By Zsarlene B. Chua
Movie Review
Echorsis: Sabunutan Between Good and Evil
Directed by Lem Lorca
LEM LORCA’s horror-comedy Echorsis: Sabunutan Between Good and Evil, which tells of a man who becomes possessed by a gay spirit due to his propensity to swindle gays, is — in a word — enjoyable, with the first half of the film showing much promise. But then the film takes a turn towards melodrama in the second half.
The plot is simple: a straight man named Carlo (played by Alex Vincent Medina), fools Kristoff (Jonathan Anthony “Sweet” Lapus), a closeted gay man, into giving him money which he then uses to marry his girlfriend, leaving Kristoff so devastated by this betrayal that he dies. Carlo is then possessed (whether by his spurned gay lover or a demon is not really clear) and has to be saved by yet another closeted gay — this time a priest, Nick (Kean Edward Cipriano), who, it turns out, was a childhood friend of his who had the hots for him.
“It’s not a normal comedy film: everyone’s acting normal… the humor is not made up, the humor is internal and takes a certain level of intelligence [to understand],” said executive producer Chris Cahilig, during a press conference preceding the premier of the film on April 3, at SM North EDSA in Quezon City.
The statement is about half true as the film has moments of totally authentic comedy complete with great timing, and other moments where it feels contrived.
A notable funny scene is when, in the aftermath of Kristoff’s first suicide attempt, his three concerned (gay) friends crowd around his hospital bed. To reveal the punch line here would ruin the joke. Suffice it to say, the theater was in stitches at the end of the scene.
Much of the comedy is — as expected — delivered by Mr. Lapus, with Mr. Medina trying his best to keep up, and he does though some of his attempts turn out flat.
Mr. Lorca also has his golden moments where he uses jump cuts to effectively present Carlo’s seduction of Kristoff.
Much of the first half of the film is about the relationship between Carlo and Kristoff, with Nick coming onto the scene halfway into the story and serving as Carlo’s second gay love interest.
Mr. Cipriano does some of his best acting work as the closeted gay priest, and is utterly convincing, in contrast to Mr. Medina whose possessed-gay character feels a bit forced.
While the film tries to open up the discussion about LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans) acceptance and presents the consequences of discrimination, it barely skims the surface of the issue, exchanging depth for comedy, though it does make a valiant effort to push for that acceptance in the last minutes of the film. It does strike comedy gold many times which should make it worth one’s while.
MTRCB Rating: R-13
