The movie, which is an entry to the Manila Film Festival last Christmas 2007, is divided into three segments: the first is “Christmas Tree” by Paul Daza; the second one “Engkanto” is directed by Topel Lee; and finally, “Bangungot” by Mike Tuviera.

I remember watching the first and second installments of this never-ending anthology of horror stories, and being a child then I found those first two really scary. I’ve never since watched the other SRR parts because of poor reviews, plus my taste for horror films has also grown with my age. It was just (poor) luck that there was nothing good in the movies last week, and SRR9 was the only scary movie shown that one boring afternoon. So here’s why Regal Films should stop doing any more Shakes Rattles and Rolls!

“Christmas Tree”. If there’s one filmmaker on earth that could make a Christmas symbol like a Christmas tree into something terrifying that could never be someone like Paul Daza! Even if you make this thing into a monster, like what the guy did (and still failed to scare me), it still won’t erase the fact that a Christmas tree is still a Christmas tree. And like all the other horror films I’ve watched (foreign included) this segment failed to explain why the tree becomes a monster that eats animals and people. Just the hell of it? Just the hell of it then.

The “Engkanto” segment, however, is quite done in good taste. It’s even scary (but only a bit), and funny. It’s got that Topel Lee (of Oiuja) brand of putting scary and funny scenes together. But like all Tagalog films, it lacks quality. It fails to transform that resort, where the group was stranded, into an abandoned one (which should have made the setting terrifying enough). Except for a dash of falling leaves here and there, hanging doors in one area, the place still looks well cared for: the bright red paint on its walls, and the air-conditioning units at the back of the cottages are still very noticeable. It’s very obvious that there was not much preparation for this segment, well, like all the rest. The “Engkanto,” (played by Katrina Halili)—on the other hand, is not that terrifying to me. She’s too beautiful for the role; they could have picked a total stranger to play it. But if you don’t think about technicalities and all (with Tagalog movies, forget about the storylines too), this segment is the only thing that’s worth your ticket.

The “Bangungot” is not that bad, though. There were even a few scenes that got me screaming, but when you think after that every scene you realize that there’s really nothing to be scared about. Because the story is just about a woman (Roxanne Guinoo) in love with a man (Dennis Trillo) who is set to marry another woman (Paulene Luna). And to make it a part of an SRR anthology, the director put some magical twist into it by placing all the important characters into a dream that turned into a nightmare. It was really a bangungot watching it.

If movies are like these: poorly-made, no one can really blame if they don’t always do good in the box office.

Labels: fantasy, horror, suspense, thriller