Aghathiyaa Movie Review: A disjointed horror film that falls flat

In its attempt to blend horror, fantasy, history, and action, Aghathiyaa ends up being neither thrilling nor terrifying

Siddha medicine. Reincarnation. Rare planetary parade. Patriotism. These are just a few of the many themes Pa Vijay crams into Aghathiyaa, a period horror thriller with action and comedy. The film bombards us with facts, constantly jumping from one concept to another, never developing anything substantial. With Jiiva and Arjun at the forefront, Aghathiyaa feels less like a cohesive film and more like a bag full of chaotic ideas.

Director: Pa Vijay

Cast: Jiiva, Arjun, Edward Sonnenblick, Raashi Khanna

Aghathiyaa follows Jiiva’s titular character, an art director whose debut film gets shelved. In a bid to bounce back, he transforms a centuries-old mansion into a haunted house tourist attraction. However, when visitors start encountering real paranormal activity, the protagonists are compelled to uncover the sinister history lurking within. The film starts off with promise, giving Jiiva’s character a compelling backstory that hints at him being reincarnated, and blessed by a Siddhar (saint). It sets the stage for what seems like a solid, engaging narrative. Pa Vijay introduces the conflict early on, with the story shifting between past and present. The makers opt for a non-linear storytelling approach to maintain suspense until the climax. However, the constant back-and-forth ends up overwhelming the audience with unnecessary information rather than crafting a gripping, immersive narrative.

Ideally, anyone witnessing a supernatural presence would be overwhelmed, and may even consider sprinting for their life. But Aghathiyan? His reaction to his lover being possessed is somehow scarier than the possession itself. Instead of the usual screaming and running, he calmly decides to take on the spirits, as if he's just dealing with a minor inconvenience. When Veena, his childhood love, rightfully questions his choice to stay back and confront the ghosts, he casually drops the bomb that his mother has cancer and he thinks the cure might be hidden somewhere in the haunted mansion. With expressions that belong to a bygone era, logic that takes frequent coffee breaks, and a plot that meanders without purpose, Aghathiyaa has plenty of unintentional humour.

The film also struggles with making its central characters anything more than one-dimensional caricatures. Take, for instance, a scene where the antagonist, Edwin Duplex (Edward Sonnenblick), deliberately shoots at a massive elephant, fully aware that it will retaliate. When the inevitable happens, and the enraged elephant charges at him, Siddharthan (Arjun) swoops in like a knight in shining armour to save Edwin from the mess he willingly created. But it doesn’t stop there—Edwin then goes on to praise Siddharthan for rescuing him from a crisis that was entirely his own doing. The film bends over backwards to hammer home the idea that Siddharthan is the epitome of goodness while Edwin is pure evil, leaving no room for nuance or complexity. In moments designed to make us laugh, we sit unmoved. And when so-called angels heroically battle demons, we end up chuckling—not out of awe, but thanks to the film’s inconsistent editing, which is in stark dissonance with the mood of the scenes.

In a period horror thriller with fantasy elements, a basic expectation would be visual grandeur. With the mansion as the primary setting and impressive set properties, Aghathiyaa initially carries a grand sense of scale. However, as the narrative unfolds, green matte editing and CGI take precedence over aesthetics, gradually diminishing the visual appeal. The climax fight sequence, spanning nearly 15 minutes, is entirely created in motion capture—but not in the best way. Marketed as the film’s visual highlight, with graphics handled by the same team that worked on Doctor Strange, the sequence instead feels like a blatant homage, borrowing elements like Strange’s ring of fire, fire whips, and even astral dimension visuals. While the effort behind the VFX is evident, the final output is underwhelming and leans more toward amateurish than fascinating.

In its attempt to blend horror, fantasy, history, and action, Aghathiyaa ends up being neither thrilling nor entertaining—just exhausting. Perhaps the real horror here isn’t the ghosts, but the haunting realisation that Aghathiyaa could have been so much more.