Post-Halloween chills

A horrorfest diptych that comes courtesy of directors Quark Henares and Jerry Lopez Sineneng, Star Cinema and Viva Films’ ’Wag Kang Lilingon makes no bones about its raison d’etre – its outrageous modern-Filipino Gothic that’s out to shock you out of your wits, and keep you on the edge of your seats. All it asks in exchange is the suspension of disbelief. With two seemingly unrelated stories, the film opens in that old reliable setting of a hospital; and the second part of the film has a haunted mansion as its locale. While largely predictable, it’s the treatment and gusto that these two directors bring to the table that make the film a successful excursion to the "darker side" of contemporary life in the Philippines.

Episode One is Uyayi, and Quark helms this outing of Anne Curtis as Melissa, a nurse at a hospital fast gaining the reputation as a place where people are killed, rather than healed. Her suitor (Marvin Agustin) is a journalist, and posing as a patient, he attempts to uncover the mystery behind the hospital’s unusual death rate and the doctor (Raymond Bagatsing) Melissa suspects is behind the killings. It’s a twist on the damsel in distress storyline, and Quark provides shafts of humor and gives the cinematography a herky-jerky, super saturated, indie feel (think updated early-Polanski). Never mind that Marvin is the most implausible of patients, malingering and acting healthier than a cow, yet never ejected from the hospital.

Salamin is Episode Two and has Jerry Lopez Sineneng directing. It stars Kristine Hermosa as Angel. Along with her mother (Cherry Pie Picache) and younger sister, Angel rents an abandoned mansion for some measly sum. Shot in a more traditional cinematic style, Salamin is all about grisly secrets from the past and fate. Again, it’s about suspension of disbelief; as you have a family where the youngest daughter has seen a malevolent spirit under her bed, and the whole family has been sprayed with blood emanating from the walls, and after leaving the house, all they want is a refund on their deposit? Having been refused the refund, they return to the house? In any language, this would be called "asking for it."

But if you go past the implausibility of plot, the most useless ghosts this side of the universe, and that it seems the special effects supersedes story; then just enjoy the energy that the two directors and host of performers brought to this project. Anne and Kristine go all out to play our beleaguered heroines. Plus, there’s a smart bridge at the end that brings both episodes together, and provides enough of a twist to leave us with a wry smile as we leave the theater. The audience at the screening I caught was thoroughly entranced, screaming at all the right moments, and giving off that cathartic collective sigh of relief as the credits came up on the screen.