Pagpag: Nine Lives (2013)

You won't be disappointed!

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Don't Believe the Hype

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Jump scare bullshit, trying to remake the success of Feng Shui and Sukob which are for me, the best Filipino horror films of this generation. They don't care about how the film was made. What they only care about is to grab money from the audience. Horrible use of CGI, they should stuck up using practical effects like Feng Shui, bad acting is bad, mainstream type of stupid characters, conclusion, this is one of the worst Filipino film of all time.. Pagpag, don't watch it, Katniel should only do romantic movies, don't go to horror film, it's an insult for us horror fanatics. . I'm a Kapamilya but I want a change from Star Cinema, just support movies of Erik Mati (like On the Job and Honor Thy Father) and Jerrold Tarog most recently Heneral Luna.

"Pagpag" is the horror movie offering in the 2013 Metro Manila Filmfest. Being the Pinoy horror film fan that I am, even if it is already the second week, I still had to catch this one."Pagpag" is the Filipino custom of dropping by another place first before going home after visiting a wake. This was done so that you will not bring the spirit of the dead home. Leni (Kathryn Bernardo) manages the Heavenly Touch Funeral Parlor which she had inherited from her parents. One day, she was asked by Lucy (Shaina Magdayao) to arrange the wake of her recently-departed husband Roman (Paulo Avelino). Cedric (Daniel Padilla) is a spoiled rich kid who was out on a drive with his friends, who almost runs Leni down when he lost control of his car. While waiting for the tow truck, they all wait inside the room where Roman's wake was.Of course, these young people do not make "pagpag" before they went home, so one by one, people begin to die. As the death count reaches seven, Daniel and Leni have to figure out how to stop the curse before it reaches them as the last two souls required to enable to raise a person from the dead back to life.Admittedly the way this film was told, it reminded me too much of "Feng Shui." At the wake, each one violates some superstition about behavior in a wake (no crying over the coffin, no wiping the coffin, no taking out food from the wake, no looking at mirrors, etc...). Then they would die in a most bizarre manner related to the faux pas they committed.Since the leads of this film are the leading young teen stars in local show business, the target audience will be teenagers, hence the terror factor is not too high. In fact this film was even quite funny at times. However, it does not mean that it does not deliver the creeps and the jumps. It surely did!Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo were charming together, and knew how to play for their fan base with their "kilig" scenes. Matet de Leon (as Ate Eva who knew the secret of Roman and Lucy) and Janus del Prado (as Leni's drunkard Tiyo Dencio) stand out in their supporting roles. Clarence Delgado was very cute as Leni's adopted brother Macmac.Of course, there were some noted lapses in small details or annoying advertising for Kakao Talk, but these can be ignored. Overall, I thought this was a very well-made horror flick, with above-average (by Philippine standards) special effects when it came to the gruesome death scenes and ghostly apparitions. Director Frasco Mortiz does well to balance the horror and the comedy elements into one entertaining film.

When we were in a long line in "Pagpag : Siyam na Buhay" I was very excited, judging from the positive comments online, I thought this would be a good shot. But the movie had many flaws too, like the advertisement for Kakao Talk. Well that was one small flaw. But what really struck me most is the similarity of Pagpag with Chito Rono's horror flick The Healing, like the order of deaths in the movie, the solution to stop the curse from continuing and the demonic spirit inside the antagonist. But the things that I liked in the movie is that the visual effects are really perfect, the performances of Paulo Avelino, Shaina Magdayao, Matet de Leon, but the thing that bothers me is the performance of Kathryn and Daniel, sometimes they try to bring back Chichay and Joaquin from G2B, but at the near end of the film, Kathryn and Daniel's performance improves from 25% to 85% and of course i wouldn't forget the performance of Janus del Prado, he was funny and serious at some points, which made him deserve the nomination for Best Supporting Actor. And another thing that I liked is the brutality of the deaths of the gang, from an eye- gouging, impaling, car accidents, stabbing. Mr. Frasco Mortiz is not afraid to push to the limits the gore and horror in this film, he just keeps on pushing and pushing until he cannot do anymore. This film is almost perfect and could've won Best Picture, if Shake Rattle and Roll was the longest-running-film franchise in the Philippines, Pagpag: Siyam na Buhay is The biggest horror film in the history of MMFF! Breathtaking and spectacular. Very suitable to be called as a Pinoy-Hollywood Film, keeps ancient pamahiins alive. MUST Watch for everyone.

As I watched this movie yesterday(Dec.25th,2013) with some of my friends, I can say that it is really worth watching! The story is simply amazing having this different Filipino superstitious beliefs! The actors are all good with their acting. Also the twists and turn of events were absolutely well done! And I can say that, the ending really also took me at the edge of my seat! I enjoyed how the story become connected with the different aspects in the movie. Scenes are beautifully captivating. Although, it has its comedy parts which I also liked in the movie. Pagpag (siyam na buhay) has its own uniqueness that I think made it more different to other type of same genre. The killing scenes were actually well done and directed! I can say that this Philippine horror movie had evolved in becoming a Hollywood type of horror movie! It is rated PG so to those fan of horror movies, this is one horror movie I recommend you to watch!! It is a great film I can say!