House Mates

House Mates (2025): your quick guide

Some films try to scare you from the first frame; House Mates prefers to earn it. T. Raja Vel’s Tamil fantasy-horror with a comic streak builds its frights from a very domestic premise—a newly married couple moves into a “good deal” apartment—and then lets the walls start whispering. With Darshan and Aarsha Chandini Baiju at the center, and scene-stealing turns by Kaali Venkat and Vinodhini, the film opened in cinemas on 1 August 2025 and has since grown through word-of-mouth for its genre blend and clean staging. Credits and release details align across the main listings.

What it’s about House Mates Film

Karthik and Anu buy a second-hand flat, eager to start life on their terms. Odd noises become patterns, then messages, then something stranger: the sense that another couple’s story is still living inside these rooms. The hook isn’t just “is the house haunted?” but “why is time folding in this home?”—a choice that turns a standard haunted-house setup into a puzzle about memory, regret, and unfinished goodbyes.

House Mates Cast & crew highlights

The film is written and directed by T. Raja Vel, presented by Sivakarthikeyan under SK Productions, and produced by S. Vijayaprakash and S. P. Shakthivel for Playsmith Studios and South Studios, with AGS Entertainment on distribution. Rajesh Murugesan composes the music, M. S. Sathish handles cinematography, and Nishar Sharef cuts the footage with an eye for clarity over chaos. On screen, Darshan and Aarsha Chandini Baiju play the newlyweds, while Kaali Venkat and Vinodhini anchor the older thread that bleeds into their home.

Craft checklist: visuals, music, pacing

Visually, the film keeps you oriented. Interiors are framed to emphasize corners, corridors, and thresholds—the sort of liminal spaces where domestic life flips into dread—while exteriors breathe just enough to reset your eyes before the next turn of the screw. The soundscape leans on Rajesh Murugesan’s motifs rather than loud jump-scare blasts; cues bloom under key reveals and then pull back to let silence do the talking. Pacing is measured: set-up, escalation, and pay-off are spaced so you can follow the mystery without losing the thread, a balance.

Reception (and the road to streaming)

Coverage around release highlights a tidy theatrical run powered by the film’s “fear-meets-feels” pitch, with outlets noting its fantasy-horror-comedy braid and warm audience response. Filmfare’s round-up on the post-theatrical window underlines the same strengths and confirms the title’s digital move to ZEE5 after cinemas—useful context if you’re programming a Tamil horror-night shelf or a “new on Tamil” rail.

Who should watch it

If your queue swings between spooky and sentimental, this is squarely in that overlap. Viewers who enjoy grounded paranormal stories with an emotional core will find the “two couples, one home” idea surprisingly tender under the chills. Fans of Kaali Venkat’s deadpan registers will appreciate how the humor slips in without snapping the tension. And if you prefer horror where the map of the house matters—doors, stairs, old paint, and all—House Mates rewards close looking.

FAQs about House Mates

Q1. What is House Mates about in simple terms?

Ans: It’s a Tamil fantasy-horror with a comic streak about newlyweds Karthik and Anu who move into a second-hand apartment and begin sensing another family’s presence across time; the mystery unspools through eerie patterns, messages on walls, and a slow realization that two timelines are sharing the same home.

Q2. Who directed House Mates and who are the leads?

Ans: The film is written and directed by T. Raja Vel. The lead pair is Darshan and Aarsha Chandini Baiju, with pivotal performances by Kaali Venkat and Vinodhini.

Q3. When did House Mates open in theaters, and what rating and genre?

Ans: It opened in cinemas on 1 August 2025 with a U certificate. The makers call it a comedy, fantasy, horror mix in Tamil.

Q4. What is the runtime of House Mates?

Ans: The runtime is about two hours nine minutes, matching most press rundowns for its “tighter than usual” horror-fantasy pacing.

Q5. Is the film more scary or emotional?

Ans: Reviews describe it as a “fear-meets-feels” experience: jumpy in places but ultimately anchored by relationships, with the fantasy device used to connect two households across time.

Q6. Who composed the music and how is the soundscape used?

Ans: Rajesh Murugesan’s score carries recurrent motifs under reveals, with restraint between scares so silence can do some of the work—an approach several critics highlight alongside the film’s clean staging.

Q7. Where can I watch House Mates after theatres?

Ans: Post-theatrical streaming digital premiere on ZEE5, dated September 19, 2025.

Q8. How was the reception?

Ans: Reception has been mixed-to-warm: many noted the genre braid and accessible emotional core, with a few reviews divided on late-act choices.