Muthassi Review: ★★★½☆ (3.5/5)
Rooted in Kerala folklore, this slow-burning supernatural thriller builds fear through haunting performances and an eerie atmosphere. Director Nandulal M.S. crafts a chilling supernatural tale where silence, folklore, and fear work better than jump scares.
Rating: ★★★½☆ (3.5/5)
Director: Nandulal M.S.
Episodes: 6
Language: Malayalam
Cast: KPAC Leela, Akhila Bhargavan, Amith Chakkalakkal, Orhan Hyder
Malayalam horror has a way of doing things differently. It does not rely on jump scares or loud background music to frighten you. It builds atmosphere slowly, lets beliefs and superstitions seep into the narrative, and trusts that a well-told folk story is scarier than anything a sound effect can manufacture.
Muthassi, directed by debutant Nandulal M.S., understands this completely — and uses it to deliver one of the more genuinely unsettling Malayalam series of the year.
The story begins with a young woman named Leela, played by Akhila Bhargavan, who moves to a cursed village after marrying Rajan, played by Amith Chakkalakkal. The village has a dark reputation, and the old mansion she enters feels wrong in ways she cannot immediately explain.
Then she meets Muthassi — the grandmother, an elderly woman believed to be a former witch and the source of the village’s curse. Strange habits. A frightening appearance. Eyes that seem to see things nobody else can.
When Leela becomes pregnant and a child named Sreekuttan is born — a boy Muthassi believes is her destined successor — the story quietly shifts into something much darker and more layered.
KPAC Leela is the reason to watch this series.
At an age when most actors are offered peripheral roles, she takes absolute ownership of a character that requires physical transformation, vocal menace, and a presence that lingers in every scene she is not even in. She does not play Muthassi as a simple villain.
There is history in her eyes, something ancient and sad and frightening all at once. When she is on screen, the atmosphere changes. The close-up shots the cinematographer has crafted for her are particularly effective — her face itself becomes a horror element.
Child actor Orhan Hyder as Sreekuttan is another standout. He manages the difficult balance of appearing innocent while carrying an undercurrent of something unsettling, which is exactly what the role demands. Akhila Bhargavan brings genuine warmth and emotional honesty to Leela, even if her performance becomes slightly uneven in the more intense sequences of the later episodes.
Director Nandulal, making his debut, shows real maturity in how he handles the horror. He knows that silence, misty forest landscapes, candlelit rooms, and old village rituals are more effective than most special effects.
The pacing is slow and deliberate — which is both the series’ greatest strength and its occasional weakness. If you are looking for constant scares and rapid plot movement, a few of the middle episodes may test your patience. If you can settle into the show’s rhythm, the slow build pays off handsomely.
The cinematography by Prakash Velayudhan beautifully captures the duality of the setting — the natural beauty of the Kerala forest alongside the creeping dread of the mansion.
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The art department deserves specific credit for making the house feel genuinely haunted rather than merely decorated. The make-up work by Pattanam Rasheed on Muthassi herself is exceptional. The sound design keeps the unease present even in quieter scenes.
There is a notable pacing issue during the pregnancy sequence, where the narrative rushes through important story beats to reach the next twist. A little more breathing room here would have strengthened the emotional impact considerably.
For anyone who grew up hearing folk stories from Kerala grandmothers, or anyone who appreciates supernatural horror rooted in genuine cultural mythology, Muthassi is a compelling and atmospheric watch. Muthassi is now streaming on ZEE5.