The Echo is a Hollywood remake of a Pinoy film titled "Sigaw" starring Richard Gutierrez, Angel Locsin and Iza Calzado. Calzado reprises her role as a disturbed ghost seeking for justice in this movie which is directed by another Filipino, Yam Laranas. The fact that Sigaw was adapted to Hollywood and Calzado got her original role because they found no one in the States that matches Calzado's character (sympathetic and scary at the same time!) is something that we Pinoys should be proud of. I say the movie is a must-see after having watched its Philippine premiere last night at the Cinema 4 of SM Megamall.



Read until here if you don't wanna get spoilers or read further to get my personal take on the movie.

Synopsis (as adapted from IMDB.com):
An ex-con moves into an old apartment building, where he encounters a domestic problem involving a police officer, his wife, and their daughter. When he tries to intervene, however, a mysterious curse entraps him.

The first parts of the The Echo is slow-paced. I knew the story by memory and was looking for the differences and/or similarities of the scenes. I found a few. I also took note of the scary scenes from the old movie and the scene where the little girl is jumping on the protagonist's bed and then disappear in seconds remains the most thrilling for me. I guess it's from the realization of the protagonist that hey, she's not human, which added to his aggravating confusion from the strange noise he hears next door. The director produced the right lighting, angles and expressions on that one. It was perfect.




Cinematography wise, I found the film good. The lighting was okay, too. The use of warm light was predominant in the film which helped make the scary scenes believable and hence, effective. The sound effects were nicely done as well. They sent chills up my spine a couple of times. The visual effects were outstanding and the timing was perfect. Timing is very important in any horror movie and it was good to know Laranas made sure to terrify, shock and astound.


From a slow-paced beginning, the movie got me glued to my seat as it progressed towards the end. The secrets were revealed one after another. The protagonist would find the missing pieces in the puzzle and would realize what he needed to do and would act on it based on his instincts, which were right. In the meantime, the ghosts of the family that died a tragic death due to a severe domestic problem would continue to haunt and kill people or become the reason of their death. I thought it was part of the justice the mother and child tandem was seeking. After all, they (the neighbors) turned a blind eye on them when they were asking for help. The scenes going to the ending happened swiftly. Soon the terror was over and everything was settled. All in a matter of an hour and so minutes.




One might get bitin with the ending or ask for more scary actions but for someone like me who has seen Sigaw, I easily related to the story and didn't have a problem catching up with the twists and turns. Yes, that was until the end.


Director Yam Laranas giving instructions to Iza Calzado
Iza Calzado's acting was superb, as usual. I thought she gave her best and she was able to nail her role. And yes, she possessed the distinct sympathetic and scary look needed for her character. The guy protagonist (Jesse Bradford) and his girlfriend (Amelia Warner) in the movie were good actors. I just found the voice of the girlfriend a bit low. But she made up for it with her facial expressions. I thought that should suffice.

If you want a horror-themed film that's big in scary scenes but with less violence and has a peaceful ending, The Echo is for you. And if you're Pinoy like me, the more reason to watch it.

Many thanks to our blogger friend Azrael Coladilla of AzraelColadilla.com for the movie passes. :)


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