Vivamax: Review of SECRETS: Lustful and Lurid

June 10, 2022

Insurance manager Janine (Janelle Tee) and her boyfriend I.T. executive Christian (Benz Sangalang) drove a long way to spend a weekend at remote Ponciano's Beach and Resort. There they were met by its elderly caretakers, Mang Rading (Ku Aquino) and his mute (but not deaf) wife Elena (Sherry Lara). Later on, they also meet Elena's nephew Leo (Felix Roco) visiting from the city, and his local girlfriend, bar girl Felina (Denise Esteban).

Janine and Christian were at a critical stage of their relationship as both already have no passion left for each other. Initially, Christian easily bonded with the libertine lifestyle shared by Leo and Felina, while Janine was repulsed by their boorish behavior. However as time went on, boredom and suffocation soon gave way to hate and disgust as the lusty Leo slowly but surely wormed his way in between Janine and Christian. 

The picturesque scenery of the beach resort (located in remote Dipaculao, Aurora) was front and center of this drama film. As writer-director Jose Javier Reyes envisioned the sea to be the silent witness of events, cinematographer Jan Oliver Evangelista shot the powerful waves of the Pacific Ocean from all angles and these shots found their way incorporated by into many sequences, including the sex scenes, by editor Chrisel Desuasido.

The skill of veteran director Jose Javier Reyes in motivating his actors can be clearly appreciated here. Janelle Tee had been very dry and seemed ill-at-ease in her prior Vivamax roles, like in "Pusoy" (2022). However in this new one, her Janine finally felt like a real person. Denise Esteban and newcomer Benz Sangalang also gave natural performances. Felix Roco is the most senior of the lead quartet and his acting experience was evident. 

There were at least two totally random and unconvincing twists in the course of the story that do not seem completely logical to happen. Reyes has been an award-winning film writer and director from the 1990s to the present. We felt his writing prowess during all of those intimate conversation scenes in which the titular secrets were being revealed. As a whole though, this film also ended up following the lurid Vivamax formula of sex and violence. 5/10.