It's MMFF season again folks. The quality of the films this year range from ok to brilliant. Without further ado...
Haunted Mansion is the year's usual MMFF horror fare from Regal Films. A number of students go on a school sponsored retreat to a creepy mansion. As with any cliche high school horror movie, the tropes are in full force: there's the requisite bitch squad, the jocks, the neutral guy, the best friend, the awkward but kindhearted heroine. As they learn about the mansion's haunted past, weird things begin to happen.
The movie's twist is rather obvious. Our characters run around and make stupid decisions that will cost them dearly. On the other hand, lots of horror movies are predicated on stupid decisions, so it's not uncommon. The characters are mostly unlikeable, and since many die, you don't really get to invest yourself with them. We barely get to understand the main character, Ella, until around halfway into the film.
The film is nicely shot in some parts, and the visual effects for some of the ghosts prove effective (the black smoke effect was really nice). The makeup and prosthetics are not bad at all, although the witch-like profile for the main ghost was not really my cup of tea. I did like the farmer who was charred all over with some smouldering parts on his body.
It tries to get you with jump scares, but I really didn't feel anything while watching this film. As a horror movie, Haunted Mansion isn't scary. If you're looking for some popcorn fun for your kids, hey, why not.
Honor Thy Father pleasantly surprised me, and my expectations going in were high. It's one of the best Filipino films of the year, and one of the best MMFF films since the eighties.
Compared to Matti's earlier On The Job, Honor Thy Father is a thriller through and through, but in this case, the tension builds up deliberately, slowly. John Lloyd Cruz (whose performance in this film defines careers) watches stoically at the events surrounding his family as the fire inside him burns 'till it gets white hot.
And there is much reason to be angry: I am impressed at how angry this film made me. It exposes hypocrisies in ourselves and in society in general, pointing out that nothing is sacred in the face of money, that the world is dog-eat-dog and to survive, you have to be at the top of the chain. The film expresses this in both subtle and overt ways; the former, during a shot of children fighting for a piece of fried chicken, the latter, during shameful displays of materialism and wealth in the face of the 'divine.' Veneers of decorum and and niceties overlay our social structures, but when you peel back that layer, you can only see the ugly side of human nature underneath.
The film also pushes the notion that blood is thicker than water: when society and religion fail him, our main character relies on the only bond that works - family. In many ways, the film's title can be a reference not only to the prayer, but in the literal sense, as John Lloyd's character faces his family (and his past) as he seeks them for help. His closest bonds are to his daughter and to his wife (whom he supports despite her major failings.)
When this tension explodes in the film's climactic act, the anger pays off - the denouement proves cathartic. Solidly constructed and directed, expertly acted and overall well made, Honor Thy Father is simply a great film. It's a film that hearkens back to the day when MMFF films were good. And it is a movie that simply gives no fucks.
Part horror, part comedy, Buy Now, Die Later is relatively light compared to Haunted Mansion,, but I think this film is far more competent.
The film is composed of several parallel storylines that intersect. They are also based on the five senses, a theme that will gain significance later on. Each of the characters involved deal with a mysterious store and an equally mysterious salesman (TJ Trinidad) who sells his clients various objects with a Twilight Zone flavored twist. Overall the story is decent, but the individual parts are more of a mixed bag.
The first storyline with Vhong Navarro is decent enough, but I feel that it mainly sets up the rest of the other parts. The central conceit for the particular story is clever, though. The second storyline was a bit unbearable mainly because the main character for this story is very obnoxious. As with the first part, it serves more as a bridge for the next three stories.
The third and fourth stories, starring Rayver Cruz and John Lapus were my favorite of the bunch. Rayver's part subverts expectations, while John Lapus' part supplies most of the comedic parts of the film. The last part of the film adds another victim and ties it all together for a showdown with our main antagonist.
The makeup and effects are okay. The makeup for the creature looks nice, but I wonder how the second, outer mouth moves, if at all.In any case, if you're looking for this year's MMFF horror entry, this one isn't a bad choice.
And finally we have Nilalang, starring the lovely Maria Ozawa. I can safely say that it's her best non AV film yet (given that Invitation Only was just ok, her V-cinema releases are entertaining but forgettable, and let's just forget about her Indonesian works.)
The film looks really good. Much of the film is beautifully shot. A lot of work was put into the special effects, and while the monsters were not covered in prosthetics, sometimes less is more.
That said, the story of Nilalang, a slightly confusing tale about warring clans and spirits that switch bodies and random haunted Sitios outta nowhere, is paper thin. The events tying the film together are quite loose, as they function merely to send people from point A to point B. There seems to be past history between Cesar Montano and Maria Ozawa's character, but that isn't explored. The movie could have played on the dynamic of Montano, Ozawa and Meg Imperial's character, but aside from one or two short scenes we get nothing. The film inserts some love scenes which serve little to no purpose, other than to show its target demographic some skin. (There's a shower scene too, but it only has Cesar Montano in it. Aw.)
The action scenes are ok. Ironically, the best action scene is at the very end, involving a criminal using parkour to get through a busy street. I wish we had more of that guy in the film. Nilalang is a package wrapped in layers of good production design, cinematography and visual effects. However, if you unwrap all of that, there really isn't anything inside the package.
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