Tumbbad review: Here's what critics say about Aanand L Rai's psychological horror

Filmmaker Aanand L Rai's Tumbbad starring Sohum Shah will be releasing on October 12 in theatres across the country and the psychological horror has already managed to strike the right chord with the critics. The movie left the critics gripped with its interesting mixture of mythology, fantasy and thriller leaving everyone with a spine-chilling experience.

Set in the era of 1930 and 1940, Tumbbad gives glimpses of fantasy, action, frights, and scares that questions the roots of human greed. It also focuses on the thirst to conquer the hidden treasure within the empire.

While doing research about the locations, the makers heard that there is a hidden treasure in the real Tumbbad village, a remote place in the interiors of Konkan, Maharashtra.

The villagers of Tumbbad believe that an ancient treasure is buried underground in one of the prominent areas of the village, left behind by the ancestors.

Take a look at what critics have to say about Tumbbad.

The Times of India: "Tumbbad is a moody and atmospheric film. Some viewers may find the film a little too deep and disturbing, but fans of Hollywood horror films will be reminded of memorable movies in the genre like Pan's Labyrinth (2006) and Eraserhead (1977). This one is genuinely scary."

Ratings: 4 stars

Film Companion: "I apologise if I've made Tumbbad sound like something only Rubik's-cubers will get. It's just that a film with demons rarely lends itself to subtext — we keep getting information that seems to build to something bigger. Like the reason Hastar, son of the earth, hungers for food (like how the farmers who produce what we eat often go hungry). Like how the sign "flour pounded by Brahmins" contrasts with the post-Independence image of flour being machine-ground in a mill, as the lower-caste labour class sits by. Like how Vinayak's money goes towards the cause that Nathuram Godse espouses, which loops back to the Gandhi quote that opens the movie. It may not be too much of a stretch to say that, instead of a haunted house, Tumbbad is about a haunted nation, possessed not by the devil but by the past. It's been a while since something (apparently) genre-based turned out so rich and mysterious, so defiantly its own thing."

Ratings: 4 stars

Bollywood Life: "Tumbbad is perhaps this year's most visually-stunning experience. Watch it if you love a good folk-story with a twisted end. For the faint-hearted, Tumbbad might be an unsettling experience. It's hard to put the film in a box or label it with a genre and that isn't really a bad thing. It's folklore with a horror twist and enough drama to keep you engrossed. We wish there was more backdrop to the story of the deity and the history of Tumbbad."

Ratings: 4 stars

Pinkvilla: "The climax before the actual climax is when you are at the precipice at what the movie is actually about. Greed is hereditary and you either succumb to it or you get destroyed forever. Just like the movie Tumbbad will be for the audience, you either become one with it and love it completely, or else it's not your cup of tea."

Ratings: 60 per cent on movie meter