In the same manner that Sigaw made significant waves at a recent niche festival held in the US, the latest local production mining this horror genre, Pamahiin, shows a lot of promise and polish.
Produced by Regal Films, Mother Lily and daughter Roselle wisely gave noted TV director Rahyan Carlos his first full-length feature film. Collaborating on the screenplay with Andrew Paredes, Pamahiin is a dense, finely-textured film that gamely takes on the Filipino predisposition to being superstitious about anything and everything under the tropical sun. With a cast that includes Dennis Trillo, Iya Villania, Paolo Contis and Marian Rivera, it’s interesting to note the very tight control Rahyan exercised to create this taut, moody film.
Dennis is Noah, Paolo is Damian and Marian is Becca. Childhood friends, the film opens with a butterfly and a dizzying montage that revolves around the rooms in a church where wakes are held. We first encounter Noah as a six-year-old child, having his first brush with the dead coming to life (multo), and being visible to him. We quickly segue to Noah as a young adult with girlfriend Eileen (Iya) in tow. After 15 years living in the US, he is brought back to the Philippines because Damian has passed away under sordid, suspicious circumstances. Becca, who was supposedly betrothed to Damian has seemingly disappeared. Damian’s father agitatedly dismisses Noah’s asking about her whereabouts by saying she’s a witch (mangkukulam), and the less spoken and seen of her, the better.
From that premise, it’s a spiraling, dizzying trip down the world of malevolent spirits, grisly suicides, black magic that involves extracting hearts from living persons, things that go bump and thump in the night (and day), wandering restless souls, and the ubiquitous butterflies. Dennis has always been more actor than just movie star/personality, and ably goes through his scenes of befuddled, yet resolute protagonist. Paolo similarly staked his reputation doing offbeat roles with aplomb, and this film is no different. His role may not be as extensive in terms of screen time as the other three, but he certainly makes every second count!
Iya is a great revelation. Her acting prowess was hinted at with minor roles in such films as Beautiful Life (in Exodus, several scenes never made the final cut, and she wasn’t much more than a visual accessory); but here, she truly shines, giving us a very effective "damsel in distress" role. I had not seen much of Marian’s TV work, but she was a revelation in this film, essaying a character of duplicity – "seductress of seeming virtue."
There’s a penchant for overhead cam shots that effectively give the film an edgy feel – similar to the perspective created in the frames of animé and manga books. The music overlay is at times over the top, but given the "at the edge of your seat" veneer I presume direk Rahyan is after, it hits the mark. If there is one thing I would criticize about the film, it would be that I was looking for some shafts of humor or "lightness." With some of the other horror films I’ve viewed and enjoyed, this lulling of the audience helped heighten the terror or gulat factor.
Here, the film takes its genre so religiously, an almost suffocating quality is achieved, as horrific moment is piled up one after another. Direk Rahyan knows he has to really turn the screws in the last 20 minutes and while he succeeds in creating a climax, I looked back and wished there was more of a roller-coaster quality to the experience.
I was told the film was a 10-day shoot. If so, this only makes the film’s polish more impressive. Atmosphere, attention to detail, lingering facial shots heighten the effectivity of the film, and point to how prepared Rahyan must have been, given the schedule he worked with.
Pamahiin works. To me, that is the ultimate credit you give a film of this genre. Too many horror films possess unintended humor – whether because of corny special effects, lousy acting, or what have you. With Pamahiin, Rahyan is successful sorcerer, blending various elements to create darkness and menace.