"Kuwaresma" tries to balance family drama with a heavy dose of horror. It's a familiar topic and feels much like the first season of the television show "American Horror Story" down to the house with a horrific secret. Unfortunately, the film falters with a disappointing narrative that lacked originality or even surprises.
When his twin sister suddenly dies mysteriously, college student Luis (Kent Gonzales) returns to his family home in Baguio. As soon as he arrives, he is haunted by the ghost of his sister paving the way to unearth deep-seated family secrets long forgotten.
"Kuwaresma" is a film which tries to do two major things at the same time becoming a master of none. But if we could choose it's stronger points, it would be its cinematography and Erik Matti's talent to eke out that foreboding sense of dread from scene to scene. If we could base the film alone on visuals, "Kuwaresma" would take top honors. But the biggest issues for the film isn't its horror per se but more on it's narrative and performance of its cast. The narrative is a mess. It's jampacked with mysteries but pretty much predictable. It also takes its sweet time to do its revelations that by the time they are unveiled, most fall flat. The acting was a mixed bag. John Arcilla is deviously awesome but limited by the film's narrative. Sharon Cuneta had a bad outing. Kent Gonzales was good but not memorable. Overall, "Kuwaresma" just falls flat under its weight. While there are spooks here, those are not enough to make this worth a watch.
Rating: 2 and a half reels
Why you should watch it:
- great atmosphere from its outstanding visuals
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- the narrative falls flat
- the acting was a mixed bag
Why you should watch it:
- great atmosphere from its outstanding visuals
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- the narrative falls flat
- the acting was a mixed bag
You can catch "Kuwaresma" on Netflix right now.
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