What is the first thing you think of when you hear the words “Filipino horror?” Most of us would think of mythological creatures like tikbalang or aswang, or supernatural phenomena like ghosts or santelmo. Imagine my surprise when a local horror film dared to be different.
P77 is the latest film by GMA Pictures, starring Barbie Forteza in her first lead role in a horror film. The story follows Luna (Forteza), a cruise ship chambermaid who quits her job to attend to her sick brother, Jonas (Euwenn Mikael). As she returns home, she discovers that her mother (Rosanna) has gone missing and her brother’s condition is getting progressively worse. To help provide for her family, Luna begins working as a cleaning lady in a condo unit, but soon discovers that Penthouse 77 is not what it seems.
What secrets does the penthouse hide? Read our High Five review to find out. Spoilers ahead.
Editing
Still from GMA Pictures
The film’s premise seems simple enough, but its unique factor is in the way the story is told. Visions appear that you do not have the context for, making for an interesting narrative experience that throws you in for a loop. Forteza describes the film as an “alternative narrative horror,” and it shows with how the film frames its events from the perspective of an unreliable narrator.
At one point, the film makes use of cellphone videos to tell a sequence of events happening at the cruise ship where Luna works at. It also makes successful use of fast subliminal cutaways to convey the mania and confusion experienced by characters, as well as delayed shot/countershot sequences that milk a terrifying moment for all its worth. And while the editing choices may be hit or miss, no one can accuse the filmmakers for not swinging for the fences.
Cinematography and Set Design
Still from GMA Pictures
Local horror films are usually shot in desolate buildings, colonial-era houses, or solitary barrios. In contrast, this film feels almost claustrophobic, as most of it is set in a sole penthouse unit. The decadent and busy interiors make you feel small and trapped, which the set design takes advantage of by having lots of creepy corners and set pieces where anything might be hiding. The film is also fraught with beautiful and eerie shots that capture Luna’s lost psyche as she is thrust into this mysterious world where everything feels wrong.
Scares Galore
Still from GMA Pictures
Jump scares—you know them, you hate them, yet P77 makes them work. Even when you’re expecting them, the way that jump scares are set up and paid off will be sure to rattle your bones. As the film goes on however, the scares turn more visceral—unexplained dreams within dreams, ghosts of people walking among the living, being trapped in a realm outside of reality. The film resolves most of the scares by the end, but you’re still left wondering what’s real and what’s not.
Themes
Still from GMA Pictures
While P77 is definitely a horror film in format, it’s foremost a psychological film in content. It may seem like a fragmented mishmash of supernatural horror, historical horror and cult horror at first, but it all comes together in the end to support the film’s main theses: that forgiving yourself can be the hardest thing to do, but it is also the most necessary thing to do to move forward.
Not a lot of horror films dwell on themes of forgiveness and self-affirmation, but P77 manages to bring the scares while delivering a satisfying ending that makes sense for the story, combining heart-stopping scenes of terror and heart-wrenching moments of grief and clarity.
Acting
Still from GMA Pictures
The real strength of P77 lies in its cast. The chemistry between Barbie Forteza and Euwenn Mikael as siblings Luna and Jonas, the strangeness around Jackie Lou Blanco and Carlitos Siguion-Reyna as the Cambions, the unearthly air and charisma of JC Alcantara as Theo, and the believability of Rosanna Roces and Gina Pareño as Luna’s mom and grandmother, makes for a potent combination of talents that bring the film up another level.
Despite the ending stretch of the movie going on a scene or two longer than what’s ideal, it also managed to showcase Forteza’s strength as a leading lady, tapping into her character’s trauma and fears, channeling denial and hysteria into every fiber of her being, and pouring it out for everyone to feel. It’s an amazing horror debut that will leave viewers eager to see what’s next in store for the rising star of Barbie Forteza.
P77 takes an undeniably interesting approach to convey a simple theme. While technical aspects can still be polished, the overall product feels raw and earnest—a feat that not a lot of horror films can boast of. The film makes good on its promise to bring the scares, all the while bringing up relevant topics that everyone can relate to, with an all-star cast to boot. SEA Wave give P77 3 out of 5 waves.
What did you think about P77? Let us know in the comments!