Feng Shui

If you categorize this movie with other Filipino horror flicks, "Feng Shui" will definitely stand out. It's one of the few Filipino horror movies that succeeds to gratify viewers. It is really true to its promise - It is really scary!

I didn't expect the enthralling experience this movie gave me. I walked into the cinema thinking that it would be another horror flick taken from cached concepts. I was actually wrong. This is an initial take in terms of the Filipino cinema.

I would also have to commend the outstanding sound and film editing of this film. It's apparently excellent.

Although it wouldn't be very easy to brand this film as "the best Filipino horror flick ever", I would have to say this is one of the best. It totally surpassed my expectations and it made me establish a positive inclination towards the Filipino cinema. It showed me that the Filipino cinema has something excellent to offer. Filipino movies like this can actually blend with outstanding movies abroad.

"Feng Shui" is an enjoyable Filipino horror movie. It deserves all its raves from the mainstream audiences and critics alike.

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.

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.

This movie has a nice plot and the cast turn in nice performances. And I was glad that the central haunting figure wasn't some girl with long hair covering her face. The ending could've been a little better, though.

Kris Aquino loses her trademark facial expressions and distracting shrill voice. A nice improvement, but she comes off a little wooden. More impressive are the supporting actors. Jay Manalo as Aquino's husband is his usual reliable self. Lotlot de Leon delivers a particularly notable turn as Aquino's ill-fated best friend. Ilonah Jean is subtle but effective as their card-reader friend and the child actors show depth at their young age.

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.