It tries to do a lot of things and, as expected, ends up performing "quite below average" on all fronts.
It was less of a horror movie and more of a revenge-mystery-moral-family story... but isn't? It's not even trying to scare you. The countless immersion-breaking moments, at the very least, kept it from being even remotely "suspenseful."
Apparently, it suddenly became a drama. Though, in fairness, it was a bit sad ("a" for singular). However, throughout, I wasn't able to connect with the characters. They could die and you wouldn't even care. The characters themselves didn't even care!
It didn't help that the pacing was one of the fastest I've ever seen. You're thrown right into the situation, and the succeeding events feel like one season of a TV series cramped into one movie.
They flexed a lot in the VFX department. They might actually consider making a CGI action movie instead. There were some "epic" (not "scary") VFX scenes, and a few genuinely gross and phobia-inducing moments-leeches, rats, locusts, and trypophobia (holes). It's both progress or a curse.
But in terms of progress in the Philippine VFX industry, it's still nothing revolutionary when it comes to closing the gap to realism. It's noticeably more frequent, so it's ambitious on their end, but at the expense of breaking immersion because of how "CGI" it is. Still, I gotta hand it to them, it does have its moments.
The sound effects and "jump scares" often felt too over-the-top, honestly making me chuckle instead of scream. I have no idea how this passed their review process.
The story is... forgettable at bes, and I'm generally lenient and don't throw that word around lightly. The mystery wasn't even interesting: it's your typical "abandoned cursed object" plot device, solved merely by asking a few people. They didn't even solve it themselves.
There were plenty of instances where the characters' reactions or acting didn't align with what was actually happening, and that's what irks me the most. A ghost could be beating someone or throwing an object, yet the actors' faces and reactions failed to convey the gravity of the situation. It's like they see ghosts or supernatural events once a week.
They are great actors; their legacies have proved it. But here, it felt like they gathered legendary performers via a raffle and mixed them together. JC Santos and Judie Ann as couples, seriously? There's no chemistry; not that the plot revolved around it. Anyway, this might be one of my least favorite movies from all of the casts.
In conclusion, if you're looking for a horror movie where you can scream and enjoy jump scares with loved ones, this is seriously not it. But if you want a quick mystery and some CGI, you can give it a shot.
