The Horror, the Horror

If the rumors are true that the 2006 Metro Manila Film Festival would be the last we'll ever have of this controversial award-giving circus, I can think of around ten immediate reasons why: the nine participating films, and the fact that they allowed Mother Lily four entries this time. And that's just the tip of an iceberg more reliable people, including veteran actress Celia Rodriguez and Star Cinema producer Malou Santos, have recently tried to crack.

I've said it before, and I'm saying it again: Nobody in his right mind can deny there's something intrinsically wrong with the MMFF-something even the presence of two National Artists, Eddie Romero and Bienvenido Lumbera, among the board of jurors can't fix. But I don't even have to dig deep to reach this conclusion; all I need to do is look at the festival's finished products. The nine films shown during the lucrative Christmas season, even taking into consideration commercial viability, can't possibly be the best the local film industry can offer. Honestly, what kind of festival would fete such a speckled bunch? One that has been long dead, most likely.

Also, the last time I checked the MMFF was a contest. How can anyone consider it a fair match when fifty percent of the entries (okay, four out of nine) are from Mother Lily's Regal Films? I'm having a hard enough time accepting that directors Jose Javier Reyes and Joel Lamangan have two film entries as it is. `Having said that, I did manage to see three of the nine MMFF films: Shake, Rattle and Roll 8, Matakot Ka Sa Karma, and Ligalig. I chose the horror flicks first, because I think Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah, Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo, and, if ever I get desperate enough to watch it, Mano Po 5: Gua Ai Di may have a longer theater runs.

Shake, Rattle and Roll 8

It was a delightful surprise to see that this installment wove the three episodes into each other, unlike the old Shake, Rattle and Roll installments.

The first episode, "13th Floor," is a horror-comedy like all of the franchise's first episodes. TV comedian Bearwin Meily's acting is too annoying for the big screen, Keanna Reeves scares the scares away, and Roxanne Guinoo and Joseph Bitangcol are disposable. Janus del Prado, on the other hand, is a delight to watch. Directed by Rahyan Carlos, who also gave us Pamahiiin, the episode is occasionally entertaining, but entirely forgettable.

The second episode, "Yaya," starts on a promising note. Sheryl Cruz plays mother to an imaginative young boy who is fond of scaring his yaya-until he successfully scares the yaya away. Bully for him that the replacement yaya, played by Iza Calzado, turns out to be an aswang. Megged by Toppel Lee, this, for me, is the best episode. From the point of view of the young boy, we see his suburban paradise suddenly disturbed by a creature who seeks only to destroy. It should have been made into a full-length movie. However, the aswang is hardly original (at its scariest scene, where it crouches in a ceiling corner, it leaves you with the "Haven't I seen this somewhere?" feeling), and the ending is too easy and too contrived.

"LRT," the final episode, is the most original of the lot (if you take away the monster, that is, because it's a dead-ringer for the fake monster in M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, down to the plucked-out feathers look of its back). It's also the most ambitious, because it has as its setting something as modern as the LRT and its station. Director Mike Tuviera, who also directed Txt, gives us an episode that stirs up the stock of urban legends in us city commuters. I don't know what bothers me most about this episode, though. Is that the monster's existence isn't sufficiently justified? Or is it the thinly-veiled social or political commentary that surprises viewers in the end?

Matakot Ka Sa Karma

Directed by Joey Reyes, Matakot Ka Sa Karma is also a horror trilogy. But I didn't know that until after the first episode, "Kama," which featured a haunted old bed Gretchen Barretto's character bought at a discount from an antiques dealer, and had me wondering, for a second, if the movie's title wasn't Matakot Ka Sa Kama.

Gretchen's bed is Rica Peralejo's "Aparador" and Angelica Panganiban's "Tokador." All three episodes are linked by the same antique shop and antiques dealer they got their pieces from, and all three episodes have the same tired storylines. What I find commendable in this film is Reyes' deft handling of dialogue and scenes. There's more show here than tell-finally.

Ligalig

Conceptualized, co-written, directed, and starred in by Cesar Montano, Ligalig isn't a horror film, but a suspense thriller. According to Cesar, this is his dream project. I suppose that's also why he went a little overboard production-wise? The movie has a lot of unnecessary gimmicks that hardly contribute to the narrative-like the fancy-schmancy camera-moving-around-the-cab during establishing dialogue scenes, for instance. The script needs a whole lot of tightening to merit its surprise twist. The characters are an interesting, twisted lot; the actors are all talented (even Bayani Agbayani surprises with his subtle comedy; Bearwin Meilly should take a cue from him in transitioning to the big screen); and the slaughter scene is decidedly gruesome. Nevertheless, the story is just too full of narrative holes to be a satisfying thriller. And I just need to say this: While I haven't seen Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo, I have an inkling Judy Ann Santos can't top Celia Rodriguez's acting in Ligalig. Oh well. Ms. Rodriguez has said her piece, and well enough. Email comments to [email protected]. You may also post them at http://channelsurfing-freeman.blogspot.com.