Kalamkaval review: Mammootty’s venomous turn drives this slow-burn study of a serial killer's mind and method

Kalamkaval movie review: The structure, mostly used in true crime films, manages to keep things tight in Mammootty's Kalamkaval, but the predetermined nature of the chase means it's less gripping.

Mammootty in a still from Kalamkaval

Kalamkaval story: Crime Branch officer Jayashankar’s routine enquiry in a quiet village unexpectedly throws up clues that link to a trail of unreported missing persons. As he and his team dig deeper, they begin to decode the modus operandi and psyche of a sociopath who is behind the deaths of several women.

Kalamkaval review: It's almost fitting that the first Malayalam movie of 2025, Identity, started off as cops trying to corner an elusive killer and the final month’s first release, Kalamkaval, delves deeper, by plainly deconstructing the mind and method of a serial killer, but without any commercial embellishments. And yet Kalamkaval ends up doing a far superior job, purely on the strength of its treatment and performances.

That its director Jithin K Jose along with co-writer Jishnu Sreekumar were aware that the film draws from real-life incidents, including that of Cyanide Mohan and such stories often come with endings that are more or less given, it would have given them far less room to experiment with the narrative. And that’s where the film, in spite of being a slow-burn thriller, keeps things interesting.

The chapter-style structure, mostly used in true crime films like Zodiac, manages to keep things tight - especially when the crimes here have spanned years and involved over 20 missing women. But the visuals also let the viewers feel the full weight of those meticulously-planned and executed crimes, stitching together the various episodes of Mammootty’s sociopath and his unsuspecting prey. This is where debutant filmmaker Jithin truly deserves a pat on the back.

The predetermined nature of this cat-and-mouse game, however, does make it less gripping - save for the final chapter. There are moments when Vinayakan’s cop, Jayashankar, is outwitted, but the reveal at the interval dulls the impact of these moments, as the movie progresses. The ‘injection’ of the emotional layer introduced through Jayashankar’s thought for his daughters and the fear of what can happen if such sociopaths were allowed to run rampant, is a touch the film needed more of, especially when it lacked a consistently-engaging chase. In fact, this is also a huge void in Kalamkaval; you hardly get to know anything about the victims, barring Rajisha Vijayan and Gayathri Arun's characters. Had the makers addressed this, it could have made for a more engaging experience.

Mammootty as the ‘venom-spewing’ sociopath, preying on widows, divorcees and unmarried women, doesn’t hold back like in his recent grey characters such as Puzhu or Rorschach. There is that snake-like, clinical cunning of a serial killer that seeps through in every frame that he is in. The writers have also accounted for this calculating, risk-assessing mindset, by showing his character strikes only as he knows he can kill the prey and get away with it.

Also read: Kalamkaval director Jithin K Jose: Mammootty brought something entirely new to this complex role | Exclusive

Vinayakan, as the grounded crime branch officer, might not come across as a worthy adversary for someone like Mammootty’s Stanley Das. But it’s exactly this nature that makes him a relentless one, who could have a chance at finally nailing Stanley down. Though the film almost entirely revolves around these two actors, more Mammootty than Vinayakan, it benefits from excellent performances from everyone - from the many women who become victims to the cops.

Mujeeb Majeed lends a retro-tinged score to Kalamkaval that keeps it eerie and almost makes you feel that sinister pulse, every time a kill is about to happen. Faisal Ali’s frames showcase the southern-most part of Kerala, bordering Tamil Nadu, in its brooding, desolate form - be its coasts or villages, aligning it to why it makes for a perfect area for a predator.

Kalamkaval verdict: This Mammootty-starrer might not always grip you with the urgency of its cat-and-mouse chase, but it compensates for that with performances and craft elements that break down the mind and modus operandi of a sociopath. It’s a thriller that relies on the mood, method and menace, rather than the twists.

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