Movie · 2021 · Thriller, Crime, Drama · 2h 33m · ML
Curator score: 7.8/10 (44.6K ratings)
The Resumption
Overview
Seven years after the events of the first film, the family lives with the trauma from that fateful night. A gripping tale of an investigation and a family threatened by it. Will Georgekutty be able to protect his family this time?
Ratings
Curator score: 7.8/10
IMDb: 8.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 70%
TMDB: 7.6/10
Director
Jeethu Joseph
Production
Aashirvad Cinemas
Cast
Mohanlal, Meena, Murali Gopy, Asha Sarath, Siddique, Anjali Aneesh Upasana, Esther Anil, Ansiba Hassan, Saikumar, K. B. Ganesh Kumar, Antony Perumbavoor, Sumesh Chandran, Dinesh Prabhakar, Ajith Koothattukulam, Krishna Prabha, Joy Mathew, Aneesh G Menon, Krishna, Kozhikode Narayanan Nair, Shobha Mohan
Where to watch
Amazon Prime Video
Curator Review
Verdict
A tightly engineered sequel that leans into suspense, family pressure, and the pleasure of watching a clever cover-up strain under investigation. It is not as lean or fresh as the first film, but the plotting, performance, and payoff make it an easy recommendation for thriller fans.
Best for
Viewers who like twist-driven crime thrillers
Fans of domestic suspense and morally gray protagonists
Audiences who enjoy investigation cat-and-mouse stories
People who want a sequel that expands character psychology
Skip if
You want a purely grounded, realistic thriller with no melodramatic flourishes
You dislike procedural scenes that build slowly toward a big payoff
You are looking for a standalone story without prior-film baggage
You prefer action-heavy crime films over dialogue-led suspense
Overview
Drishyam 2 works because it understands that the real suspense is not whether a secret exists, but how long a family can live inside it. The film turns ordinary domestic life into a pressure cooker, with every conversation, police visit, and public rumor adding another layer of dread. Mohanlal anchors it with a controlled, weary intelligence that keeps the character believable even when the plotting gets elaborate.
Worth noting
Jeethu Joseph again shows a gift for construction: the movie is built like a puzzle box, with clues, reversals, and strategic omissions arranged to keep the audience guessing. Some viewers may find the middle stretch a little over-scripted or TV-like, and the final movements rely more on contrivance than the first film did. Still, the sequel delivers the core thrill of watching a man think several moves ahead while the net slowly tightens.
Bottom line
As a follow-up, it succeeds less by matching the original’s freshness than by deepening its emotional stakes. The family’s fear, guilt, and exhaustion give the mystery a human center, which is why the film lingers after the twists are over. It is a smart, satisfying thriller for viewers who enjoy tension built from character as much as from plot.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Michael James (3.5★) · 160 likes
Jeethu Joseph shines as a plot writer yet again and delivers a damn impressive sequel. Though the story is not without its flaws, it still manages to sharply surprise you with perfectly landing twists & turns. The phycological insecurities, fear, anxiety and meta novel infusions into the plot were just seamless. Every action by any character gets smartly justified. Mohanlal is outstanding as the vulnerable father, pulling it off with such subtly and conviction. The rest of cast were good. Technically the movie was passable. Overall, ends up a satisfying cleverly plotted sequel.
Nakul (3★) · 140 likes
Quite enjoyed Drishyam 2, I don't think it's as great as some are making it out to be and I certainly don't think its bad. Look it's hard to make a good sequel, and it's even harder to make a sequel to a mystery thriller because unlike previous movie this time audience is expecting a twist and trying to figure it out from start. It does everything a good sequel is supposed to do; expand on the characters. Really liked the writing (quite meta-fiction in places) but the direction was kinda flat, which gave the film a made-for-TV feel.
ash (2.5★) · 94 likes
While the previous part never left it's grounded realistic pitch, this one has extremely cinematic sensibilities and is heavily dramatised. The final 30 mins is campy fun, it's ridiculous but somehow it sticks lol. That whole segment rides on the sheer luck, like 1 in a one million chance to pull it off, but it's fun to watch except for the straight out of soap opera close up cinematography employed to catch how team prabhakar reacts to it lol.
What… more
Vishwas Verma 🟠🟢🔵 (3.5★) · 85 likes
Georgekutty has done it one more time. Another brilliant game-plan.
A sequel that didn't disappoint.
Mohanlal sir did great and so did Jeethu Joseph. Great writing.
oru_dude (1★) · 83 likes
This movie exists solely to give a dopamine hit to anyone who cares what Georgekutty is upto if there is a sequel.
I guess Jeethu Joseph spent so much time on the idea of the climax, he didn't bother to think about the rest of the movie.
2000 · Mystery, Thriller · 1h 53m · R · Curator 9.1/10 (3.2M ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
A masterclass in puzzle-box storytelling and unreliable reconstruction of events.
Topics
thriller, crime drama, investigation, cat-and-mouse, psychological tension, family secrets, moral ambiguity, twist ending, Malayalam cinema, suspense