Feng Shui

It is a terrific film. Kris Aquino delivered a convincing role of Joy, a Filipino mother and wife, living in superstition and luck for the betterment of their life. She acted like the Filipino mothers seen in the country. Also, other actors made an applauding performance. On the movie itself, as a Filipino with a culture on believing superstitions and depending luck on ancient Chinese practices, this Filipino movie has truly delivered the nature of the character's belief and at the same time the amazing plot, as thought by the writer. The light and sound effects had greatly contributed to the movie. There is no need for special effects or computer enhancement to convince. The objectives/intention of the director is clearly seen in the movie. I hope the international community will be able to appreciate & be able to compete with the international-released horror/thriller movies.

Well, okay, it's not The Eye... it's not even Hideo Nakata's The Ring, but it's better than I Know What You Did Last Summer and the rest of the assembly line garbage that Hollywood likes to dish out every couple of months.

The story is about a woman named Joy who, on her way home from work, picks up a Chinese artifact (which is a strange-looking mirror with a brass frame) that a man sitting next to her in the bus had left behind(this man, in turn, dies promptly in a rather amusing manner). She takes this artifact home and upon learning from her neighbor that it is good luck, decides to hang it as a decoration above her front door of her new house. Soon enough, unbelievable good luck comes to her and her family (she and her husband get consecutive promotions, she wins a raffle for an entertainment system at her local supermarket). It seems the neighbor was right about the artifact, only weird things start to happen. Objects are moving by themselves, Joy sees creepy movement from the corner of her eye, her kids see a man floating outside the bedroom window... standard scary stuff that'll make you want to call a priest and have your house sprinkled with the good stuff. To top it all off, she discovers that her husband is cheating on her AGAIN with an old girlfriend... and her neighbors are dropping like flies one by one.

Don't want to ruin anything for y'all... but it has a pretty good twist. It's not an original twist, but it'll still raise some hairs on your arms and the back of your neck. "You're so lucky," indeed.

Worth a look. 7 out of 10 stars. You can probably find the DVD on Ebay.

Plot: Joy (Kris Aquino) takes a Pagua (a form of Chinese charm) home after finding it in a bus (left by another passenger). She finds out that the Pagua can help make her family's fortune turn positive... but everything has a price.

(Originally written September 16, 2004) A few weeks ago, I've been telling my friend about how "Feng Shui" was going to be a crappy movie. If you don't know what Feng Shui is, well, that's a supernatural belief of the Chinese on luck that is linked to many things, like a person's birthday, the time of birth, and so on. It is somewhat a mix of fortune telling and luck bringing. There's a recently released horror movie titled Feng Shui, directed by Chito Rono, who, if I remember correctly, looks like an Asian version of Quentin Tarantino.

Chito claimed that the movie can compete against other Asian horror movies, but I really felt that it would be another campy horror flick like Shake, Rattle and Roll, or even Regal Shocker. Why did I think like that? It's because of the quality of movies that the movie industry keeps churning out every month or so. They're so bad that you'd stop wondering why nobody's watching their films, except for those "romantic" ones that everybody (the masses) seems to love, just because there's the word "love" somewhere slapped within the film. People these days...

Now that you know why I tend to reject local films, let's proceed as to what I was expecting with the movie Feng Shui:

1. Crappy cinematography. 2. Crappy music. 3. Crappy story. 4. Typical loud sounds followed by a "BOO!" event. 5. Crappy make-up for the ghosts. 6. Short and rushed movie. 7. Ending that suggests a possible sequel. 8. No real resolution, typical plot twist at the end. 9. Psychic powers (because low budget pinoy films use psychic powers often... what you can't see, you don't need a budget for!). 10. Senseless story progression. 11. The little children's song in the advertisement would be used in a strange way in the film. Hey, people get creeped out by kids singing a morbid song right?

After watching the movie, I was left with some questions...

1. Why did the other people who didn't look into the Pagua's mirror die, when it was said that only those who looked into it would die? 2. Why is it that your animal year had something to do with your death by curse? 3. Why is it that whenever the Pagua claims a victim, the spirit of the person becomes an evil ghost who just loves to scare people?

Anyway, the film was able to amuse me. The opening sequence was beautifully made, you could say they actually spent some time planning it, and not just shooting randomly.

The theme music was quite generic in my opinion. It's comprised of various screeching sounds suddenly ending with "BLAGUNG!!!" effects. The theme was also used all throughout the film, making it really tiring, as its only purpose was to set up the "BOO!" sequences. I still think that it's a huge leap from your typical pinoy "AWOOO!" horror music.

Acting was very good from all the cast members, and there wasn't any moment of amateurish effort. Kris Aquino has notably improved from her past movies. She used to do mostly comedies without much "getting into it" requirements. I think ever since she got more serious roles, she just got better each time. Everyone else did their jobs just right.

The make-up is actually good! It didn't look like your outdated slap-on-make-up-blood-on-lips methods of days gone by. Still, they could go for better quality with better effects.

I liked the story, or at least, most of it. The start was good, the middle part was effective in gearing up the audience to expect more in the climax, BUT the climax was CRAPPY! With the way the movie was going, you'd expect the climax to be a haunt-a-thon from all the ghosts, as well as the Chinese ghost. I don't know why they decided that the story should end with Kris breaking that Bagua in broad daylight, and then being surprised by a dead family get together. If there's ONE disease that ALL HORROR FILMS should eradicate, it's the SEQUEL SET-UP ENDING. I just don't feel satisfied with films that end this way.

Well, I almost ate my words, except for the three expected faults I found: Typical "BOO!" Set-up, Sequel Set-up Ending, and No Real Resolution.

Feng Shui is an outstanding blend of horror and Filipino folklore with a touch of Chinese mysticism. Director Chito S. Roño delivers an eerie, gripping atmosphere that keeps you on edge from start to finish. Kris Aquino's performance as Joy, an ordinary woman suddenly thrust into supernatural terror, is highly convincing, adding emotional weight to the film's escalating dread.

The film's use of the bagua mirror, a key symbol in feng shui, as a harbinger of both fortune and doom is clever and unsettling. The way the deaths tie into the victims' Chinese zodiac signs adds a layer of cultural depth that makes the story unique and fascinating. Every death scene is chilling, expertly building up suspense without relying on cheap jump scares.

While the pacing in the middle drags slightly, the film recovers with a strong, terrifying conclusion that leaves a lasting impression. The use of traditional superstitions and beliefs combined with modern horror techniques makes Feng Shui stand out in the Filipino horror genre.

Overall, it's a must-watch for fans of psychological horror and supernatural thrillers.

Philippine cinema is looking good these days. During the release of 'Feng Shui' it was apparent that almost everybody wanted to see it, just because local critics and movie-goers were already saying 'it was that good' –and YES is was really. Honestly it's the first time in years that I have truly enjoyed watching a local horror film, and a quality Filipino film for that matter.

'Feng Shui' was really able to please its audience. Story-wise I could say it was pretty original, and since it shows Filipinos' undeniable fascination and belief in 'swerte', it was brilliant for the story's writers to come up with one that revolves around whatelse –'Feng Shui'.

It is the story of a middle-age woman, Joy (Kris Aquino) and her battle against the supernatural cycle of luck and bad luck. She has just moved into a new house with her family, as she was hopeful for a new beginning, and a refreshing start to go with their new home, she unexpectedly faces, true enough –something new, something she could never expect .

On her way home one day, as she was taking the bus ride, a man left a certain small package on his seat, she picks it up to return it to the said owner. Unable to find the man she decided to bring it home with her – a 'bagua' mirror, an item that is placed over the door of one's house, and is believed to drive away bad luck to the people inside the home. True enough, she began to receive good fortune and anything favorable for herself and for her family. But along with those came the unexplained events that disturb her, her friends, and most especially the people she loves.

After watching 'Feng Shui' and from hearing other people's opinion of the movie, I concluded –'may nanood naman (ng Filipino movies) basta maganda ang pagkakagawa'. Ganun kasimple, what we need are quality movies that bear good scripts and story lines. Sobrang important din syempre audio and visuals. I get frustrated at watching a movie with a poor film quality (most Filipino movies are like that sadly), yung tipong sa kalabuan ng picture, nahihirapan ka nang mag concentrate sa story. At sa sobrang labo ng audio Hindi mo na sila maintindihan (at bwisit na dubbings yan). I believe one factor that makes other Asian movies (especially Korean films) more enjoyable to watch is the picture quality of the movies they make. It's actually the first thing that I notice after I hit the play button –I have to enjoy the visuals first, since it adds life to what you are watching.

I hear nowadays they have started using the HD technology in film-making ('Santa Santita' to be the first local film to use HD). And I'm sure marami pang ibang movies that will bear much improvement in the coming years. Actually I'm pretty excited with how the Philippine movie industry will be like 2 or 4 years later. I've never really been proud of Philippine movies, but slowly I am beginning to appreciate it as it starts to gain its improvement. Sana.. tuloy-tuloy na 'to!