Feng Shui

this is a very popular film locally here in the philippines but i think it’s a little underrated when people think of asian horror films. the plot is original and creative—think of david fincher’s seven but instead of a serial killer whose MO is the catholic seven deadly sins, it’s an unstoppable supernatural force whose kills are related to the chinese zodiac. lots of scenes reminded me of dario argento’s suspiria, with play on lighting and color—making this a filipino horror film with a distinct visual style. in a way it’s also a cultural zeitgeist, focusing on a filipino family in the early 2000’s when everyone is obsessed with actual feng shui and chinese horoscope and the middle class are moving into townhouses in the metro to try their luck. it’s also a testament to the movie’s impact when filipino millennials and gen z’s grew up being scared shitless of looking into the bagua’s mirror, the same way final destination 2 scared a generation of highway accidents. my only gripe with this is the ending scene, i think it would’ve been more tragic and emotionally impactful if they switched it up and had joy grieve over those major deaths before the final scare. i think the director learned the lesson and applied this in his next film, another great movie (and very underrated in the asian horror genre) called sukob.