The Echo (2004)

Wow! Such a good movie.

Strong and Moving!

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Within 8 minutes you can figure out what is going on. But it takes the director almost forever (85 minutes) to reveal the story officially to the viewer as if someone still hasn't a clue by then even when a certain event gets repeated over and over again. And if there had been some twist at the end or something else to compensate than I could have forgiven the director for this mistake. Sadly there aren't any surprises to be found in this movie.Sigaw started out pretty good by building a tense atmosphere only to ruin it with loud sound effects. The main character early on hears but also sees things. And this is the part that doesn't make sense. The place he lives is in a dump. Apparently he is one of the few people who are staying in the building. All the other tenants have fled. Still he refuses to leave his precious unit. Why? That never gets explained.(Well,he mentions he has bought the unit. But somehow this reason doesn't convince me enough since he has a very sweet mother who wants him to return to his old home.) It would have created some sympathy towards this character if we understood why it is so necessary for him to stay. Now he just seems very stupid who has an even more stupid (but good looking) girlfriend called Pinky who does things a normal person in their position never would do. The whole time we have to endure the lack of real thrilling moments combined with the stupid actions of these characters.If you managed to stay awake till the ending than you'll find out that there is no reward for doing so since the ending is complete abysmal and the most stupid of endings I have ever seen.I hate to say it but there is nothing that Sigaw offers that is worth watching. Waste of time!

I got to see this movie back when it was first shown as part of the annual Metro Manila Film Festival (when only local films are allowed to be shown in theaters). The audience reaction was overwhelmingly positive as we all screamed and gasped in the right places.Admittedly, the film is hardly original but it still manages to create a personality of its own, distinct from the Japanese and other Asian horror films. The film's worst flaw is its use of similar looking actors for scenes taking place in the past and present. This creates some confusion in the audience as to what exactly is happening.Otherwise, the film is laudable in the way it effectively marshals its limited resources (it takes place essentially in one setting) to create a very creepy and atmospheric film. This is a must for fans of horror movies.

Let's evaluate this for a second. I'm a non-Filipino and I am a huge fan of world cinema. Even though I would agree that some of the most talented performers are residing or undiscovered in the Philippines, the cinema usually leaves something to be desired - no offense. With the recent wave of Japanese horror rip offs, it is no surprise that the RP has followed suite. This is not a bad thing - in fact it is a breath of fresh air to see the recent wave of Filipino thrillers straying from the style that most other countries abandoned in the 60's. I do however think that the Philippines is not the place for this genre. Their cinema still requires that all actors be of model quality looks. For me, this takes away from the story. What so many other countries lack, that Japan offers is believable characters (looks and acting), a haunting score, a respect for the audience, drama first, and most importantly the sound scape - which I found missing in this film (an uncanny coincidence is that Sigaw won a big award for it's sound - case and point). On to the film: There are always certain elements that Filipinos include in their movies that no others can relate to. This is fine, but make it reasonable for us foreigners to relate or understand. Things like, how come everyone is beautiful and looks mestizo - explain, I've been to the Philippines and have never seen that. If they are so good looking, yet dirt poor, they would be in show business - not struggling in a crappy, haunted loft - hey you guys set this up - not me.The thing that kills me is, the story was 'good', not great, but they have taken the obvious parts of the Japanese Juon Trilogy and poorly executed it in this film - leaving out any of the rich folklore in the Philippines. If you borrow a story, at least pout an original spin on it. Another bothersome factor **spoiler** is when the ghost follows the couple everywhere short of the toilet - tip - you don't have to use every single shot you filmed. In any case, I feel that this film is a huge achievement in Filipino cinema, pushing it one step closer to international recognition - but they still have a long way to go before it can be taken seriously. I am rating this while putting aside most of my international comparison. This film does not deserve a 1 and does not deserve a 10 - so for the benefits to Filipino Cinema I rate it at 7. Good job Lam - I am eager to see where you go next. Although I stress that an American remake is a bad idea capital BAD.

This movie is pointless, too boring and too predictable. In less than 10 minutes we understand what is going on: a family used to live there and the dead wife used to ask a guy to stay with her daughter while her police-drunk husband spanked her. The other guy and pink are in the present but the dead wife "stills around" 'cause he must open the door. Just that! Then, the history which is already self-explanatory, is explained over and over again. It's really boring, If you want to see a hell of a movie watch "a tale of two sisters" beats the crap out of this movie! A friend of mine didn't even watch it till the end, 'cause he was really suffering (lol!)