Segunda Mano, sorry to break it isn’t a purely horror movie as some of you might expectd it to be. It’s more of a psycho-thriller movie masked within a horror plot.
THE PLOT
In the story, Ding Dong Dantes plays Ivan Galvez, a mentally disturbed lover turned killer after losing his wife (Angelica Panganiban) over another man. He soon meets Mabel Domingo (Kris Aquino), an owner of an antique shop, and soon starts a romantic affair. In one of their dates, a designer friend chances on Ivan over dinner leaving Mabel insecure. So she decides to reinvent herself and turns to her best friend played by Bangs Garcia, owner of a second hand bag retailer. Unknowingly, she purchases a red bag which used to belong to Ivan’s late wife. Add a little of mother-daughter drama scenes wth Helen Gamboa which all rooted from the untimely demise of Mabel’s lost sister which turns out to be Mariela, Ivan's late wife.The series of scenes then leads us into believing that Mariela was the one who haunts Kris and eventually kills other characters in the story. However, we then unravel in the near end that it was Ivan who does the killing and Mariela actually played as Kris’ advocate.
We see again the role of religion as a last resort when being haunted. I realized that these kinds of scenes only happen in Filipino movies. Haven’t seen anything like it in Japanese or American horror films.
The story itself had a good twist in the last twenty minutes. Although the idea that Kris and Angelica as sisters was a giveaway, the motive of the ghost was quite unexpected and wasn’t revealed in the near end. Finally, not another horror movie that was predictable from the very start.
SCREENPLAY, SPECIAL EFFECTS, AND COSTUME
The special effects and costume wasn’t that amusing, especially the rainfall that obviously pours down in a button press. The death of Kris’ sister was unconvincing as the tides seemed too small to wash away a girl. The “magical” apparition of Angelica, riding the sunken car as it was being towed upward from the lake didn’t work either. It was corny and not to mention, generic.
The shady lighting of the night scenes in the movie was effective in creating a “horror” atmosphere. The use of the horror elements such as the appearance of a cat under the table was very thrilling yet some of the parts looked like they had less than ideal timing for an added shock value. (e.g. the scene in the swimming pool when Ivan’s child was telling Kris that dinner was already prepared. Nakita agad yung bata sa likod nya bago magplay yung gulat sound effect)
Let me share with you one thing I’ve learned in class. That once someone gets hit in the head, the part in your brain which is responsible for vomiting will more likely be triggered first before falling unconscious. A thing that isn’t portrayed in most movies. Let this be a note to all directors to keep some realism going on. Although I doubt if a vomiting Kris Aquino would be good for screenplay.
Being a nursing student, I was surprised that in the movie, Kris knew how to manage a feverish child: giving a sponge bath and administering medication. Although it is never ideal to self-medicate, the thought of including “sponge bath” sounded very nursing to me. Lay people will more likely say, “punasan natin sya”. Kris didn’t do sponge bath the ideal way in the movie though, just saying.
CHARACTERS
Bangs Garcia was a scene stealer and a comic relief in the movie. I like the part when she was freaked out after seeing the ghost in her rearview mirror while she was driving in the middle of a highway. To her panic, she literally jumped out of the car and ran across the middle of the street. I was half- expecting that she would get hit by a speeding car as would most movies would portray but Direk Joyce knew how to play with her audience.
Ding Dong Dantes’ acting was exemplary. He deserves a Best Actor nomination for an excellent portrayal of a psycho. Heck, he acts like Robin Padilla in one scene, which actually worked, I think.
SUMMARY
This movie tells us that not all ghosts are there to rip the flesh out of you or scare you at wits end. That sometimes they are the ones who even try to help or protect us. Congratulations to the writer, Joel Mercado, for giving justice to the good spirits out there.
Overall, the movie has an unpredictable and fresh storyline, good acting, and satisfactory cinematography, screenplay, and special effects. However, I would really disagree with its classification as a horror movie. But yeah, it’s better than Dalaw in more ways than one.
