Pa-siyam (2004)
After their mother's death, her adult children gather in their family home to respect the funereal rite of Pa-sayim. Although they had originally thought she died of natural causes, thy soon realize that a dark force in he home may have played a part in her demise.
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Very disappointed :(
Truly Dreadful Film
All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.
The first must-see film of the year.
The scares are repetitive, not because the filmmakers ran out of tricks to dish out, but because they are coming from a nagging ghost-mom, trying to make her children aware of their wrongdoing. At first, it's just a few pieces of poo, a puddle of urine, a pack of Pancit Canton. The next time, it's a bucketful of poo, overflowing urine, and more Pancit Canton to feed a squatter colony. She's obviously nagging them, but the children are headstrong on their innocence, insisting that they're guilt-free of their mom's suffering.
Pa-Siyam is a truly rare Filipino horror film that can compare well to the other well known and copied Asian horror counterparts. While many horror films copy the usual Ringu, Ju-On, and Dark Water trio, Pa-Siyam draws upon local superstition as a source. The film builds up the tension and atmosphere to deliver scares that are not cheap. Special kudos to Paulate who is tremendous and is able to break out of the usual fare he was involved in. The rest of the cast did good as well. Despite the small budget, the film delivers the goods in a more efficient and effective manner than some of the bland and big budget copies of successful horror trends. Note, I didn't use the subtitle so I can't comment on it.
I was just expecting some average horror film that would come out in my monitor. But as I had the video rolling it had hooked me in a very fashionable and stylized movie; a rare feat for most of the Filipino directors we have in this movie industry. These movie as I can consider is a neo-classical gem of a movie. I have watched many horror movies both foreign and local. But honestly I didn't like most of the local movies especially Sukob (which I find at the least boring), and Feng Shui, with the clichéd long black-hair-covered-faced-woman. But this movie can stand on it's own.The story starts at the wake of the main character's mother. He (Roderick Paulate)had decided with his 4 siblings that they should stay for their mother's Pasiyam. But during the Pasiyam rites they start experiencing horrid manifestations that occur while they are asleep. With the help of the strange lady they uncovered the truth on what really is happening.The movie is dark, and entertaining. It really got me smiling at the ending. Though I was sad about Ruth (I found Aubrey cute for the first time). A nice film to add in the pantheon of Asian movies. A must see.
A ghost story that still manages to surprise and scare youFirst, just in case:! S P O I L E R A L E R T !One big house, one family gathered for a funeral, one ghost, one priest, one psychic medium, a lot of pee and droppings and blood and you got yourself a great horror film!!! Erik Matti manages to use a not so great script (but with a few nice twists) and still make it scary, weird and atmospheric. Camera and photography are absolutely great and very original for this genre. Philippines cinema is definitively getting more interesting every day. I definitively recommend it!