When the zombies come marching in

Film review: Trip Ubusan: The Lolas vs. Zombies

MANILA, Philippines — There is ample supply of horror and comedy in Trip Ubusan: The Lolas vs. Zombies enough to make your evening worthwhile.

But first you have to disabuse yourself that you are not watching an art film in the territory of Charlie Chaplin and that the audiences are ordinary people who are out there to escape from a steady diet of crime news and to get a film bonus from a noontime favorite trio on television.

Hence, don’t panic when romantic dialogues are drowned by screaming fans come premiere night and don’t be negative if the lead actors — Kalyeserye’s Lola Tinidora (Jose Manalo), Lola Nidora (Wally Bayola) and Lola Tidora (Paolo Ballesteros) — look like Metro Manila’s threesome answer to the Dustin Hoffman starrer, Tootsie.

Yup, the lead characters come from a popular noontime show and here they finally land in debut film roles with new episodes of adventures in an imaginary zombie country.

As it turns out, the three “grandmas” have the arms of stevedores and the steady legs of gymnasts. Except those of Paolo who has the trim figure of a fashion model.

The three play concerned grandmas to a granddaughter about to celebrate her birthday.

But even before grandchild can pose with her birthday cake and blow candle, the zombies invade the household and off they escape to safe territories.

Trouble is, those bitten by zombies are also transformed into creatures of the night. One Lola is not spared and before “she” can do neck-biting acts, she says she is ready to be finished off for the sake of the unbitten ones.

But this horror comedy manages to be different as it tells people not to judge anyone by their unfortunate fate.

An inmate (Archie Adamos) turns out to be kind and forgiving while this well-off housewife (Angelika de la Cruz) turns out to be devil personified.

In their attempt to get through the military checkpoints screening zombies-to-be, the three grandmas manage to make their threesome ensemble at their funniest.

One is a dispenser of folk wisdom (Jose), another is a model of caution (Wally) while the most lissome (Paolo) is concerned with saving her make-up kit and has propensity to retouch in the middle of zombie crisis.

The grandmas have good support group from the millennials — Kenneth Earl Medrano and Taki Saito and Shaira Mae Dela Cruz and Miggy Tolentino — who provide the endless kilig moments.

On the whole, the acting is spontaneous, the comic timing commendable and the horror sequences from an army of extras as zombies truly terrifying.

Fortunately, the movie didn’t become an extension of the noontime Kalyeserye and it is to direk Mark Reyes’ credit that the storytelling didn’t drag and it avoided the utterly predictable in Pilipino comedies.

But as one has earlier warned, the movie does not pretend to be an art film meant to edify cineastes. It is comedy for ordinary people with simple concerns and it is not beyond one to admit that the film entertains up to a certain point.

Hence, don’t use the film critic’s tool of analyzing characterization as though comedy is only for people up there in the highest pedestal of film appreciation.

Because as it is, the movie delivered both horror and comic moments in equal entertaining doses.

Directed by Mark Reyes, Trip Ubusan: The Lolas vs. Zombies is now showing in cinemas.