A Twin Bloodline in the Dust
At Sitges, Samjad’s 'Half' arrives not as a slow burn but a full-throttle collision of genre and rhythm. Set in a near-future where Madras has become a Max: Fury Road-style wasteland, the film opens with twin vampires — Ethan (Ranjith Sajeev) and Ivy (Aiswarya Raj), driving through a scorched expanse under a merciless sun. Their journey mirrors that of a family murdered just ahead: a father pulled over by a fake oil leak, then slaughtered without mercy. The killers strip the car, burn the bodies, and vanish into the dust.
But the twins are no ordinary travelers. Born of mortal blood and vampire lineage, they’re vulnerable to sunlight yet capable of regeneration after dark. The film keeps their powers hidden until the final act, building tension with a chilling scene where Ivy’s body is desecrated by a feral gang member. When night falls, the revenge begins. Not in waves, but in splinters.
Violence With a Beat
The action is relentless, choreographed with precision by Very Tri Yulisman. Each kill is visceral, almost balletic in its timing. The score, a pulsing mix of techno and bhangra by Midhun Mukundan, turns every fight into a dance of death. It’s not just spectacle. It’s rhythm. The film’s tone owes more to Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s From Dusk Till Dawn than any Indian cinematic tradition, though it’s unmistakably rooted in Malayalam storytelling.
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