Ang Pagsanib Kay Leah Dela Cruz (2017) movie review

Horror is one of the most popular genres here in the country, particularly when it comes to movies. So it's common that we get one or two horror flicks here in the country every year. This 2017, so far there hasn't been at least one horror movie from the country (I wanna say Jerrold Tarog's Bliss but it's more of a psycho-sexual thriller). But then, here comes this creepy possession movie from the creators of last year's Seklusyon. Finally, my thirst for horror was quenched.

Erik Matti (the genius behind Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles & Seklusyon) gives us another story of demonic possession, this time with director Katski Flores in her horror genre debut. The script, penned by Charlene Sawit-Esguerra with story by Matti follows a lady cop who moves into a small town gets drawn to a case that involves a girl that's possessed by an evil spirit. It stars Sarah Lahbati, Shy Carlos and Julian Trono.

The film opens with a sequence of a gloomy and empty dirt road in the province, with the shot taken from the back of a moving vehicle. Some creepy guy appears out of nowhere until the vehicle ran past him, only for this creep to appear again. This opening scene definitely sets the right tone for the rest of the film. The focus switches to Ruth Liwanag (in a surprising performance by Sarah Lahbati), a police officer who has just recently moved to a small town far from the city. With all those flashbacks she's having, it can be concluded that her character's definitely running away from something. Then, we are introduced to Leah Dela Cruz (Shy Carlos). With those swollen and puffy eyes and those blood-stained hands, there's clearly something wrong with her. Most especially after she climbs up the balcony and jumps off from the second floor of their house on a Sunday morning. Here, the story kicks off.

I always loved demonic possession movies, from the classics (The Exorcist) to the recent ones from Hollywood (The Conjuring and it's sequel). Whenever we watch possession movies, we always look forward to something. It's as if there's already a formula that we have memorized after seeing all those past movies. When we say possession movie, we expect seeing flying furnitures, body-twisting moments, and the inevitable exorcism scene in the finale. But despite being a possession movie (as you can read in the film's title), Katski Flores' Ang Pagsanib kay Leah Dela Cruz is something different. You won't see any of those aforementioned stuff in this movie. Instead, it offers you something else.

The film isn't your usual possession movie. Ang Pagsanib doesn't care about building up a climactic exorcism scene nor showing off the usual symptoms of a possessed victim (unnatural body movements, spinning heads, projectile vomiting anyone?). Instead, it focuses on digging deeper into the story behind the possession. It's story is like an onion being peeled layer over layer, mystery being unraveled on top of another. There's always a revelation after every scene. Secrets of every characters are revealed, giving us a much deeper look into their lives and how every single one of them contributed to what happened to Leah's character. This is no surprise since master storyteller Erik Matti is the one behind the story of the film. 

The film is also not the usual horror movie that we see these days. It's not the average scare flick that makes you jump out of your seat every ten minutes with loud noises and cheap scares (although I had one or two moments that really made me jumped). Instead, director Katski Flores is invested in building up the mystery behind Leah's possession. The film is overflowing with creepiness and dread from start to finish. From the dark palette of it's cinematography to the film's quiet moments, the film is very consistent with it's dark and gloomy tone. It evokes a feeling as if everyone's doomed from the beginning until the end and there's nothing we can do about it. But despite the depressing atmosphere, the film manages to get us hooked to it's story with it's intriguing mystery. The film is also unapologetic when it comes to violence and gore, making it truly nightmarish.

The film also boasts a great cast. Shy Carlos deserves praise for her portrayal of Leah Dela Cruz. Her character is probably the most draining role in the film. It needs an actress that can properly portray a sick and possessed girl without bordering on being over-the-top. And she manages to do that, especially in one scene (the one featured in the trailer of the film) where she's sitting on her bed and she's hearing voices in her head. She reminds me of Rhed Bustamante's performance in Seklusyon (2016). Julian Trono was also good as good as Gabriel, Leah's love interest. In the story, he builds a strong brotherly bond with Ruth's character, which became a crucial plot point in the film's climax. Julian has this innocent charm which perfectly fits his character, an honest yet flawed teenager. 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten's Ethan Salvador also had a cameo and he always steals the scene every time he's in it.  But the biggest revelation in this film was Sarah Lahbati. Her portrayal of a police officer going after demons is one of the most bad-ass Pinoy heroine in a movie for a long time. Aside from having a beautiful face, Sarah Lahbati proves in this film that she can act. I love it whenever she throw her lines with wit and punch. Unlike her past movies like the aswang thriller Liwanag sa Dilim, she definitely stood out in this film and I am looking forward to seeing her in more movies in the future.

All in all, Ang Pagsanib kay Leah Dela Cruz is one unique horror movie experience that rarely comes to Philippine cinemas. Katski Flores' film is one effective exercise of dread and thrills.

Rating: ✰✰✰✰ of 5

Ang Pagsani Kay Leah Dela Cruz (2017)

Starring Sarah Lahbati, Shy Carlos and Julian Trono, 

Directed by Katski Flores