?T2?
D: Chito Roño
S: Maricel Soriano, Eric Fructuoso and Mika dela Cruz
PINOY FOLKLORE is rife with colorful stories of mythical creatures like the dwende (elves), kapre (cigar-smoking dark giant), manananggal (infant-feeding winged bloodsucker that can separate from its lower limbs), aswang (local vampire), tiyanak (demonic infants), santelmo (mystical fireballs) and the tikbalang (a half-horse, half-human that preys on women).
Trilogy
In ?T2,? Chito Roño updates the engkanto (fairy or nature goddess) myth to wrap up his acclaimed horror trilogy, which began with 2004?s ?Feng Shui,? followed two years later by ?Sukob.?
Onboard Roño?s latest supernatural thriller is Maricel Soriano, who plays Claire, a married but childless former orphan who now runs a travel agency. On the side, she immerses herself in volunteer work for an NGO to take her mind off her lonely life and barren marriage.
Trial separation
When her marital union to Jeremy (Derek Ramsay) hits the rocks?he wants a trial separation?Claire volunteers to accompany an orphan to his new foster parents in Samar.
But, a previously unplanned side trip to fetch another orphan, 8-year-old Angeli (Mika dela Cruz), on her way back to Manila commences a series of mysterious events: Visions of translucent and otherworldly presences, violent deaths, tragic accidents, creepy whistles and fizzes coming from dark nooks and crannies, etc.
Soon, the bizarre occurrences take a heavy toll on Claire and her companion-driver, Elias (Eric Fructuoso)?and everyone around them?especially when they reach the outlandishly lavish apartment owned by Angeli?s new foster parent, who?s nowhere in sight, at the third floor of a tumbledown tenement complex.
Here, they encounter the quirkiest of characters?and the strangest of creatures?who regard them with either a meaningful look (Tetchie Agbayani) or giveaway sinister stare (Camille Prats, K Brosas). It quickly dawns on Claire that her marital troubles are the least of her worries!
In his kickass cinematic revisiting of local folklore, as well as his ingenious use of Halloween as appropriate backdrop, Roño expertly steers his latest chiller into a narrative direction that is more rooted in reality than either ?Feng Shui? or ?Sukob.?
This time, the uncompromising director doesn?t just cook up a film that makes audiences scream, squirm and shake in their seats.
Instead, he finds a middle ground that fuses realistic human experiences (Claire?s orphan past and unhappy marriage) and the macabre (a crawling Gollum-like creature, the unlikely union of a love-struck man and his immortal paramour, a parallel dimension in a land without dreams, etc.).
Shock tactics
The movie?s chills are not derived from atmosphere-assisted tricks that segue into superficial shock tactics, but from a smoldering, inherent fear that comes from viewers? inability to decipher the true intentions of the unknown forces. So, the effect of fear, when it comes, is more visceral and cerebral.
The characters? sideplots become integral to the story and enable the cast to achieve a higher degree of realism, so there aren?t a lot of loose ends that need tying up.
Our quibbles: Some uneven special-effects moments and the silly, drag-queen wig of John Lloyd Cruz (in a not-so-flattering cameo).
Another downside to Roño?s ?experiment?: Because of his intention to tap more into human drama, the production?s scary scenes occasionally feel more episodic than cohesive. So, yes, it?s not as scary as its predecessors. However, the ability to scare isn?t the sole criterion for a movie?s effectivity: ?T2? is better-made and more sophisticated than either ?Feng Shui? or ?Sukob.?
Innocence
Soriano is cast appropriately: The Taray-meets-terror concept works because you don?t have to suspend disbelief that the actress pretends to be a character she?s not. Dela Cruz also comes off well because of her likable-tyke countenance and angelic innocence.
But, the film?s best thespic asset is Carmen Soo (in a cameo), who uses her innate intelligence and strong presence to convey guileless perfidy.
