Dalaw Review

Dalaw is but a shadow of Kris Aquino’s horror classic Feng Shui.

From RPG: Metanoia to Dalaw

I bought a ticket to watch RPG Metanoia but the movie was cancelled, and the theater is close until tomorrow, due to “technical issues.” Worse, the Movie House doesn’t have a refund policy so I was forced to pick another film to watch. The options were Dalaw, Enteng & Agimat, Shake Rattle & Roll and Father Jejemon.

I’m not a fan of Enteng & Agimat and Shake, Rattle & Roll. So I was left with a scary movie and a comedy. Father Jejemon doesn’t appeal to me, it’s just another slapstick comedy so I picked Dalaw.

Warning: Some Spoilers

Review

Dalaw is a tale of love and revenge. Starring Kris Aquino (Feng Shui, Sukob) as Stella and Diether Ocampo as Anton.

Dalaw is a templated suspense-thriller film. Its reliance on the music score and predictable plot fails the movie in terms of freshness.

The moment Anton took the photo from the drawer and hid it in his back pocket, I already figured out that the ghost is not Stella’s ex-husband but someone from Anton’s past. They did hide the gender of the ghost rather well by limiting the shots.

The scary scenes are also predictable. The “build ups,” the scenes when the atmosphere and the music starts to become scary, are obvious. And after years of watching Japanese and Korean horror movies like The Ring and The Grudge, one develops an immunity to these build ups making them ineffective.

Still, there are shock moments that brought the movie-goers to screams. The one that scared me most is the knife scene with Anton.

Kris Aquino’s acting is as lacking as before. The absence of emotion makes some of the scenes awkward. She also has to improve on movement coordination as her movements don’t emphasize the “feel” of the scenes and her lines.

On the other hand, Karylle’s portrayal of Lorna is to be lauded. Crazy, sweaty and just plain genius. The shouts were so filled with rage it’s creepy. Beautiful.

Conclusion

I’m reserving judgment until I see all MMFF movies. Dalaw is a must-watch to suspense-thriller-horror fans or those who wants to hear screaming watchers. But if you’re looking for a good quality movie, skip it.

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