Opening in theaters on Dec 25th 2025 is the new horror-thriller Eesha - a real nail-biter! Debut director Srinivas Manne is at the helm of this latest horror film under the production of Pothula Hema Venkateswara Rao's HVR Productions with KL Damodar Prasad presenting - seemed a promising partnership. Trigun (also known as Adith Arun), Akhil Raj, Hebba Patel star as the main cast, along with Siri Hanmanth, Prudhviraj and quite a few other talented actors.
RR Dhruvan is behind the music and Santhosh Sanamoni handles the photography on this one. Four teen friends –Kalyan (Trigun), Vinay (Akhil Raj), Nayana (Hebba Patel), and Aparna (Siri Hanmanth) – think that ghosts and all that superstitious nonsense just isn't real.
They decide to prove it by doing a spooky experiment which ends up turning them into a group of terrified kids who suddenly find out that maybe just maybe there really are some things out there that go bump in the night! The movie is about friendship and faith, vs the darker side of life & death.
Acting Trigun and Akhil Raj do an amazing job of showing how scared two mates can get when bad things start to happen
Hebba Patel brings a deep emotional depth to Nayana that made me really care about what was happening to her. The supporting cast though mostly Prudhviraj, did a great job of adding to the tension in the movie. I found myself holding my breath waiting to see what would happen next - especially during the very realistic scenes of friendship between the four of them in the first half of the movie. This then sets the stage for some seriously creepy and frightening moments later on.
The director, Srinivas Manne manages to keep the mood creepy through out by making use of traditional horror methods - jump scares and that eerie, captivating suspense that just gets to you. RR Dhruvan's music masterfully enhances the frightening atmosphere. The cinematography by Santhosh Sanamoni is pretty impressive for the gloomy settings he captures.
The film clocks in at about two hours seven minutes so its a relatively quick viewing experience. - Bunny Vas, a producer had mentioned that the last 20 minutes of the movie would be the most exciting – well he wasn't wrong on that one. Good bits: Eesha delivers the real deal in terms of scares and rising tension all the way to the end.
First half does a great job in portraying the relationship & the skepticism - we all know where the story is going from here. Indian audiences will find the whole talking about superstitions thing to be familiar.
Good job on production given the relatively modest budget of Rs. 10 crore.
Some drawbacks: The movie suffers from being predictable - I knew where most of the plot twists were going to lead by now.
The latter half takes a slight dip - halfway through the movie, things do take a bit of a nose dive.
The genre might not offer anything new, yet our director does a great job of executing it so that its all still enjoyable.
Verdict: overall Eesha is a fun scary movie for holiday viewing - great chills and scares. If you like supernatural stories I think you'll find this one very enjoyable. Watch it in cinema (but if you have a weak heart, it may not be for you!). Based on what I've seen and read, Eesha is a movie that delivers on its promise. 3 out of 5 Horror fans - give this one a go this holiday season. BookMyShow has got tickets available - hop on and see what catches your eye.