Sigaw

but probably cry...

Truly i have seen plenty of Filipino horror films for the past decade (more noticeably the 90s era where most pinoy horror films where nothing more than laughed at shadows to it's former classic roots). But it's changed for the past few years, and this is one of them. Sigaw (trans title: THE SCREAM *or Hollywood title THE ECHO) sets around a man named Marvin who has bought a room (reffered as Unit) in a rundown apartment. Every night there has been shouting and loud banging of abuse from his neighbors. A Policman who suspects his wife having a lover hidden in the apartment enrages him. Soon the wife starts asking for help from him. Not till long that Marvin is caught up in all the mess that has been created. It will not only destroy his residential stay, but probably his life. Sigaw more than ranks up with one of Asia's most noted horror films. Though as usual, more dramatic than scary. It puts a mood of sadness through out the film. Making you actually care about what the characters have to go through. With it's moody plot, addicting characters, great scenery shots (trust me, if you've seen half of the filipino movies i have, this pretty much has the shooting budget of Star Wars), and so much atmosphere with a lot of nicely edited composed score. This is one film you should not pass up. Though it will be hard to find a copy of the DVD in the Us (though probably near you at a local Filipino Store, or at the Regal site). But already has been given a US Remake to boot. Surely this film will at least reach cult status.

I sat down and watched this movie at first not expecting much. I've seen a few Philippine films before and considered them about on par with American TV movies due to their low budget. "Sigaw" shows the viewer that an impressive movie can be made when a quality script, quality director and quality actors get together.

"Sigaw" is the story of about a young man who moves into an apartment building and can't find peace because of the constant noise create by the domestic problems of his neighbors down the hall. The neighbor wife and daughter are being routinely terrorized and victimized by her jealous husband. The husband and wife engage in the same argument word for word every evening--literally! The new tenant begins to hear strange noises and see strange sights in the dark hallway and eventually in his apartment. He tells his girlfriend, who at first doesn't believe him and insists that he just move out, but she later discovers, much to her dismay, that there's something very strange going on at her boyfriend's place and that they both have been swept into a terrifying situation in which there is no apparent escape.

Sigaw reminded me of two other Asian scary gems--"Ringu" (later remade as "The Ring") and "The Eye." It's an excellent film that shouldn't be missed. One note: It is a foreign film, so there are subtitles, but much of the movie best scenes are, in fact unspoken.

I highly recommend it.

I got to see this movie back when it was first shown as part of the annual Metro Manila Film Festival (when only local films are allowed to be shown in theaters). The audience reaction was overwhelmingly positive as we all screamed and gasped in the right places.

Admittedly, the film is hardly original but it still manages to create a personality of its own, distinct from the Japanese and other Asian horror films. The film's worst flaw is its use of similar looking actors for scenes taking place in the past and present. This creates some confusion in the audience as to what exactly is happening.

Otherwise, the film is laudable in the way it effectively marshals its limited resources (it takes place essentially in one setting) to create a very creepy and atmospheric film. This is a must for fans of horror movies.

During the Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film (www.bifff.org) we saw ECHO. We wanted to be scared and we were... We didn't expect to be that scared. That's why our vote is high. But, we must say the actors weren't that good. We saw easily that they were playing a role, they weren't realistic. The sounds made us make jumps from our seats. The story was revisited but all the stuff around made that movie watchable. The make up was well done. We really like that kind of film here. The Asian films are the best. But we only can see them during festivals or events. That's quite sad for us. Thanks to all the people who made all that events possible. We really appreciate that from here.

Philippine cinema hasn't seen a horror movie with so much artistry and passion since the production of Sigaw. For the past 30 years or so, Filipinos only witnessed campy and hack horror films. Filipino producers could only produce 3-in-1 feature lengths or even worse, over used monster films based from Filipino folk tales like the Tikbalang or Tiyanak. These days, local movie studios are just contented doing hack films from Asia and America. The makers of Sigaw pulled all the strings in their power to create something different and original.

Forget about the depth of the story, Sigaw was not made to rip off awards. Sigaw was made simply to give its audience a good scare. In this regard, the movie succeeds all expectations. Director Yam Laranas implores all the necessary ingredients to deliver a high octane adrenaline rush flick. His visuals combined with Almbert Michael Idioma's sound then edited by Manet Dayrit made a bone chilling movie experience.

Sigaw is the comeback movie from Yam Laranas. After his last 2 films, Laranas finally went back to his forte, the suspense genre. This reemergence so to speak is similar to Gus Van Sant's return in doing his masterpiece, the Elephant. I am thankful for Laranas for going back to his roots and doing Sigaw. At long last, there is a Filipino horror film i could be proud of. Moreover, this could be the very first Filipino horror film to scare the entire world!