Sunod: MMFF Movie Review

"Sunod" works not because it reinvents the genre, in fact it's formulaic and predictable, but it will grab audiences with its strong visuals, acting, and lore. It shows that proper writing and pacing trumps scares any time of day.

Olivia (Carmina Villaroel) is a single mother who is forced to become a call center agent to afford the medical bills of her sick daughter Anelle (Krystel Bimner). On the job, she experiences a series of unexplained encounters with a young girl named Nerisa. When she escorts Nerisa out of their office building one night, her daughter is cured - but at what cost?

Let's get straight to the point. "Sunod" will be an all too familiar affair. It will be predictable and the scares few and far between. As a horror film, it's just average. But what really made it stand out were its perfect pacing, outstanding acting, and great visuals. While the film's narrative delivers nothing new, the pacing and how its elements were revealed made the material more interesting than it should have been. The way how the narrative unfolded had our attention from start to finish. The last few scenes in particular completely caught us off guard and had us guessing who the actual villains were. On the acting front, Carmina Villaroel was perfect for the role as a grieving and struggling mother desperate to find a job to support her sick daughter. Not only does she look the part but her performance had that maturity that only a veteran actress like her could pull off. Krystel Bimner also had a solid performance seamlessly shifting her demeanor from innocent to evil in a snap. Finally, the biggest surprise for us was the strong visuals and effects of "Sunod". This was simply world-class. The visuals were crisp and clear even with its very dark tone. The way the camera played with shadows ramped up the fear factor even if they were fewer than we wanted it to be. Overall, "Sunod" may hack average scares but everything else was simply magnificent. 

Rating: 4 reels





Why you should watch it:
- solid story that has its own lore to entice
- solid acting

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- formulaic and predictable
- the scares are few and far between