Mike Flanagan's "Ouija Origin of Evil" - The Fortune Teller's Horror Tale

Headstrong widow Alice (Elizabeth Reaser) is at wit's end raising her daughters Lina (Annalise Basso) , a high school sophomore, and 9 year-old Doris (Lulu Wilson). Her fortune telling job, which are staged readings, doesn’t suffice to save their house from impending foreclosure. But their fortunes turn when she obtains a Ouija board that communicates with the departed, including husband Roger. These spirits even drag Doris to the basement for a quick fix of their financial woes, i.e. a valuable stash. (Give me these spirits anytime, I say!) However, the board also inadvertently draws malevolent spirits. 


But communing with tenebrous spirits, including one named Marcus and a Polish victim of the Holocaust, takes a toll on sweet Doris who soon displays a peculiar disposition. 

Lina senses unsettling changes happening to her sister, which Alice refuses to acknowledge so Lina summons the help of Father Tom (Henry Thomas) who's only too happy to oblige. After all, he took Alice out for a dinner date at a fancy restaurant where he used to take his wife (before he turned to priesthood). Convenient, right?

Director Mike Flanagan’s "Ouija Origin of Evil" has hair-raising moments involving otherworldly critters that navigate walls and jump from ceilings. A dozen jumpy tricks coupled with thunderous bangs will jolt you from your seats. There are even references to the atrocities of the Nazi regime. Make no mistake, this is your well intentioned horror concoction. But sometimes, these explicitly obvious scare tactics ignore logical narrative flow, thus ultimately off-putting. 

My misgivings involve a few scenes. When a body is dropped on a noose hanging down a ceiling, no one budges. They just look and move elsewhere. When Doris disappears, the same set of characters just stand looking around until Doris'voice is heard shouting for help. Suddenly you suspect a neurotransmitter has been blocked disallowing them to act with a sense of urgency. On the whole, the compelling first half doesn’t deserve the muddled, predictable and gimmicky second.

To stop the voices, Lina has to keep it shut.

Parker Mack plays Lina's 17 year old boyfriend Mike

#ouijaoriginofevil   #horror   #lulu wilson

MMK's "Anino" - Barang, Kulam and the Dark Clutches of Schizophrenia

Things are looking up for Victor (Zanjoe Marudo), Marites (Isabel Oli) and their two young children. The progressive family's bakery business is prosperous, and their perseverance is bearing fruits. In fact, this has allowed them to hire people, including creepy old hag Aling Maring who soon insinuates her sob stories to the benevolent couple's good graces. She's hired to bag bread with a daily wage of P20 a day. She even convinces reluctant Victor to hire her son who's on parole from jail time. 

One day, Maring's son abandons Victor's supplies and skedaddles with the couple's profits. This leaves Victor with no recourse but to throw Aling Maring out the door. "Binibilog nyo ang ulo ko," he reprimands her. Before she takes her final step out, Maring turns around and gazes at her enraged employer, as though casting a spell. She was never seen again. 

Victor starts hearing voices, unable to sleep. He keeps seeing the old lady's riled face. At some point, he even strangles his son. Marites decides to take him to an albularyo (folk healer) who performs a "pagtatawas" ritual on disgruntled Victor. After studying the molten wax droppings from the heated candle, the healer tells Victor that he's a victim of "barang", an affliction allegedly worse than "kulam". Four other healers say the same.

Finally, he was taken to a psychiatrist who, three months after initial confinement, diagnosed Victor with schizophrenia, a mental disorder characterized by delusions, a blunt affect, confusion, agitation, social withdrawal, psychosis, and bizarre behavior. With psychotic feature, this rightfully includes visual and auditory hallucinations; may nakikita at may naririnig kahit wala. Victor's condition is specifically signed out as "Paranoid schizophrenia" with hallmarks that include paranoid delusions, usually accompanied by auditory hallucinations, and perceptual disturbances. In this condition, an individual is incapable of sifting real events from mere products of the imagination.

VOICES FROM GOD AND THE DEVIL

A schizophrenic hears voices (auditory hallucination) telling him things, the most common of which comes from God, the devil or an "enemy" from his surroundings. These patients hear persuasive commands: like a voice from God ordering him to, hmmm, maybe stop cursing or He'd crash his plane. Moreover, their paranoia is fueled by an urgency to protect oneself from an antagonistic party: "inaaway ako", "gusto akong itumba", or just the general idea that someone wants to inflict harm on him. 

Unfortunately, these items (paranoia, auditory hallucination, delusion) are clinically entrenched in schizophrenia. These patients react to these misperceptions. If you are being attacked, you'd naturally want to retaliate and fight back. Or you retreat, flee and become depressive. When the mind fails to overcome the overwhelming odds, it shuts down and the patient becomes catatonic! At some point, the patient becomes violent. He wants to hurt others - or he hurts himself to put an end to his misery. This is where the patient satisfies the criteria for "admissibility".  

SCIENCE VS. SUPERSTITION

In the episode, there are concepts that deserve discourse. Despite our country's overreaching embrace of the new millennium and its new technologies, we are still a country steeped in superstition. When the psychiatrist reveals his initial diagnosis, i.e. that it is indeed a mental condition, Victor's sister is absolutely resistant - "Pero sabi ng mga albulario, na barang siya!" How in the world is a faith healer more credible than a physician who had 10-15 years to learn about these disorders? The physician was, in fact, the last person they turned to, when he should have been first to be consulted.

The more sociologically fascinating concept is that of "barang", otherwise called "haplit", "paktol", "anyaw" in the mystical island of Siquijor. Barang is a form of malignant sorcery. People get hexed, much like the voodoo practices of Haiti and Madagascar. 

The scenario used to involve beetles (bakukang) who, after incantations and prayers from a mambabarang, would be set free to invade the victim. Their entry into the body results to seemingly psychosomatic disorders like constant ear aches, hemorrhoids, and a general sensation of utter discomfort. 

These terms weren’t alien to me. As a child, I had a nanny who hailed from Naga. She told me vivid stories of spirits, monsters, witches, kapre (“agta"), and the santelmo (fire monsters shaped like men). But really, how does one reconcile the Filipino's deep religiosity and our inherently superstitious nature?

Most cultures have their own set of monsters. Even Iran has their djinn (a
 legendary middle eastern conjurer of destruction), recently on cinematic display at the recent QCinema Filmfest in Babak Anvari's spooky "Under the Shadows".

Schizophrenia, like diabetes and hypertension, doesn't have treatment. There is not a single medicine that absolutely cures this condition for good. But it can be managed. Family support is one of the most important factors in managing schizophrenia. Otherwise, if you keep leaving its prognosis to fate, the patient will eventually either inflict harm on himself - or on others! 

#MMK  #barang  #zanjoemarudo  #schizophrenia

Jose Javier Reyes' "Dilim" - Short on Fright

Boy Abunda, who’s seemingly cured from his fungal hepatic abscess, was in top form and being himself one Sunday afternoon, i.e. trying to appear like an intellectual. “Why is your movie called ‘Dilim’ ?“, he asked with exhaustive gravity as though the fate of humanity depended on it . Kylie Padilla sat on her chair with stunned silence, as though slapped by bitter realization, or the dearth of one. She searched for answers, mouth half open, from The Buzz’s studio audience. Nothing.

She didn't know what darkness had to do with her character, it was almost comedic. Nada. Elvis left the building. She could've gone profound or lazily called it metaphor, but she instead looked electrocuted. Wasn't she the Padilla intellectual who was raised in Sydney, sang "Lonely Without You" and “Sulat” for her own CD outing, painted, wrote blog articles and dreamt of being an actress? The movie title would be the first clue if I were to embrace the character of Marites Almario. That same moment, I saw an expression that permeated throughout all the scenes in Padilla's movie debut.

HOME ALONE

In Jose Javier Reyes’ “Dilim”, Marites (Kylie Padilla) moves from Cagayan de Oro to Manila to pursue her college education. Two weeks prior to the start of her classes, she finds herself alone at the 3^rd floor of a four-story dormitory. Her landlord Mang Damian (Manny Castaneda) has to attend to a family emergency in Pangasinan, leaving the disconcerted girl by her lonesome. “Bukas may kasama ka na, yung taga Baguio,” Damian reassures Marites.

That night, as she navigates the empty hallways of De la Rosa Dormitory, Marites gets acquainted with her new home’s creaky floors and dark corners, acutely aware of the sound of a girl crying nearby. Soon there after, she finds Mia (Ella Cruz) who’s more than convivial to meet her. “Taga Nueva Ecija ako. Nagre-review para sa Nursing Board exams,” Mia shares. 

In the morning, after attending mass, Marites is spooked by an old lady who tells her that she has a special gift, and that spirits are drawn to her ("natatangi... tulay"). She shares this with new friend Emerson (Rayver Cruz), a cheerful Criminology student whom she met at Aling Payang’s (Ruby Ruiz) eatery. 

But when another student Ellen arrives a day later, Marites realizes that the Mia she earlier met was the same who disappeared 5 years ago, along with her friend Aya (Nathalie Hart). They were never found. Marites transfers to another dorm hoping to get rid of Mia, but the latter still persistently appears in her dreams, asking for help. When Marites gets hold of Mia’s diary, their back stories start to unravel; a story that leads them to the son of an influential personality, Quinito Castaneda (Rafael Rosell) and his friend Danny (Joross Gamboa). But why is Marites seeing puddles on the floor and sandy foot prints? Are these tip-offs from beyond the grave?

Regal Films once again delivers the story of a protagonist with a “third eye”. Remember Carla Abellana in Aloy Adlawan’s (hold your breath!) “Third Eye”, the movie that initially toyed around with Earth-bound ghosts that soon transformed into zombies that eventually became cannibals? (Someone got so excited he got confused delineating the differences among his monsters.) A not-so-original variety resurrects 8 months later in "Dilim" (Darkness). Exciting, right?

Kylie Padilla turns in a one-note performance framed by a single facial expression seen from scene one until the last frame. If she wore a mask, it wouldn't have made any difference (reference: Derek Ramsay in all of his film appearances). Padilla’s joyless demeanor is so dour you’d wonder why anyone would even bother to speak to her. While I was made aware of her back story (father left when she was a child; she’s estranged from her mother; her next of kin is an aunt who works as a nurse in Hong Kong), Padilla effortlessly captures the essence of somnambulism in all its clinical criteria.

When Marites tells the police about a new name that could lead them to solving the crime, the cop tells them, “Pakitaan nyo ako ng pruweba.” Wasn’t that his job? Does this mean that in criminal cases, such as this, common people should gather all the evidence and interrogate witnesses? Present the aforementioned to the police before they make arrests? Huh? Then the same police man contacts Quinito informing him of Marites’ interest on the case. Why did the cop even care for Quinito’s sake? The latter didn’t even seem to know him. There is a fragmented series of ideas here too indicative to be real.

In another scene, Danny tracks down Marites’ whereabouts. He then invites Marites and Emerson to go with him to Sirena Beach Resort in Cavite – the same night they were introduced. What was so urgent five years after a disappearance that the meeting would have to be done on the same evening they first met? And why all the way to Cavite? If you were Marites, would you allow a complete stranger to take you to a distant place – just to discuss something that transpired 5 long years ago? Can’t they discuss this over, hmmm, coffee? I’d say a Starbucks scenario would be convenient for a mysterious disappearance, right? (wink wink) So if a stranger took them to Mars, they wouldn't think twice about it? The sense of urgency is baffling.

If Marites indeed was a magnet for ghosts, why was she being pursued by Mia alone? Aya didn't even bother talk to her. Selective affinity, perhaps? Maybe the other ghosts smell something rancid in her - or she just wasn't a very personable seance?

When Marites and Emerson finally meet Quinito, gunfight and fisticuffs ensue. Marites and Emerson were dragged to the sea, a scenario that duplicates Mia and Aya’s fate five years ago. Just before drowning them, our restless ghosts suddenly walk up from the bottom of the sea to help Marites and Emerson. Hell hath no fury like a couple of scorned ghosts, debah? Ay, so kaaliw. Mia and Aya, decked with sea weeds hanging down their heads, attack their murderers as our hapless bidas watch in horror. Then the story abruptly ends. Credits roll.

Quinito and Danny frequent the same beach resort where Mia and Aya were murdered. And why not? Quinito seems to own the resort. But what prevented the "ghosts" from attacking Quinito and Danny before? They obviously don’t need Marites to exact revenge, do they? In fact, Marites did not do anything special to coax our restless ghosts to rise from the bottom of the ocean. No magic spells nor special incantations were cast. What was Marites’ raison d’etre for this story then?   

Jose Javier Reyes is no stranger to horror films. He’s done half a dozen of the genre in the past, including “Malikmata”, “Spirit of the Glass”, “Matakot Ka sa Karma” and “Kutob”. Though not particularly innovative as a film maker, Reyes tells engaging stories. I was looking forward to his insight on the genre. After all, this is one film maker who can dish out about film language as eloquently as the scholars and cineastes. 

Moreover, the director is also a self-proclaimed fan of Stephen King (not to mention Edgar Allan Poe) whose short story inspired Peter Askin’s recent film “A Good Marriage” (2014), thus I was hoping for an unsettling time at the movies. In “A Good Marriage”, a contented wife (Joan Allen) wakes up one morning and realizes that her husband (Stephen Lang) of 25 years could be the serial killer who’s been murdering women all over the state. 

“Dilim” isn't just derivative. It is short on “fright” as well. The narrative details don’t mesh like hand in glove. Detail is usually Reyes’ strong suit, but in a genre where he obviously grasps at straws, Reyes gets desultory. He is technically ill at ease weaving his narrative, especially when he starts building up suspense. At the peak of what could have been the climax, he loses steam and fails to find an appropriate narrative denouement. The sudden ending stunned me as much as it did Kylie Padilla when she was asked by Abunda why her film was called “Dilim”. Here is one unfinished story. Budget constraints? Or just plain lazy film making?

In an interview, Reyes discusses his thoughts, “As a filmmaker, your mettle and technical skills using film language are brought (???) to a test when you do horror projects.” Someone just failed his test.

Rayver Cruz and Kylie Padilla

Pretty Kylie

Rayver Cruz

Rafael Rosell

G.A. Villafuerte's Ghost Lover - Horrific Spareness of Acumen

It’s been awhile since I last wrote about a Pink Film, but people just obviously love my rants about this genre that despite paucity of blog entries in Blush, this site still averages 250 to 400 page views a day! How's that for an inactive blogsite? Before I serve the annual “Best and Worst of 2013”, here’s my “gift” to the pink lovers. 

Film year 2014 has officially started with the release of G.A. Villafuerte’s “Ghost Lover”, before it shifts into high gear next week with Robin Padilla’s “Sa Ngalan ng Ama, ng Ina at Mga Anak”, Benito Bautista’s “Mumbai Love”, and Mae Czarina Cruz’s “Bride for Rent”.

CAPSULE

When Josh (Alvin Duckert), a violinist, and his girlfriend Dianne (Renee Gozon) moved to a recently departed aunt’s old house, they didn't realize they were sharing it with its restless, albeit phantasmal inhabitants. Doors shut at will; persistent knocks are heard in the wee hours; and the weirdest thing: Mobile phones lose signal. Eh? “Di ko siya ma-contact. Ang weird,” remarked Josh who must have never heard of poor signal from Globe and Smart telecom. To keep it interesting, Josh’s cousin and friends join the fray for a rather dubious excuse of a holiday. The young couple hasn't quite settled down, yet they already have guests. How fun.

FAMILIAR TERRITORY

Director G.A. Villafuerte once again dabbles awkwardly into familiar territory (“Lihim ng mga Nympha”, “Bahid”) but like previous efforts, the end product is nothing short of elementary. The sound is uneven; most conversations are unintelligible, scenes are underlit and cinematography is typically Villafuerte’ish, i.e. appalling. You get the nagging suspicion that his scenes were shot using a cellphone camera. This director likewise boasts of having done 15 flicks in film year 2013. Not even box-office director Wenn Deramas can duplicate that feat, having only released 4 movies last year. Unfortunately, Villafuerte’s acumen remains spare of any proof of film making adeptness or writing prolificity.

It’s been 3 years since Villafuerte’s directorial debut but he never acquired mastery of the medium, except for his propensity to finish principal photography in 24 hours. Imagine a gag-inducing flick like “My Little Bossings” shooting for, say two months. For that duration, Villafuerte is capable of churning out 60 flicks ready for exhibition in dingy, sperm-coated, third-rate movie houses. Such source of inspiration, debah?

Alvin Duckert, Renee Gozon and RJ Saycon

Alvin Duckert, also seen in Villafuerte’s “Bagong Paligo” last year, returns to display his bratwurst in two shower scenes. After all, what’s a Villafuerte flick without his male leads tintinnabulating their bells in sheer wetness? This sublime scene was punctuated by Alvin’s use of a foamy shampoo as he lathers his derriere with raw determination. In another scene, a spirit (of a jealous girl) possesses Josh – which conveniently sets the stage for a man-on-man action between Duckert and newcomer RJ Saycon who plays Xander, Josh's childhood friend. In another scene, Ace Toledo’s character Luke couldn't contain his urges so he plays with himself while two of his friends (one of them female) sleep closely beside him. Couldn't he even rush to the bathroom for an accomplished and satisfying, errr… manhandling?

But let’s attribute all these inanities to the director’s myopic vision and extremely limited imagination. Case in point: In his epilogue, the last scene has our characters driving away from the house. Just when we thought they've rid themselves of those pesky ghosts, Josh suddenly kisses Xander, imputing Josh’s possession. Hasn't this been done before in Villafuerte’s “Lihim ng mga Nympha” where the main protagonist is suggested to still be under the influence of a nymph? And wasn't that portrayed also by Alvin Duckert who has since taken 3 dozen energetic showers in various Villafuerte flicks? And wasn't “Lihim ng mga Nympha” a shameless, unattributed remake of a better film? Barely three years into his craft and he's already repeating himself. 

Someone’s artistic aptitude (if you call it that) is in desperate need of inspiration and is dwindling fast – and it’s just January! Tsk tsk tsk.     

Chito Rono's Shake Rattle & Roll 14 The Invasion - Not So Scary Tales

PAMANA (Writer: Ricky Lee)

A mysterious uncle leaves a P20-million inheritance to four of his relatives whom he hasn’t seen in ages: Donald (Herbert Bautista) is a mild mannered former priest who’s financially hard up. Myra (Janice de Belen) is the intemperate business woman with abusive streaks to his husband’s son. Faye (Arlene Muhlach) is Myra’s congenial cousin. The fourth cousin is Tisoy aka Benedict Collins (Eri Neeman) who’s vaguely interested with his departed uncle’s wealth. The dead uncle was once a popular comic book writer who’s done well creating macabre characters.

Once summoned by their uncle’s lawyer, the cousins troop down to a ramshackle house that reeks with malevolence. But what's important is the departed's millions, right? Unfortunately, the big stash carries a catch: Paintings of the uncle’s cast of popular characters – the vampire Man de Nado (Fabio Ide), hair monster Filomena (Dimples Romana), the mother-killer Tiyanak and piano-playing Rosalda (Snooky Serna) - are distributed among the cousins. They have to keep them for a month – and if they survive, only then will they be able to get their share of the 20 million.

This condition isn’t as easy. The characters come to life and Tisoy, who dumped the painting in a garbage, becomes the first victim. The gang rush back to their uncle’s house, taking their family with them: Myra’s husband Benjie (Dennis Padilla), Benjie’s son Felimon (Gerald Pesigan), Faye’s daughters Cynthia (Empress Schuck) and Gladys (Anna Vicente), and Cynthia’s suitor Emerson (Ivan Dorschner). Once inside, doors shut and they find themselves trapped inside. What’s worse, the comic characters start to appear, wrecking havoc all around. And the only one to stop them was a fifth character, heart-eating Buboy, Ang Munting Diablo (Rain Papa). But why would Buboy help them when all he wants to do is play with his victims before consuming their hearts? Will the gang survive their uncle’s monsters?

LOST COMMAND (Writer: Rody Vera)

On cursory surveillance, a group of soldiers head into the dense jungle of Barangay Putotan. They’ve heard of the mysterious disappearance of folks and the wandering creatures that go bump in the night. Is the ragtag group of former soldiers responsible for this? The platoon soon begins to lose their men cryptically seized in the silhouettes of the woodland. With briskly dwindling numbers, Martin Barrientos (Dennis Trillo) decides to follow Linda (Ella Cruz), a blind girl, who takes them to her “Itay” (Ronnie Lazaro) said to be able to help them. What they find instead is more bewildering – former soldiers and comrades have turned into the undead, and they’re being recruited to be part of this group. With the help of Corporal Upaon (Paulo Avelino) who’s been fed the flesh of others and Private Conde (Martin Escudero) who steers the undead away from Barrientos, the platoon leader is taken by Linda's father to where he could jump to his freedom. “Kunin mo lang ang anak ko, at ilayo mo sya dito,” pleads Itay. But the jungle is treacherous and the path is long. What becomes of Barrientos?

UNWANTED (Writer: Roy Iglesias)

A catastrophic earthquake separates Hank (Vhong Navarro) from his pregnant girl friend Kate (Lovi Poe) who’s lost in the rubble. Upon gaining consciousness, two days after the incident, people are still trapped as they find their way out. Hank finds other survivors, Ming (Eula Caballero), Neil (Albie Casino), and their Uncle Tom (Eric Tai); there’s Rex (Carlo Aquino) and a loud gay man (Chokoleit). Each one eventually fall prey to the peculiar creatures similarly trapped in the rubble. When Hank finally finds Kate, they scamper out of the building, only to discover that the world they once knew had ceased to exist. Space ships hover in mid-air; dinosaur-like creatures saunter across them, and they’re approached by unidentifiable beings who soon take their semblance.

Director Chito Rono seems to be the perfect person to handle three disparate stories for the 14^th installment of the horror trilogy. In fact, there’s something nostalgic with the return of Janice de Belen, Arlene Muhlach and Herbert Bautista into the series since their first appearance 18 long years ago: Bautista for Peque Gallaga’s “Manananggal”, De Belen for her iconic role in Ishmael Bernal’s “Pridyider”, and Muhlach for Emmanuel H. Borlaza’s “Baso”. But while these three old tales were compelling to watch, Rono’s new age fables are emotionally distant and uninteresting. There’s nothing much in its exposition that draws you in. More importantly, the element of suspense is tepid, if non-existent.  

In a scene in “Pamana”, the group finds a spinning top in the middle of the room. Do you get: 1. Scared? 2. Perplexed? 3. Move away? Human instinct is basic, and when we’re accosted by something sinister, we either fight or “fly”. Instead, Janice and company stare and engage in a discussion. It was almost too funny. In both “Pamana” and “Unwanted”, Rono tried injecting humor - that both Myra and Faye got pregnant before getting married, for example, and there’s Vhong Navarro in “Unwanted” who refers to Chokoleit as “Di tiyak”. While Vhong is a brilliant comedian, fear and laughter are too unrelated, and fusion of both results into anything but harmonious. The end product: lukewarm exposition with an apocryphal emotional engagement. As an audience, we invest something into our viewing experience: Do we get sad and sympathize? Do we shiver in our knickers and shriek with fear? Do we laugh until we’re blue? Curiously, SSR 14 doesn’t induce any. We just didn’t care enough.

“Lost Command”, on the other hand, feels like a spiritless version of the Korean movie, “R-Point”, about a band of missing soldiers, presumed dead, who sends a radio transmission to their base. But while “R-Point” is relentlessly gripping, “Lost Command” is languid with characters almost unrecognizable from the next. It was mostly successful in gathering some of the hottest soldiers in the cinematic universe: Dennis Trillo, Martin Escudero, Paulo Avelino, Alex Castro, JC Tiuseco, AJ Dee, Kenneth Paul Salva, et.al. Then Rono renders them disposable. What a waste of masculine meat. Tee hee.

SRR 14 was Rated A by that dubious ratings group, Cinema Evaluations Board (CEB). Considering that this is actually one of the worst installments from the series speaks oodles about the capacity of the CEB to rate quality films. How much government money is being spent to maintain this useless arm? Heaven knows this group badly needs to be scrapped. 

Paulo Avelino, Dennis Trillo, and JC Tiuseco

Kate and Hank are in a quandary: she's pregnant!

Survivors: Eric Tai, Vhong Navaro, Eula Caballero & our favorite baby-maker Albie Casino.

Dead Korean soldiers come to life in "R-Point".