Story
During the 17th century, two people escape from slavery and get lost in a jungle in Malabar, Kerala. One of them is killed by a female spirit and the other one Thevan (Arjun Ashokan) ends up in a dilapidated mansion. He is welcomed by the lord of the house Kodumon Potti (Mammootty). He also has a cook (Sidharth Bharathan). Once he starts living in that house, Thevan realizes that he is trapped in that house and there is no way out. Rest of the story is about how he tries to escape from the house.

Artists Performance

Mammootty should be appreciated for doing a role of gray shades. He captures our attention throughout with his performance that requires a streak of demonism in it. Arjun Ashokan is exceptional with a role that has quite a good character arc. Sidharth Bharathan is very good as a cook who hatches a plan. Amalda Liz did the role of Yakshi (a lady demon) convincingly.

Story - screenplay - direction: Like most of the horror thrillers, the story idea of the film is very thin. What makes a difference in this film are a couple of unique aspects. The story is set in the 17th Century with the Portuguese ruling the Malabar coast. To represent the mysticism, the director has taken a creative decision to give black and white visuals for the entire film with an unusual aspect ratio of 1:2. The director has also written 95% of the movie among just 3 male characters who reside in the same house. The director takes his own time to set the premise and introduce the characters and their nature. Screenplay (Rahul Sadasivan & T. D. Ramakrishnan) of the film is good though the narration is pretty slow. The director doesn’t depend on the horror factor (he doesn't use horror elements to scare audiences just for the sake of it), but narrates the story by including good dramatic elements. It’s a kind of story that suits for stage plays as well. Climax of the film is satisfactory. The director Rahul Sadasivan is sure to win accolades and awards for his work.

Other departments: Shehnad Jalal’s cinematography in black and white is awe-inspiring. He made sure that there is ample depth, contrast and layer separation between subject and background in the visuals. It’s a pretty difficult task to have a full film in black and white and the cinematographer has succeeded in getting audiences glued to the visuals. Background music (Christo Xavier) and sound design (Jayadev) play a very important role. They enhanced the drama without dominating the proceedings. Production design (Jothish Shankar) is excellent. The dilapidated mansion is designed very aesthetically. The rusty interiors, vegetation around the mansion, swimming area where water almost touches the roof etc add to the uniqueness. Editing by Shafique Mohammed Ali is good. Production values by Night Shift Studios & YNOT Studios are good.

Analysis: Bramayugam is a well-made period horror drama. Black & white visuals, terrific performances, good music/sound-design and authentic production design are the strengths. Though the story is a short one, the director has narrated it in 2:20 hours. Only drawback in the film is slow narration. This movie is not meant for everybody. But if you are a film connoisseur, it’s a must watch!!