Neverending Story

The downside of me going home for the holidays is me starting the Metro Manila Film Festival behind everyone else.

Cinemas are virtually dead in our side of the Earth. Theaters have been converted to - I don 't know - but I heard they now cater to a specific clientele that's not exactly of the cinephile kind. Also, cheap cable services with a buffet of channel choices from around the world kind of killed the business.

So far, out of all the entries, I've seen a staggering... one film. Because I just love the "franchise", I watch Shake, Rattle and Roll first every year. The first few installments of this series were excellent. The ones after the 5th were mostly hits and misses but there were a few excellent episodes in the most recent ones that stand out (Punerarya, Parola, Rain Rain Go Away, etc.)

The 2012 installment (the 14th, subtitled the Invasion) has all three episodes directed by Chito Rono billed by the trailers as the Master of Horror. I won't go much into detail but I think the movie still suffered from the limitations it has set for itself to make it as family-friendly as possible. Also typical of the SRR movies is to cast as many actors as possible, giving employment to the entire Regal Films stable. This isn't exactly necessary as it leaves so many characters useless.

But out of all the episodes, I liked the premise and the scare factor in the second one (Lost Command) the most. (Inside joke with myself: Roi Vinzon's character is named Col. Palma which makes him Vinzons and Palma Hall. LOL nevermind me). The third one (Unwanted) reminds me so much of the science-fiction approach of another Rono horror T2, and I think it will work better with less humor and more supernatural (But you know, I like my horrors very dark).

Still I'm happy with SRR 14 and happy and I don't mind that they're keeping it alive. Maybe someday, Mother Lily can sell us Shake Rattle and Roll commemorative DVD boxed set.