The ROAD Review
by Reymundo Salao
THE ROAD is a story about the ghostly hauntings in an abandoned road, and the disturbing killings that occurred there 10 to 20 years ago. This film is directed by one of the very few really good directors working on mainstream Philippine cinema: Yam Laranas. Laranas has been known for “Sigaw” which was later given a Hollywood remake, directed by Laranas himself, entitled “The Echo”.
THE ROAD is top quality, must-watch for those who love horror movies. It’s a solid combination of a well-made storyline and script, refreshingly dynamic concepts, and topnotch direction. As expected from a Yam Laranas movie, you get magnificent cinematography, even for Hollywood standards. This movie has plenty of simply astounding visuals, we can clearly see Laranas’ mastery of Light, Shadow, and Color, as if he could easily capture and manipulate life with a camera. The story and the direction create a movie that can be added in to what may be one of the finest ghost story movies ever made.
Some of you may notice that watching the movie feels like watching a well-made “Hollywood” horror movie, primarily because it does not follow the overused clichés and the corniness of the typical mainstream tagalong movie. The Road’s villains and monsters are not easily revealed by cheap camera tricks and weak direction. Had it been a typical mainstream tagalog movie, it would have exaggerated the movie’s villains, and would have probably made the movie into a horror ride for pre-school children, just like this one popular Tagalog horror flick (fine, it’s actually Villa Estrella) that made its climax look like a sequence from X-Men or Mask Rider Black.
The set designs also played a major role. The story takes place in three timeline settings; 2008, 1998, and 1988. And they really did an impressive effort in making the set details match uniformly in such an almost professionally flawless manner. The cast did a fine job as well.
The Road is genuinely eerie; a movie that really creeps into those tiny strands of hair at the back of your neck. It’s refreshing to watch a Tagalog horror flick that really lets you step back and use your head in the little guessing games you would do along the way. THE ROAD is thumbs up excellent, I highly recommend it to fans of horror, mystery, and suspense movies. Not many Tagalog horror movies are usually this good these days; I suggest you never miss this one.
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