Sigaw

This is another I watched per reviews here on IMDb. I believe this is the first time I've watched a movie from the Philippines and I am quite impressed, overall.

The acting in this movie seems very well done, but I will put in my standard disclaimer about movies spoken in a foreign tongue to me: I do not speak Tagalog so therefore, my critique of the acting in this movie is based on body language and facial expressions. Everybody did a fine job, even the Ella Guervara, the actress who portrayed the little girl, Lara. As far as actors, I'd say the star was Iza Calzado. I don't imagine it's too easy getting in the mindset of an abused woman.

The atmosphere in this movie is incredible. The tension, drama, suspense, and action were all set up quite well. The music was on cue with the mood the director tried to set up for the audience. The lighting was just right for each scene. Nothing seemed out of place in this movie.

When I watched this movie, I felt upset and angry. There were a few scare moments but mostly because of "noise tactics", which I consider the low-blow of horror cinema. A couple of scenes did frighten me though, such as when Bert was about to beat Anna over the head with a police baton. In all though, this movie made me upset at the ineptitude of my fellow man. It is very disappointing for me to see that we, as a species, can 1) hurt each other so much and 2) allow others to hurt ourselves or the people we know.

If you happen to see this title at your local Blockbuster or, more likely, at your mom-and-pop video store (do they have such stores in smaller cities, or is it just in major cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco?), go ahead and pick it up. You might want to logoff of your game of World of Warcraft and pay close attention. This movie was well done and deserves the attention.

To start with, I'm an American "mutt." I don't consider myself to belong to any culture unless "white bread" should start appearing on the US census. I speak almost no Tagalog (Filipino), and understand little. That said, I watched "Sigaw" on DVD with English subtitles.

"Sigaw" is an interesting movie. It lacks the visual cues to let an American audience know "This is the present..." "this is the past..." but it's a movie that shows the history of a haunted apartment building in parallel (past and present). We see a struggling restaurant owner trying to make sense of the noises and getting little sleep. We see another younger man trying not to get involved in a very loud domestic dispute.

The movie centers on the present-day man trying to make sense of it, and just trying to get by, hopefully by ignoring it. The movie is mostly atmospheric, with a few surprises, and little gore. Similar to the "The Others" and "Sixth Sense", most of the fun is trying to figure out what's the story, and what's the right solution.

American cinema often borrows from foreign. "The Birdcage" is a remake of a French play. "The Ring" and "The Grudge" are both remakes from Asia. Doing an American remake of "Sigaw" might be worthwhile for a director who values atmosphere and story over effects and gore. On the whole, I'd recommend "Sigaw" for Americans who enjoy wondering about what goes bump in the night...

I had to watch this movie 3 times in order to catch it beginning to end. Some parts of the movie were THAT slow. The eerie music came on loud enough to start to annoy me.

The abuse scenes were troubling to watch but I've seen worse. It was haunting though. I was kind of disappointed at the end. Even if it would have been corny if the curse didn't go away I don't think it would have been a bad way to end the movie though. There are just way too many movies with 'to be continued' type endings. I'd say the movie theatre & bathroom scene would have to be the scariest parts of the movie.

The Echo (Sigaw) has teeth and it sinks deep through your bones. Predictable in some scenes but very unique in storytelling and the "scare" factor. Cinematography is excellent as well as music/sound and editing. This film is so scary that it will frighten you even after you've seen it. Very eerie and very claustrophobic. It would be cool if Hollywood will pick this movie and do a remake...I just wish they won't mess the story up too much. The movie's simplicity is what makes it scary. The "realness" is what makes it unique in some sense. It's very frightening because of the way the director made the film effective even without any special effects. I think that what makes The Echo (Sigaw) a very scary film. Must watch!

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!