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Bhoothayanam is a 2025 Indian Malayalam-language supernatural horror short film directed by Tony Davis and written by Pratheek Thomas. Produced by Studio Kokaachi and Unscrambled Films, the film stars KPAC Leela, Vridhi Vishal and Jinse Baskar. The film explores themes of loneliness among Kerala's ageing population through a supernatural narrative.^[1]

The film was released on 5 December 2025 and later streamed on the Bhavana Studios YouTube channel.^[2]

Mary, a 77-year-old woman, longs to reunite with her son and granddaughter after years of separation. Consumed by loneliness, she takes an extreme step in the hope of seeing them again.

Following Mary's death, her son Miju returns to his ancestral home in Kerala with his wife Soumya and their hearing-and-speech-impaired daughter, Riya. While the adults believe Mary's story has ended, Riya insists that she continues to spend time with her grandmother. As the child's encounters become increasingly unsettling, Soumya uncovers a disturbing truth linking Mary's loneliness with the supernatural.^[3]

• KPAC Leela as Ammachi (Mary)
• Vridhi Vishal as Riya
• Jinse Baskar as Miju
• Haritha Parokod as Soumya
• Rini Udayakumar as Annie
• Uma K. P. as Indu
• Abraham Edayadi as Driver
• Preetha George as Old Woman Thresya
• Ramesh Menon as Miju's Boss (voice)

The idea for Bhoothayanam originated after writer Pratheek Thomas came across a photograph depicting an elderly woman looking out of a window in a BBC documentary about Kerala's ageing population. The image inspired a story exploring loneliness among elderly people living alone in the state's increasingly depopulated villages. Director Tony Davis and Thomas developed the concept in 2024, intentionally avoiding conventional horror tropes such as jump scares and excessive background music in favour of psychological horror.^[4]

The filmmakers cast child actor Vridhi Vishal as the hearing-and-speech-impaired Riya. She received training in sign language under consultant Vaishnavi for the role, while Tina Thomas wrote the Malayalam dialogues.^[5]

Bhoothayanam premiered on 5 December 2025 and was subsequently released on the Bhavana Studios YouTube channel.^[6]

Shilpa Nair Anand of The Hindu described the film as "a fresh take on the horror genre" that avoids conventional jump scares and background music, stating that its restrained approach made it "even creepier". She also praised the performances of KPAC Leela and Vridhi Vishal and highlighted the film's exploration of loneliness among Kerala's elderly population.^[7]

In an interview with The New Indian Express, Davis said the film was originally conceived as a portfolio project but was produced with the ambition and technical standards of a feature film. He later confirmed that a feature-length adaptation of Bhoothayanam was in development.^[8]

• Bhoothayanam at IMDb
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Category:2025 films Category:2025 short films Category:2025 horror films Category:Indian short films Category:Indian horror films Category:Supernatural horror films