Sep 30, 2026 11:17am IST
‘Half’ Review: Twin Vampires Take Revenge In This Bloody Malayalam Action Thriller
Malayalam cinema had an extraordinary and mind-boggling moment at the Toronto International Film Festival this month. It was represented by two extremes of Malayalam cinema: a restored version of John Abraham’s “Amma Ariyan, Report to Mother” (1986) in TIFF Classics, by the late Malayali filmmaker, not the hottie from Bandra, and Samjad’s “Half,” a violent Malayalam actioner with twin vampires, no less, which had its world premiere in the Midnight Madness section. Together, they point to the rude health of Malayalam cinema.
“Half” is the second outing for Samjad, who earlier directed “Golam” in 2024. The film stars twin half-vampires, born to a human mother and vampire father, who look like regular humans. While driving through the Rajasthan desert, they are robbed, bludgeoned and left for dead by savage bandits. What follows is a sustained and often horrific campaign of revenge that occupies most of the film.
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Screenwriters Praveen Viswanath and Samjad’s wafer-thin plot prefers to focus on the impressive action, directed by Indonesian fight choreographer Very Tri Yulisman, known for “The Raid 2.” He brings Indonesian “pencak silat” martial arts to the film. Kalaripayattu? No thanks. There is no love-shove either. Ethan (Ranjith Sajeev) and Ivy (Aiswarya Raj) are brother and sister, with Amala Paul making a cameo as their mother.
Significantly, Samjad subverts the vampire genre. His twin protagonists have neither fangs nor a taste for blood. Instead, darkness gives them a superpower that saves them every time. No spoilers here.
I can’t stand horror and “Half” is certainly a gory and brutal splatterfest. But I acknowledge Samjad’s impressive handling of action and his solid craftsmanship within the genre.
The film’s treatment of its female vampire is particularly interesting. There is a scene in which a man does something unpardonable to a battered and fallen Ivy, though the director later uses it to justify her doing unspeakable things to him. Interestingly, Ivy has a non-speaking role, but she is a feminist in action. Though brutalised, she remains largely defiant and kicks serious butt. She is also tech-savvy and, best of all, combatively savvy about family finances. She communicates through gestures, while the music playing on her headphones becomes the soundtrack of the film.
My favourite film in this genre remains Ana Lily Amirpour’s “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” whose protagonist is a young woman in a hijab who skateboards through the night and stalks Iran, only to reveal herself as a vampire.
Ranjith Sajeev and Aiswarya Raj are impassive but effective in the action sequences. Pappinu’s cinematography, Mahesh Bhuvanend’s editing, Midhun Mukundan’s propulsive music score and Vishnu Govind’s sound design keep the film moving at a brisk pace.
The women on the crew include producer Anne Sajeev and costume designer Dhanya Balakrishnan. Significantly, “Half” is produced by a woman, Anne Sajeev, alongside her husband Sajeev PK, through their company Fragrant Nature Film Creations (FNFC), which has pan-India and global ambitions.
The film’s international sales are handled by Best Friend Forever, whose titles include “Elephants in the Fog” from Nepal, alongside FNFC. In India, FNFC plans an all-India release, with Excel Entertainment, led by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, presenting and distributing the film in Hindi in association with AA Films, as well as in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.
“Half” also follows the success of Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s “Kill,” which premiered in TIFF’s Midnight Madness section in 2023. Vampire business may well flex its box-office superpowers.
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