Metro Manila Film Festival 2025: Slick but shallow

By Joseph L. Garcia, Senior Reporter

Movie Review
Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins
Directed by Shugo Praico, Joey de Guzman, and Ian Loreños
Produced by Regal Entertainment
MTRCB Rating: R-13

This 17th installation of Shake, Rattle, & Roll delivers good ol’ jumpscares (I screamed twice) and passable plots, but sputters towards the end.

The first two stories of the anthology (which have a plot point in common) titled “1775” and “2025,” prove immediately why the horror franchise has become a staple in Philippine cinema’s Christmas diet. As for the third: eh.

The first, “1775,” opens with some very beautiful nuns. We don’t exaggerate: the cast includes the Ortega sisters Ysabel and Ashley. The nuns’ wimples and veils charmingly frame the faces of Carla Abellana, Janice de Belen (she’s a star for a reason; her face can still fight against much younger actresses), and even sexy star Ara Mina (from Mano Po’s butt-crack dress to a complete nun’s habit, she’s still something to watch on the big screen. Kudos!).

A mysterious chest arrives at the convent, which the nuns theorize in Spanish as coming from Mexico (the period film is set during the height of the Galleon Trade). Meanwhile, Ms. Abellana’s character is locked away in the cellar for her nightly fits and visions. The chest tempts the nuns one by one, while Ms. De Belen’s character rules over the nuns with frightening tyranny.

We commend this segment for the wonderful set and production design, not to mention the gorgeous costumes (yes, they are nuns’ habits, but they’re made with such care). The plot leaves so much room to make this segment into its own movie (the chest’s manipulations leave room for so much more), and the actresses play their roles so well. The gothic setting in a convent is a bit too easy, but it works in bringing suspense. We suppose our only gripes about this segment are the cheap jump-scares and one or two too-easy deaths.

The “2025” segment is for a certain generation: younger millennials and Gen Z. It’s an old-fashioned slasher (teens are stalked by masked creeps during a rave) but my, oh my: it looks and sounds VERY good. The fact that it’s set in a rave means they have paid extra care to the music, and we’re already looking forward to the soundtrack to play at our next party. The cinematography is, as the kids once said, “lit,” and it is shot as smoothly as a music video. The experience is hypnotic, and visually delightful: never mind that half the segment is a gore-fest, but so wonderfully choreographed.

The third segment, “2050” follows the same slick production values of the first two, and offers an evocative view of a post-apocalyptic Philippines. We’re not super onboard with the plot though: the entity in the damned chest from the first segment, which made an appearance in the second, has gained strength and has won — taking over the country. Richard Gutierrez and his merry band have to defeat the entity and the thing inside the box. It’s shot more like a first-person video game than a movie, and shares the same fast pace.

(Spoilers!)

The third segment shows the film’s big baddie as a cheap copy of Harry Potter villain, Voldemort. Imagine our distress after the build-up from the first two segments, because in our heads: maybe the enemy is corruption. Think about it: in “1775” it arrives in the Philippines through colonialism, thrives in the church, tempts with comfort. In its death throes, it brings down the church with it (literally). In the second segment, “2025,” it is worshipped and protected and fed blood by a select few, while thriving inside a playground of the rich. In “2050,” it has finally won, leaving the country a desolate place; its people left to pick refuse.

The first two segments are a must-watch for horror fans, and even give a wink by casting Shake, Rattle, & Roll vets Ms. De Belen and Manilyn Reynes. The film taken as a whole is good for a scream or three, and overall a visual feast. Just don’t overthink it like I did.