so i went and watched kampon, a filipino film released last year at the metro manila film festival but had a wider release thru netflix just recently. i went in with this blind; really blind. i didn't know what the movie is all about going in and boy, was i surprised. this horror film felt fresh for me. as a filipino, we don't really have much horror films to offer (just one or two a year if we're lucky enough) but when we do have them, they are either hits or misses and no in betweens. with this, i get why people would not like it much. it's weird. but that's what i liked about it the most.
i randomly clicked play on this movie without really knowing anything about it. the opening scene really intrigued me with their attention to detail. it's also spooky, to say the least. some might say the pacing is slow but i think the pacing is appropriate with what the film should be. i was surprised with that dream sequence slash flashback of derek ramsey's character with the (SPOILER ALERT) whole 'monster' thing or whatever it is, the movie didn't really elaborate on it and i find it as such an artistic choice not to explain too much. the violence in this movie is OUTSTANDING coming from a filipino film. the torso of loretta might come out as silly for some (even me at some point) but i was really shocked by seeing it that it didn't matter for me that much. i go in watching filipino horror films with on the ground low expectations and them showing loretta's literal chopped up torso without its head and arms and legs came out as both shocking and impressive, i really loved it. the kills in this film is also great, they went OVER with the brutality.
again, what i liked about the film is its mystery element. we as the viewers get to feel the character of derek not knowing anything about what's really happening. though the movie left us with more questions than answers, i respect the decision to leave it at that. if the filmmakers by any chance can see this post and read this though, can you please tell the whole story with the creature that killed the police officers and the thing with loretta? i would really appreciate the information but leaving the film not answering these questions is really such a great decision, movie-wise.
this film (no disrespect intended though) joins haunted mansion (more on haunted mansion in future posts, this is my favorite filipino horror film and it deserves a dedicated post for it) as the films i feel like they were intended to be a segment in the shake, rattle, and roll franchise. they just have that spooky, scary, mystery element that i really want to see in the srr franchise and i feel like they really do fit the franchise's theme.
yeah, if you can't tell by now i really enjoyed the film. i really wish the filipino film industry gets to release more great horror films. just the other day i got bored and wanna watch filipino slasher films but there aren't many; wikipedia only have fewer than ten, even. not just the slasher genre though, the horror genre in general. there are only few of them around and i really wish there will be more greater ones in the future. kampon is a proof that the filipino horror genre is not dead and can still be really creative.