Nellikkampoyil Night Riders movie review: An unfunny, unscary horror comedy

Located adjacent to the Tamil Nadu border, the village of Nellikkampoyil is filled with tattlers and mouth-breathers. Besides, they are also extremely superstitious and firmly believe that their locality is home to Kooli (Goddess Kali’s subordinate), who protects the land and its people. Set in the early 2000s, a new issue has arisen in Nellikkampoyil: locals have begun seeing a mysterious figure at night. Fast like a horse and flexible like a feline, many assume that it’s Kooli himself. The figure slowly begins to rule the night, instilling such fear that people hesitate to even step outside their homes after dark.

For Shyam (Mathew Thomas), however, this isn’t new, as he anyway doesn’t venture out at night due to his fear of darkness. This fear stems from a traumatic supernatural experience he had as a child. But in front of his girlfriend, Dhanya (Meenakshi Unnikrishnan), he pretends to be the bravest of all. Meanwhile, Shyam’s life takes a turn when Dhanya is attacked by the mysterious figure, following which she urges him to catch it and seek revenge. Although he embarks on the mission with the help of his friends Rajesh (Sarath Sabha) and Kannan (Roshan Shanavas), fear keeps overpowering Shyam. Meanwhile, the menace of the mysterious figure grows beyond what the residents of Nellikkampoyil can endure. Will any of them manage to get to the bottom of all this? That forms the rest of the movie.

Watch Nellikkampoyil Night Riders trailer here:

From the very beginning, director-editor Noufal Abdullah’s Nellikkampoyil Night Riders gives the impression that writers Jyothish M and Sunu AV had only a basic thread and a few plot points, and that they have struggled a lot to stretch them into a feature-length film. Even in the first act, the poverty of ideas is quite evident, as the writers fail to provide proper characterisation for even Nellikkampoyil, leaving the foundation itself weak. As the film progresses, the frequent usage of the same plot devices — for example, Shyam’s fear of being haunted by the ghost of his childhood nanny whenever it’s dark — only adds to this and underscores just how hollow Night Riders’ script is. Much like director Vishnu Sasi Shankar’s Sumathi Valavu, a fellow horror-comedy, Night Riders is also marred by unfunny jokes that seem extremely contrived, and ‘frightening moments’ that are more boring than scary, thus doing more harm than good.

(Spoilers ahead) While recent films like Officer On Duty capitalised on the “fridging” trope and the extremely graphic depiction of violence against women, Nellikkampoyil Night Riders takes it to an entirely different and disgusting level, revealing a sexual assault — and that too of the female lead — in the most nonchalant manner possible, almost making one wonder if the makers consider such acts normal. Not only is this revealed without any emotional weight, but we are also then shown a flashback depicting the crime, visualised in a tasteless manner. Soon after, the crime is treated almost as a joke, serving merely as the reason Shyam must venture out at night to catch the mysterious figure.

The problematic aspects of Night Riders don’t end there. From one of Shyam’s friends asking him whether his deceased nanny was hot, to a policeman being made fun of for his caste identity, the movie is plagued by either unimaginative or offensive writing — or both.

As the film progresses, it also begins to remind us of several similar works, particularly director duo Indraneel Gopalakrishnan and Rahul G’s Detective Ujjwalan (2025), and the Scooby-Doo cartoons. However, none of this comes across as a homage; and it simply exposes Jyothish and Sunu’s generic and banal writing.

Noufal also never manages to salvage the film, as he appears clueless about how to handle the lacklustre script. The inconsistency in tone and pitch suggests the same, where the eccentricities in the narrative come and go as the makers please. After a certain point, we realise that both supernatural and man-made mysteries are at play here, and though the film had space to allow these elements to coexist, the half-baked execution of both, unfortunately, turns the story into one big uncooked dough, awaiting a skilled chef.

What adds to the movie’s woes is Mathew Thomas’ unimpressive performance, particularly his amateurish, timid handling of comedy. Making matters worse is the complete lack of chemistry between Mathew and Meenakshi, leaving one to wonder if Shyam and Dhanya are merely fooling each other by pretending to be in love. Although Sarath Sabha and Roshan Shanavas are apt in their roles, their contributions don’t save the movie.

On the technical front, Navab Abdullah deserves credit for his impressive art direction, successfully recreating a bygone era without over-relying on too many nostalgic props. Melwy J’s work as the costume designer also warrants appreciation.

Nellikkampoyil Night Riders movie cast: Mathew Thomas, Meenakshi Unnikrishnan, Sarath Sabha, Roshan Shanavas
Nellikkampoyil Night Riders movie director: Noufal Abdullah
Nellikkampoyil Night Riders movie rating: 1.5 stars

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