Title: Half
First Non-Festival Release: TBD
Director: Samjad
Writer: Samjad, Praveen Wiswanath
Runtime: 96 Minutes
Starring: Ranjith Sajeev, Aiswarya Raj, Abbas
Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here
This film’s review was written after its screening at the Fantastic Film Festival in 2026.
Twins Ethan (Ranjith Sajeev) and Ivy (Aiswarya Raj) are on a cross-country road trip to drop Ivy off at her new job when they run into difficulties. An unexpected detour sends them into the clutches of a sinister gang of vandals who murder unsuspecting people for the purposes of stealing their belongings and stripping the cars for parts. Ethan and Ivy are unfortunately their next victims. Fortunately for the twins, they don’t take the abuse laying down as they are half-human, half-vampire daywalkers. With all the power afforded to the creature of the night with few drawbacks, the twins take revenge on the operation with only one goal in mind: total annihilation.
A breakneck action horror hybrid, Half is a crowd-pleasing fight to the death that works despite its thin plot and characters.
Sometimes all you need out of a film is one gloriously gory fight scene after another, and India’s Malalayam language action horror Half gives audiences exactly this. Kicking things off with a brief cold open to establish the twin’s relationship and then lay the foundations of the gang’s sophisticated choreography of grand theft and murder, Half hastens to get to the good stuff. Practically racing to introduce Ethan and Ivy’s near-indestructible armor, Half’s understanding of action mechanics allows the film to escalate properly.
The careful choreography and rapid pace gives Half the teeth necessary to distract from its thin story. Ethan and Ivy’s campaign of revenge kickstarts with a simple confrontation that gives them plenty of leads to tracking down the rest of the gang. Once their victim is no longer useful to them, the daywalkers deliver the karmic justice the audience is waiting for. Swift, brutal, almost mechanical, the violence of Half is as captivating as it is adrenaline-inducing. Well-shot and choreographed, the gradual escalation of the fight scenes allows Half to raise the stakes in meaningful and relatively grounded ways.
Half leans on its performers and setting to potentiate the intensity further. Ranjith Sajeev and Aiswarya Raj give raw and disciplined performances. What their characters lack in interiority they make up for in their physicality. Their chemistry comes alive thanks to the duo’s performances. Sajeev’s rage-fueled physical prowess and Raj’s deadpan venom transform the fights into something deeply personal. Their adversaries are given as much depth but are played with ferocity and glee, nonetheless.
This is where the remote desert setting kicks it up a notch. The harsh lighting gives a feeling of hopelessness to the otherwise ordinary desert. As Half descends into blood-soaked carnage, the desert heat adds further dimension to its action. Gloriously bloody and sweaty, the film embraces both fluids feverishly in the breakneck fight sequences. It does get repetitive at times, and gives the main character’s severe plot armor, but there is no doubt they look good.
Whether it’s crashing a fight club or ambushing a roadside diner, Ethan and Ivy take little time to relish their kills. Jumping from ludicrous set piece to the next, Half uses its resources wisely to take the twins on their quest. Jumping from car to car and playing around with a giant incinerator, Half gets creative with its spectacle to deliver on that constant escalation but also further the viewer’s understanding of the world building.
This is where Half begins to slightly fall apart. Some nice vampire references and lore building aside, the story of Half just isn’t that interesting. Passable on a storytelling level, Half seems more concerned with showing off cool fight sequences rather than offering something more substantive. The vampire lore is stretched when needed and is sometimes needed a bit too much. Almost everything hinges on the twin’s relationship, the brief time they share together pre car wreck, and the absolute cartoon villain level of evil from the bad guys. Does it work? Yes. Is it good? Does it matter?
Half is an exquisite Indian action horror western that absolutely delivers on its wild premise. Strong lead performances and wicked fight choreography and stunt work helps make Half the midnight movie it needs to be. Its story and characters aren’t as fully fleshed out as one would hope but its flaws are easy to ignore because of the film’s punch. Hopefully, you won’t have to wait for the sun to go down too many days before getting a chance to see Half when it comes stateside.
Overall Score? 8/10
