This horror film by Kenneth Dagatan gained a lot of critical acclaim and positive buzz when it was first shown as a one-off special screening at the last CinemaOne Originals 2018 filmfest. I was not able to watch it back then. Good thing, I did not have to wait too long to see it since it is now being shown as one of the initial original feature films offered free and on-demand on the iWant app.
Siblings Samuel, Lucy and Daniel just lost their sickly widowed mother Lina to an unusual illness. A pregnant school teacher Cecil just lost her husband Vince to a similar mysterious illness. An enchanted bush found inside a cave in the forest had a legendary reputation that it can fulfill any wish. Of course, a bloody price will have to be paid in order for the impossible requests to come to pass.
Anna Luna is really at home with these indie movies and the unusual situations her characters get themselves into. As the very pregnant Cecil, she was subjected to some pretty harrowing moments both physically and psychologically. Rafael Siguion Reyna played her ill-fated husband Vince. Susan Africa played Cecile's strict mother. Ian Curtis played Cecile's stepfather, with whom she had some unresolved issues. Kate Alejandrino played her loyal friend Gelyn, who had some past experience in the cave.
Glydel Mercado was unrecognizable as the gaunt and infirm Lina. Kyle Espiritu, Alessandra Malonzo and Enzo Osorio played her three young children. I certainly hope these children were subjected to psychological guidance and debriefing during and after the shooting of this movie, given the very scary things they had to see and actually had to do. As Samuel, Espiritu was made to hold knives and act like he was handling bloody internal organs in very graphic scenes. These were disturbing to watch given the age of the actor, and to do these acts in front of two even younger children made them even more so.
This horror film was more about the creepy atmosphere than the outright scares. From beginning to end, a veil of dread would shroud the entire proceedings, gripping the viewer in its spell. The crisp images were of cinematic beauty, taken from unconventional points of view, with a gloomy color palette plus a generous splash of bloody red. The eerie sound effects and musical score served to augment the sense of death and evil throughout.
The effusive practically perfect reviews this movie received from its premiere gave me very high expectations. Too high perhaps so that I cannot completely say that I was totally sold. Technical aspects were very well-done for sure, especially the mesmerizing visuals. However, the plot had so many unanswered questions that bothered me. While admittedly motion picture is a visual art, many viewers like me still expect it to tell a solid story.
What were those illnesses that claimed the lives of Lina and Vince? They both manifested with a lot of coughing, retching and vomiting, ultimately with fatal blood loss. Did they both have the same illness? Did they catch their illnesses the same way? Was the entity in the cave somehow responsible for it because of something they did in the past? Was the same entity responsible for Cecil's ghastly nightmares? No explanation at all was given to this aspect of the story which I thought was important. 7/10.
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