Movie Review: Pagpag

Cedric (Daniel Padilla) and his friends accidentally visit a funeral that is set up by Leni (Kathryn Bernardo). Every member of the group unwittingly breaks one superstitious belief after the other including the dreaded pagpag as each of them went directly home after the funeral. Unbeknownst to Cedric and Leni, they brought home a malevolent and vengeful spirit.

Cedric and Leni are forced to team up in the hope of containing and abating the wrath of the vengeful spirit and eventually vanquishing it in the process. But as they struggle to succeed, more mishaps occur and they run out of options in saving their family and friends.

A well made up to date local horror film. The film is slightly influenced by the Hollywood horror-suspense film Final Destination in terms of its style, treatment and look of the film. Editing is superb; no wonder the editor is Jerold Tarog. Talagang mapapansin mo yung linis ng pagkakaputol at gumamit ng makabagong style sa mga transition ng mga eksena so that’s the best part of the film for me. Talagang mapapansin mo yung technicalities of the film na makabagong style yung ginamit even sa DOP may mga shot din na kakaiba, pati yung galaw ng kamera ang swabe so another good factor of the film. Napaka fresh ng atake ng pelikula and you know that the people behind this film are young and fresh from the industry. I would also like to commend the director of the film because he’s been able to achieve the vision that he would like to intake in the film. Good balance of teeny bopper element and horror flick inspired by Hollywood film with a very pinoy story.

 

For the story ok din dahil di ko rin inexpect na ganun yung tatakbuhin ng istorya at may mga shocking twists din. Screenplay is ok din, fast pacing and well executed ang mga horror scene. For the acting performance syempre bumagay sa mga bagets yung role nila dahil as it is lang naman. For Kathniel you will see the chemistry, for Michelle Vito bagay tlaga sa kanya ang kontrabida role, then Dominic Roque also showcase his body here. Janus Del Prado is of course a good laughing stock of the film. Matet is good. Then it’s challenging role for Shaina and Paulo dahil yung characters nila ang kailangan ng lalim and they’ve been able to pull it up. They are good contenders for Best Supp. Actress and Actor respectively. Of course Clarence Delgado is very cute and adorable here.

Overall the film exceeds my expectation. Malinis ang pagkakagawa at makabago ang approach. Ok din yung reception ng mga audience for this film as expected. So if you would like to watch a refreshing quality local horrors film you should watch this! Very commendable to watch to.

My Verdict: 4/5