The Road (2012)

Memorable, crazy movie

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

I didn't realise it was directed by the guy who directed Sigaw until after I'd seen it. (Sigaw is one of my faves). This director doesn't rely on cliché techniques such as jump scares, fake-outs, shadows jumping across doorways and all that other stuff we're so used to. He simply puts together a carefully crafted story and tells it beautifully with interesting twists and an obvious love for his craft. This is not a movie for the slash & giggle crowd or the jump-addicts. It's a psychological suspense drama that will - if you let it - draw you in and play with your emotions (and this coming from a chick who avoids dramas like the plague!!) while surrounding you with creepy suspense. It's actually a very sad tale for all concerned and isn't the kind of horror movie you can just watch for the "fun of it" and dismiss afterwards as just another horror flick. It's a tragic tale of dysfunction with a lot of ghosts and ghoulish moments.Some of the acting may have been a bit dodgy (particularly from some of the youngsters in the first act & one of the 'grieving' mothers unfortunately was laughably bad), but other more experienced actors were extremely good. All of the main characters in the third "act" were outstanding & I was deeply effected by their performances. The camera work was often brilliant and the director uses a range of techniques, lighting, camera shots, emphasis, background objects, etc to create the right mood or effect. For example, in one early scene he jumps between ordinary cameras and a shaky handy-cam throughout a particularly harrowing sequence. For a minute there I was afraid he was going to turn the whole movie into one of those unbearable "trendy" flicks where it's all shaky hand-held camera work and half the time the actors are barely on screen and you end up feeling violently ill from motion-sickness. My had was actually reaching for the eject button! But mercifully he didn't succumb to that. Just like he didn't give in to conventions anywhere in the movie. He was just using that convention for that particular scene to enhance the conveyance of terror felt by the characters. This is how that camera technique should ALWAYS be used (if at all!!). The movie's score was perfect and the settings used were excellent and put to good effect. One or two head-scratching plot holes perhaps - or it could be a cultural gap issue. I'm not sure. In any case, it doesn't detract from my overall view that this is a movie well worth seeing.I am not a fan of slow, overly clever, "arty" movies (eg The Devil's Backbone left me completely unimpressed - I rate this flick as better) and this movie, although it's not a fast past action-oriented one by any means, was well paced and grounded. It never stepped over the line into pretentious like TDB and similar movies.Watch this if you like mystery, suspense, thrillers and don't need to have a scream a minute thrill-ride every time you watch a movie. Don't watch it if you can only enjoy a horror flick if it's a screaming pointless gore-fest with no real story to it (or if you can't stand subtitles!! LOL).

An off-beat and gripping Filipino ghost tale.It is essentially a sort of Pinoy Norman Bates story told in retrospective spanning two decades, with heavy amount of supernatural and sufficiently creepy elements thrown in for a good reason.The yarn is simply structured and easy to follow. The chain of events revolving around the stark consequences of abused childhood experience is pretty dark and disturbing. Overall, in my opinion, the film has balanced mix of mystery, horror, drama ... and comedy.Comedy? Well, I must be kidding, but I count one particular instance, which may be regarded, to certain extent, as a kind of comic relief in the midst of mostly depressive storyline: a redundant exposure of excessive puke masses ejected on the floor wasn't a fun part unless accompanied by the mother's self-mocking chant. Yum!The direction perhaps is too heavy-handed at times with superfluous horrific clichés methodically stuck on one another, and the conclusion is somewhat rushed and improbable. But hey, the horror genre is rarely and less than anything else associated with scientifically correct, 100% logical, polished, visually stunning and accomplished piece of art.Not bad at all.

THE ROAD was somewhat great in a mediocre way.The story was beyond compelling and interesting. Critics says that the movie is scary but I disagree. The movie wasn't scary, it was just creepy and mind-disturbing.The 3 parts of the movie, which is in backwards chronology, will keep you up in your seat. But to enjoy this movie, you have to be a keen observer about the details of the story.Some says that the movie was a big plot hole, but it's not.If you're filipino like me, you would relate to the story and not say that it's a plot hole. You just need to understand the movie more. There was no plot hole. Every question of the movie was answered in the end.It was scary though, for filipinos like me, because mostly everyday, these things happen to us (people get lost, get killed, they turn to ghost and stuff) because in Philippines, we do believe in this stuff and there are big chances for these things to happen to us because Philippines is one big ball of mischief and horror. the script and the acting were both mediocre and a little bit lousy, Overall, the movie was great, the story was well build, the cinematography was beyond amazing and the movie itself was in a powerful premise which was powerful enough to compel foreign viewers.I give this movie a decent 7 out of 10

As a Filipino, I was so excited to hear a movie from the Philippines getting a worldwide audience and being screened at North America. Seeing the trailer, my expectations are mixed. That's what most Filipino movies are most of the time. They tend to show stylish trailers which tend to leave audience curious, "Wow!", "Uh-ah..", " Will the whole film be as good as that?"I decided to watched it not because of all the hype but because I like Yam Laranas' previous work, "Sigaw" . Sad to say, it did not lived up to my expectations. The acting was horrible. All the shouting is pointless. Very typical on a Filipino horror film when teenage actors/actress are being cast. I could say that the acting of Barbie Forteza as Ella, is the most horrible. The ending, though presented with a twist is not commendable. Spoiler Alert!! How could Luis (played by Renz Valerio) suddenly become a policeman (played by TJ Trinidad)after 10 years? This was not properly established in the film. On the 1988 story arc, it was shown that his parents both died. It was not mentioned whether he was adopted or raised by a relative.In the 1998 story arc, Luis is depicted as a lonesome teenager who massacred Lara (played by Rhian Ramos) and Joy (played by Louise delos Reyes). In this story arc, the house became older and disorganized. It is implied that no one lives there except for Luis. This goes to show that Luis might not have gone to college to pursue a career as a policeman. And what's with the driving skills?The 3 story arcs are meant to be joined as branches. This is where the movie failed. Being a suspense movie, you should leave the audience guessing until the end. But there's no real suspense here. The burnt car where Lara was, is obvious in the 2008 story arc along with the founding of the heart pendant of Lara by the policeman Luis. It's obvious that it came from 1998 story arc. It is very visible being worn by Lara during her captivity. I don't know. Maybe Yam liked it that way. Maybe the 3 story arcs are not meant to surprise the audience in the end. So many holes to mention here one by one but if you are a big fan of visual delight, this movie is for you. The environment is very stylish. The view of the road is shot magnificently. The inclusion of butterflies as a background thing is also commendable. How many films do that?But if you are looking for a deeper storyline, this movie is not for your. If you want to get scared, this is not for you. I know when a movie gets scary. When I watch it with my nephew and he closes his eyes, I know it is scary. But this one, nah.. not a hand in his eyes this time...