Not too scary, but a solid first effort

By Brontë H. Lacsamana, Reporter

Movie Review
KMJS’ Gabi ng Lagim: The Movie
MTRCB Rating: R-13

THIS adaptation of GMA’s annual Halloween television special, Gabi ng Lagim, was made for Filipino horror enthusiasts. Though it’s rough around the edges, an indication of this being the network’s first effort of taking a horror storytelling platform from the small screen to the big screen, there’s some potential to be found in each segment.

It starts off like the television special does, with Jessica Soho as host, prefacing each of the three shorts in this anthology with ominous narration about stories told at night. Her role is really just for the nostalgia of the source material.

KMJS’ Gabi ng Lagim: The Movie, as with all anthologies, presents a mixed bag, with each film helmed by a different director.

“Pocong,” directed by Yam Laranas, was a solid start and definitely benefited from the distinct location. Filmed on a real vessel out at sea, it follows a Filipino seaman (played well by Miguel Tanfelix) trapped on a cursed voyage. Its mystery surrounds the figure of the pocong, an Indonesian creature whose spirit is tied to its corpse wrapped in cloth.

The setting should have been scary enough, with the cinematography and editing capturing the strange blend of both vastness and claustrophobia of being on a ship for extended periods of time. But the rest of the story, with key bits of information and twists not paced properly at all, ultimately disappoints.

Using a foreign myth rather than a local one could have been interesting, too, with the angle of Filipinos and Indonesians trapped together in the struggle of poor working conditions far from family and being haunted by some entity. It doesn’t really add up to anything, though, overall resulting in a rushed conclusion and a dull impact.

“Berbalang,” directed by Dodo Dayao, was the highlight of the anthology. As a period film set in a remote town in Mindanao, the atmosphere was immersive, with creative world-building that showed in the production design and costumes.

It follows mysterious siblings — a protective older sister (played by Sanya Lopez) and a flesh-eating teen finding his identity (played by Elijah Canlas). A major strength of this film was how the two actors delivered solid performances and a believable chemistry, compelling audiences to root for them.

It is the short that had the most fun with blood and gore, using practical effects for much of it. The one time it resorted to CGI was horrific — because the graphics were so poor and it kind of brought down the whole film. Sticking just to the impressive, stylish sensibilities, it’s clear “Berbalang” was aiming for camp, but never quite got to its peak.

Some parts about police brutality by a policeman dressed as a cowboy (played well and therefore infuriatingly by Rocco Nacino) were intriguing to watch, but felt shoehorned in because of how short this was. Perhaps all the playful elements here could have worked better as a full-length film. By the time the messy back half kicked in, the film was unfortunately a let-down, but it still made the strongest impression.

“Sanib,” directed by King Marc Baco, was a weak link. It has a girl who is possessed by a demon (played by Jillian Ward) and priests who try to exorcise it out of her (played by Martin Del Rosario and Epy Quizon). If that summary is familiar, that’s because it is the exact same thing we’ve seen countless times before.

By embracing both horror and humor, it started out well. As it went on, some problematic things arose, like equating depression to being prone to demonic possession. While linking the two isn’t illogical, the way it kept dialing up the main character’s psychological struggles with more and more reveals to hammer in her susceptibility to evil felt harmful, stigmatizing her condition.

It must be said that Ms. Ward turned in a surprisingly decent performance, since she isn’t known for heavy roles like this. Her possessed girl was engaging to watch. Unfortunately, the film relied so much on the usual possession horror tropes that everything was laughable at some point, with scripture yelled out and bodies floating and family members crying at the victim saying nasty things.

Also, why were those Chinito priest minor characters even there? It seemed like they were just eyecandy, because they could not act at all. The clip in the credits, showing real footage of a young man’s possession and exorcism by priests was actually scarier than the film itself.

This anthology was definitely rough, with the CGI still feeling like television and bringing down the films it was in. The KMJS television special is a nostalgic experience for many, and while this effort to translate that to the movies didn’t go so smoothly, it’s a solid effort that hopefully will be done better in case another one gets made.

KMJS’ Gabi ng Lagim: The Movie is now showing in theaters nationwide.