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This Halloween season, I want to share one of my favourite horror movies that came out of Indian cinema. I like watching horror movies from time to time, but lately, movies have stopped scaring me. The jump scares and over-the-top horror elements or ghosts are getting too old now. So, I brought you something that, along with genuine horror, also shows the darker side of human nature.
Some movies scare you for a while, and then some movies stay with you forever. Tumbbad is one such movie that will stay with me forever — and that’s for a lot of different reasons. It’s a Hindi folk horror film released in 2018 that didn’t get the recognition it deserved at first. Later, it gained popularity — so much so that the film was re-released last year and earned double the money it made in 2018. That rarely happens in Indian cinema.
It’s a folklore about a village in Maharashtra called Tumbbad and how greed became a curse.
Plot
SPOILER WARNING: There will be a lot of spoilers from now on. If you want to avoid them, come back to this post after you’ve watched the movie.
It’s set in the 1900s, in a remote village in pre-independent India, and follows the life of Vinayak Rao, who grows up hearing stories about the Goddess of Prosperity and how one of her sons, Hastar, guards a great treasure of gold in an old mansion.
Vinayak’s mother works as a caretaker for this old and mysterious mansion belonging to a royal family. When the last member of the royal family dies, Vinayak wants to find the treasure hidden inside, but his mother warns him not to get involved.
At Vinayak’s home, an old woman is chained — she seems cursed and almost kills Vinayak. That’s when his mother takes him to the city, away from this cursed place, leaving the old lady behind.
Years later, the same kid, Vinayak, grows up fully obsessed with the treasure and returns to Tumbbad. He’s shocked to find the old lady still alive in that house — and she finally tells him the secret of the mansion. This is where everything takes a dark turn, and his greed ultimately curses him.
Why I liked it
At first, it looked like another poorly made folklore story. I didn’t have any expectations from the movie, but within the first 15 minutes, I realized this was something different. There was a lot of focus on atmosphere, building up tension, and using practical effects and huge sets — no overdone CGI.
Unlike the typical Bollywood horror (yes, most of them are trash) with jump scares, ghosts, and a random love story thrown in, this one is slow, atmospheric, and philosophical.
One of the most important things about horror movies is the sound design, and this movie nails it. The background score was composed by Jesper Kyd, the same guy who worked on famous games like Assassin’s Creed, Hitman, and Warhammer. He did an amazing job.
The best part about the movie is its cinematography. There are a lot of rainy scenes, and they actually shot them during heavy monsoon rains — that’s why everything looks so authentic. It even extended the production time, but I believe it was worth it.
Every stone in the mansion feels drenched, and the choice of practical effects for Hastar makes everything look incredibly believable. I don’t think it would’ve looked half as good with CGI.
Every frame looks like a painting — the lighting, the set design, the texture of the world. Making a film look this real and old-school isn’t easy, but Tumbbad pulls it off effortlessly.
And what can I say about the acting? Every actor did their job perfectly, especially the main character, who carries the film. He never lets the story feel slow or boring, even though it’s a two-hour movie.
I wish I had watched it in theatres, but I missed it both times.
My Rating
I would rate it 9.5/10. It’s almost a perfect horror movie for me — the right kind of horror. No over-the-top jump scares, just practical effects, slow tension, and storytelling that keeps you guessing. Both the beginning and the ending are extremely well done. It’s also one of the best uses of natural lighting and nature I’ve seen in a long time.
If you’re looking for a unique horror title this season, I highly recommend giving Tumbbad a shot. It’s available on Amazon Prime.
I was reading reviews on IMDb and noticed something funny — most Indian reviewers were giving it 6 or 7 stars, while Western audiences were calling it one of the best Indian films ever made.
This just shows how flooded we are with bad Bollywood stuff, while real gems like this often go unnoticed.
Thanks for reading!