July 15, 2022
This film is billed as a reimagining of Eddie Rodriguez’s “Ang Babaeng Nawawala sa Sarili” (1989) starring Dina Bonnevie in the lead role of Albina. The original film is also being streamed on Vivamax and also posted on YouTube (on this LINK), if you want to check it out for comparison.
Pretty Albina Tamayo (Ayanna Misola) was an aspiring fashion model. She lived with her well-to-do parents Fidel and Evelyn (Alan Paule and Carlene Aguilar). She had just broken up with her jerk boyfriend of 6 years Wendell (Adrian Alandy), and soon hooked up with a smooth-talking pro photographer Lawrence (Diego Loyzaga). She was just accepted into the prestigious fashion house of haute couture designer Greg Manos (Mon Confiado)
One night, Albina found an old necklace in their house. When she wore it, she began having nightmares about a mysterious woman (Ava Mendez) who seemed to be trying to gain possession of her body. She began hearing voices, and soon became paranoid about her co-workers talking about her, or her boyfriend cheating on her. Meanwhile, there were men who were found dead after they had sex with a mysterious woman in black.
Writer John Carlo Pacala wrote the character of Albina to be a very challenging role who went through various degrees of physical, emotional and psychological distress -- surely a plum role for a more seasoned actress. Unfortunately, it was way more than what newcomer Ayanna Misola could handle at this stage of her career. This could've been the perfect opportunity for her to prove her acting mettle, but alas her inexperience showed.
42 year-old Alandy looked old enough to be 20 year-old Misola's father. Loyzaga was the same loverboy character of his other Vivamax films. Confiado portrayed his character with over-the-top sleazy camp. Like Misola, the other girls (Azi Acosta, Micaella Raz, Andrea Garcia, Angela Morena, and Chesca Paredes) were not shy in baring their bodies, but all still need more acting workshops. Phoebe Walker was outstandingly bland as the Psychiatrist.
This film by Roman Perez Jr. went from psychological drama to crime thriller to "Exorcist"-style horror, while still following the gratuitous sex and violence Vivamax formula. However, there was this one remarkable sequence where the entire backstory of the ghost was told in a lengthy exposition scene which had the actors turning front to side towards two cameras while the story was being told by voice-overs and flashback scenes to Albina's childhood. 4/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment