Shake, Rattle and Roll 12: Movie Review

Interesting trivia about the Shake, Rattle & Roll movie series is that after the 6th installment 1997, it took an 8 year hiatus and came back again in 2005. Ever since then, producers have been bringing in a Shake, Rattle and Roll movie every year as an entry in the Metro Manila Film Festival. It is becoming more and more difficult to scare audiences at this day and age but despite this, the long-fabled series is trying hard to make a dent on modern audiences - most would say they are having a hard time. This year brings the 12th installment from the series featuring three episodes as usual: Mamanyika, Isla and Punerarya. Read on to find out what we think about it after the jump.

In Mamanyika, a young girl finds a dirty doll in a graveyard when she (Shaina Magdayao) and her sister visits their dead mother (Jackie Lou-Blanco) in the cemetery. The girl calls the doll her new Mama and delights on its ability to speak to her. The elder sister finds out that the doll is possessed by an evil spirit and must do everything she can to get rid of it. In Isla, three friends goes to a secluded island for a vacation. They don't know that the island is a place full of “engkanto”. The engkanto has taken an interest on one of the visitors (Andi Eigenmann) so they must do all they can to protect her before she is taken to the engkanto’s kingdom forever. The last episode is entitled Punerarya. A tutor (Carla Abellana) had just started teaching two children living at a funeral parlor. She is to abide by the weird rules set by the children's father (Sid Lucero). Out of curiosity, she stumbles upon a chilling site. The residents of the funeral parlor can no longer let her escape because she just knows way too much.

The moment the Shake, Rattle & Roll series came back in 2005, audiences just had one feedback about it: it just is not as scary as it used to and this is the exact same thing we can say with this year’s offering. The stories certainly lacked originality, particularly the episode Mamanyika. We have seen a hundred films with dolls as killers so there is nothing new there. The second episode, Isla, showcased a story whose version we have seen and heard so many times too. We couldn’t help but feel frustrated on why they had to use the “Engkanto” story again. It also was the weakest of the bunch - not feeling scary or suspenseful at all. The last episode, Punerarya, was the best and the most original (seeing a trend here Regal films?). It was thrilling, interesting and had a surprising twist in the end. Props to Carla Abellana who was very convincing. Too bad, we had to wade through a full hour of so-so material before being able to see an effective episode. For this film, it was just a little too late. We hope that next year’s Shake, Rattle & Roll (if there is going to be one) will be composed of three, money-worthy episodes - not just a third of it.

Rating: 2 reels





Why you should watch it:
- if it weren’t for the last episode, this movie would have officially bombed
- very good acting from Carla Abellana. Very good directing from Jerrold Tarog too

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- the first episode was the most unoriginal episode ever, and the second was just totally unnecessary
- if you’ve grown tired of movies from this series, you can try the other MMFF horror offering