March 3, 2023
Peter (Sean de Guzman) was a videographer for weddings and events. However, on his free time (which is a lot lately), he hung out in a remote picturesque lakeside camping area where couples came to do their coupling in open air. Peter would stalk these couples and sneakily take videos of their lovemaking while getting himself off. He would then post these sex videos on an online porn site to make money out of them.
One day, Peter was stalking a young woman Mia (Cara Gonzales) and videoed her while she was taking a shower. Instead of getting angry, Mia was friendly to him. However, she had a gruff and sinister-looking boyfriend RJ (Josef Elizalde) with her, who did not appreciate Peter hanging around with his girlfriend. The next time Peter was surreptitiously videoing Mia and RJ having sex, he witnessed Mia suddenly slash RJ in the neck.
The first thing you will admire about this film was the cinematography of Richmond Cadsawan who brought out the best in their beautiful chosen location in San Marcelino, Zambales. The surface of the titular lake (which looked like the placidly mysterious Lake Mapanuepe, created by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo) was serene and calm, while the pine-like agoho trees stood tall and graceful to dominate the skyline of the shores around it.
Cinephiles will recognize that a majority of the plot to be inspired by the Cannes Film Festival 2013 Un Certain Regard entry "Stranger on the Lake" which won the Best Director prize for Alain Guiraudie. This controversial LGBT-themed erotic thriller was about a serial killer who chose his victims from among the gay men cruising in a nude beach. Writer-director Phil Giordano took this main scenario and spun his own twists to enhance the story.
Sean de Guzman has really improved as an actor in his restrained and subtly-nuanced portrayal of the pernicious pervert Peter. Cara Gonzales was inconsistent in her portrayal of the knife-wielding sexpot Mia. Ivan Padilla was miscast and awkward as the detective Jonell. This is already Giordano's third film for Vivamax after "Pusoy" and "Pabuya." Despite only running 1 hour and 13 minutes, this one had the most coherent plot of the three. 6/10.
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