Certified Ace Movie Review : Feng Shui (2014)

Feng Shui (2014) : A sequel that is worth a decade-long wait

Genre: Horror

Country: Philippines

Studio: Star Cinema, K Productions

Release Date: December 25, 2014

Director: Chito S. Rono

Starring Kris Aquino, Coco Martin, Cherry Pie Picache, Carmi Martin, Ian Veneracion, Joonee Gamboa, Beauty Gonzales, Martin Escudero, Rez Cortez

Feng Shui (2004) which starred Kris Aquino and directed by Chito S. Rono was a groundbreaking film in Philippine cinema. It didn't only proved that the industry isn't dead yet at the time of it's release. It also proved that we, Filipinos, can also make movies to be proud of.

It was a box-office hit, grossing more than 100 million Pesos, and receiving critical acclaim from critics and audiences alike. It was considered by many as the most scariest Filipino film of all time. It pretty much cemented Kris Aquino's status as Philippines Box-office Horror Queen. 

It also introduced a unique horror antagonist (similar to Sadako from 'The Ring' and Kayako Saeki from 'The Grudge' ) in the form of Lotus Feet, an old chinese woman who, befor eher death by fire, cursed anyone who will see be the next owner of the antique lucky charm.

The film tells the story of Joy, a loving mother of two and dedicated wife, and how she got possesion of the cursed bagua which gives it's owner an unbelievable amount of luck, from promotions at work up to winning lottery/raffles. But it causes death to those people around him/her as exchange for these gifts. These people meet their demise according to their Chinese Zodiac Signs.

After ten years, Director Chito Rono and Kris Aquino revisit the curse with 'Feng Shui' (2014).

Continuing the story of Joy as she tries to recover from the tragedy that struck her family ten years ago, the film also introduces a new owner of the bagua with Lester, played by Philippine's Indie Prince Coco Martin.

This is Martin's first foray into starring in a genre movie, and he stated his excitement for this film on his previous interviews, admitting that he was a big fan of the first movie.

The film was released in theaters December 25, 2014 and was an official entry to the 40th Metro Manila Film Festival.

Synopsis

The movie begins with a short introduction, showing how the last movie had ended.

After the death of her family, Joy tried her best to recover from the loss by working as a full time real estate agent. She meet Doug, played by Ian Veneracion, and she starts to live a peaceful life.

The story then shifts to Lester, a young man from the slums, who is hired by a Chinese woman to recover an antique bagua. He fails to recover the bagua at first, as it was taken by feng Shui expert Hsui Liao, played by Joonee Gamboa from the first film. Lester tracked down the antique charm and was able to retrieve it. But the following day, he found the bagua posted on top of the doorway of their shack. After that, luck started raining upon him. But after a series of death of his loved ones, he realizes that the bagua is cursed. He discovers that the Chinese woman who hired him was a relative of the dead Lotus Feet. She was trying to recover the bagua so that she can let the angry spirit in it to be put to rest. unfortunately, things went for the worse when she was laso killed by Lotus Feet and her soul was taken by the bagua. Because of this, the curse became stronger as as Lotus Feet has another of her own bloodline with her to take more souls.

Joy starts seeing apparitions around her, and she realizes that the curse is still after her soul.

Together with Lester and Lily  (Cherry Pie Picache) another previous owner of the bagua, they try to stop the curse before it takes their souls.

So, did the movie met my expectations being a fan of the original movie? Was it able to bring something new to the platter?

Let's have a breakdown of the movie for a careful look.

Story

The story of the movie basically just continues where the first one has ended. But in the sequel, they have added a twist: the curse became stronger and now takes two souls at a time. this was because another spirit from Lotus Feet's bloodline has been taken by the bagua.

Also, this sequel provided a deeper backstory for Lotus Feet where it was told that she used to be a rich woman who helped everyone in their village. But after the revolution of Sun Yat-sen, his colleagues and other rich families were evacuated. but because of her bounded feet (a Chinese tradition of foot binding of young girls to prevent normal growth of their feet, which was believed to bring good luck) she was captured by the revolutionists and was burned in front of the villagers whom she has helped before. She dies embracing the bagua, her lucky charm, and created the curse.

A good backstory, I must say.

The only thing that didn't worked very well was the way the characters died. The death of Lester's mother (played by Carmi Martin) was genius. But the rest wasn't.  I mean, fans were expecting unique deaths in the movie in the fashion of Final Destination. Unfortunately, this disappointed me somehow because it was as if they lost any other ideas on different ways for these other characters to die.

I just wished they had put more effort to that.

Direction

As with any horror movie, as long as Chito Rono is the one behind the camera, it's gonna be a good one.

I have been a fan of Chito Rono for years now after seeing Feng Shui (2004); his second horror film with Kris Aquino, Sukob (2006) A.K.A 'The Wedding Curse' internationally and The Healing (2012), his movie starring Vilma Santos and Kim Chui. I have seen a lot of his works and I must say that he is one of the best directors here in the Philippines in the horror genre. You can never go wrong with his works.

However, his last horror movie, the anthology Shake, Rattle and Roll : The Invasion (2012), wasn't that good.

But fortunately, he was able to redeem himself with the sequel to his original horror hit.

Rono created enough amount of suspense and dread in the film. This is highlighted in the scene where Lester's father (played by Rez Cortez) was being hunted by his hateful enemy (played by Ian De Leon) inside their house, with Lotus Feet showing up everywhere.

The film also boasts with enough jump scares to make viewers scream. 

Acting

Kris Aquino's acting has improved a lot compared to her previous horror films. But her scream is always something. Her scream is always full of sorrow and fear. That's probably why she is always a hit with the horror genre.

On the other hand, Coco Martin was good as Lester. This is the kind of character that is very easy for him to play. He look menacing at times. But he can immediately turned into someone you will truly care for and sympathize with.

Cherry Pie Picache was also a good addition to the cast as her greedy character Lily, provided laughs in the movie.

Technical Aspects

One of the most notable things you'll notice when it comes to Chito Rono's horror films is that he has a penchant for playing with different color palettes in his scenes. In his other movie The Healing (2012), he had a seperate color theme for the wardrobe of the cast for every phase of the movie.

There's a time where all the characters wore blue, there's a time where most of them wore red or green.

In Feng Shui (2004), he used lightning to paint different color palettes in every scene.

He also used the same technique here. He made the movie really colorful, which made the atmosphere of the film so weird and uneasy.

Another aspect to commend in the film is it's use of visual effects. It didn't relied too much on CGI ghosts. Instead, it used old school apparitions just like the original one where you see Lotus Feet walking around and showing up everywhere.

4D

The film was released in theaters in regular 2D and a special release in 4D at the XD Theater in SM Mall of Asia, making it the first Filipino film to be shown in this format. So I've decided to take the chance of seeing it in this special screening.

I've never experienced watching a movie in 4D before and I must say that I totally loved it. There were times when the seats would move inches from the floor and all of a sudden tilt forward, adding a very uneasy feeling to the audience. The other effects like the cold wind being blown from the ceiling also added a spine-chilling effect on the total experience.

Overall

Even though the film wasn't able to meet some points that fans of the original were looking forward to see (specifically the unique ways for the characters to die) , this whole movie experience was a blast. The film offers enough suspense and scares to satisfy horror fans out there.
And if the ending does open the story for a third installment, I would be glad to take another look at Lotus Feet's bagua one last time.

I'm awarding this film 4 out of 5 stars.