Thursday, February 27, 2025

Review of SEPSIS: Pernicious Parental Plight

February 27, 2025




Piggery employee Presencio (Romm Burlat) lived with his blind wife Dolores (Leonora Carinaga) in the slums of the city. Kids are frightened of him as they usually see him walking around at night carrying a big sack. In the mornings, he would hire the services of a young neighbor Otep (Ron Macapagal), who owned a cart to carry his loads. Otep only knew about the slop to feed pigs, but Otep never knew what was inside the other heavy sack. 

Otep had a prostitute sister Clara (Faye Tangonan) who was psychologically cruel with him. She went around with her pimp Mamu (Malayang Alagad) and fellow whores, Roda (Marinel San Pedro) and newbie Magda (Mika Mijares). Her frequent customer was Badong (Tonz Are), who was physically cruel with his gay brother Iking (uncredited). There was also another neighbor Mitoy (James Marco), who was more compassionate to Presencio.

Writer-director-cinematographer-editor Marvin Gabas opened this film with random shots of bloody items, dead insects and bizarre closeups of an eye. These eerie shots were accompanied by a soundtrack of spine-tingling grunts, creepy moans, banging doors and clattering metal. This was a strong opening sequence that effectively set up the unsettling mood for the rest of this film. Scenes of food and eating were made to feel disgusting.  

Act 1 already revealed what kind of horror Presencio perpetrated, and that his religious wife Dolores was compelled to abet it. However, we never really know the reason why they were doing these unsavory dastardly acts, until it was revealed almost at the very end.  In between, we see another kind of horror -- that of cruelty that existed in human communities against disadvantaged groups, like the misfits, the mentally-challenged and the LGBTQ. 

Like many indies, the film quality was grainy, production design was crude and some slow scenes need streamlining. The acting was uneven, tending to either be too over-the-top, or too self-conscious. About the story, questions range from "How an adult corpse can fit into that plastic sack?" to "What disease had that unique dietary requirement?"  The budget constraints are obvious, but Gabas tried his best with some innovative camera angles and sound design.  


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