While Fantastic Four: First Steps and Superman have been the tentpole superhero movies of the year, hoping to revive the fortunes of Marvel and DC’s cinematic universes, a surprise new contender has stepped up to the genre plate – and isn’t even based on pre-existing IP. Enter: Lokah.

Lokah, full title Lokah: Chapter One – Chandra, is only the second directorial feature by South Indian filmmaker Dominic Arun, and it has earned a lot of buzz since its opening in late August. In just over two weeks, it has reportedly globally accrued some $28.37 million (₹2.5 billion) against its $3.4 million (₹300 million) budget, making it the second-highest-grossing film in the history of Malayalam cinema (from the South Indian state of Kerala, often referred to as ‘Mollywood’).

Co-written by Arun and Santhy Balachandran and produced by Dulquer Salmaan‘s Wayfarer Films, the Malayalam-language movie focuses on a mysterious woman called Chandra and three goofball neighbours whose fates collide upon her arrival in the city of Bangalore.

The film’s true strength is the strong world-building. It really gives off a sense of a rich, hidden world. While setting up a wider universe, it manages to keep its focus on its core cast. Each character tease or reference is kept brief, primarily in service to the main plot and its lead. It definitely gives the impression that there is some form of road map underlying it all.

There are some impressive action sequences, with a very interesting flashback sequence in the middle of the film exploring the character’s origins and her connection to South Indian folklore. (There are also some curious animation sequences but it is unclear if they were AI-generated).

Kalyani Priyadarshan does a very solid job depicting the mysterious Chandra—a brooding, guarded, deeply lonely being actively concealing her power in a society that tends to overlook or predate on women. Priyadarshan manages to convincingly give the impression of a shy loner one minute and a terrifying force of nature the next—and the action scenes are very fun to watch.

The main villain of the piece is expertly played by Sandy Master in the role of police inspector Nachiyappa Gowda. While both corrupt and malevolent, Master really sells the most disturbing aspect of his character: he is a zealot who believes in strength, purity, and utterly detests women with an almost religious fervor. You get chills simply in the way he comports himself and interacts with others.

The biggest annoyance about the film is the aforementioned neighbors: three dropout bachelors who seem to have no direction in life, don’t seem to work, but can still somehow afford their lifestyle. The first third of the film tries a bit too hard to lighten the tone with their party-loving, ganja-smoking antics, and their presence very quickly starts to annoy. When they eventually behave like believable human beings, things improve markedly, but that first act is going to push audiences’ tolerance.

The movie does end on a somewhat incomplete note. The heavily foreshadowed element about missing persons and an organ harvesting ring, or the reason for Chandra’s arrival in Bangalore were not followed up – but it was heavily implied they will in a potential Lokah: Chapter Two (apparently four sequels are loosely plotted out). 

Overall Lokah: Chapter One – Chandra is one of the most promising superhero movies of the year. It is definitely a flawed beast but it leaves you wanting more. And Jakes Bejoy’s theme tune is a banger.

You may have to hunt to see it in cinemas but definitely keep an eye out when it hits streaming. Oh…and there are two fun end-credit sequences to watch out for, right from the MCU playbook.