Eko: A Masterpiece That Only Gets Better With Time

I watched Eko when it first released, caught up in all the hype surrounding it. And honestly? The movie was spectacular. I couldn’t stop talking about it. I kept telling people they had to see it, that it was something special. But like most movies, it eventually faded from my mind. Life moved on, other films came and went, and Eko became just another good movie I’d once enjoyed.

Then I rewatched it last week.

And everything changed.

This time, Eko didn’t just impress me. It floored me. Every single aspect of the film, every nuance of detail, every character and their impact, it all stayed with me in a way it hadn’t before. The layers I’d missed the first time around suddenly became visible. The subtleties in the performances, the precision in the direction, the way seemingly minor moments actually carried enormous weight, it all clicked into place.

I had thought Ponman deserved the title of best Malayalam film of 2025. I genuinely believed that. But now? Now I think Eko deserves it. Easily. Without hesitation. And I wouldn’t even stop there. I’d put Eko in the top five best thrillers Malayalam cinema has ever produced. That’s not recency bias talking. That’s what a second viewing revealed to me about just how exceptional this film really is.

What makes Eko truly remarkable is something you don’t see often in cinema. Not a single character in this film is ideal or virtuous. Not one. They’re all leaning toward darkness, existing in shades of gray that shift depending on the light you shine on them. There isn’t a plain, distinct division between black and white. Everyone is compromised. Everyone has motivations that make sense to them even when they’re doing terrible things. And that moral ambiguity makes the film feel real in a way that stories with clear heroes and villains never quite achieve.

Take Malathi Chettathi, for example. What a powerhouse of a character. The journey from prisoner to someone who controls the dogs with a single clap, that’s genius direction right there. When I first watched it, I thought it was just an interesting character detail, a way to show her authority and presence. But on the rewatch, I realized how much more it meant. How it represented control, survival, adaptation, the way people in impossible situations find power where they can. It’s so impactful, so layered, and I completely missed the depth of it the first time around.

And the performances. Manikandan/Peeyoos, literally every character you see on screen was brilliantly portrayed. There’s not a weak link in the entire cast. Every actor understood their role, understood the darkness they were inhabiting, and committed to it fully.

I genuinely think the Kerala State Film Awards should recognize Eko as the best film of 2025. Maybe give Basil Joseph or Mammootty the best actor awards for their roles in Ponman and Kalamkaval, those were both outstanding performances. But Best Film? That should go to Eko. It deserves that recognition.

As for the National Awards, I’ve lost hope there. Whatever credibility they once had feels long gone. Political considerations, lobbying, favoritism, it’s all too muddied now to take seriously. But the Kerala State Awards still matter. They still have credibility. They still recognize actual artistic achievement. And if there’s any justice, they’ll see Eko for what it is: a masterpiece of thriller filmmaking that only reveals its full brilliance when you sit with it, think about it, and watch it again.

Some movies are great on first viewing and lose their magic when you revisit them. You realize the plot holes, the performance choices that don’t quite work, the places where the seams show. Eko is the opposite. It’s a film that rewards your attention, that gets stronger the more you engage with it, that reveals new depths every time you look.