Movie Review: Jose Javier Reyes's "Spirit of the Glass 2: The Haunted" (2017)

A scene from "Spirit of the Glass 2: The Haunted" featuring it's cast.
Source: Spirit of the Glass 2 Facebook page

Spirit of the Glass is a 2004 Filipino horror movie directed by Jose Javier Reyes and starred Rica Peralejo. The film was released on October 13, 2004 and follows a group of young adults who are being haunted by ghosts after playing the Ouija board and opening a portal to the spirit world. Thirteen years later, Jose Javier Reyes returns for a sequel, entitled Spirit of the Glass 2: The Haunted. The movie, produced under Octoarts Films in association with T-Rex Entertainment, stars Cristine Reyes, Janine Gutierrez, Daniel Matsunaga, Benjamine Alves, Ashley Ortega, Enrico Cuenca, Maxine Medina with Teri Malvar, Janine Gutierrez, Dominic Roque, and Aaron Villaflor.

The movie follows the same story line of it's predecessor, featuring new characters and a different twist. Bea (Cristine Reyes), a lifestyle editor of a popular magazine, inherits some boxes containing old family stuff, one of which contains an antique Ouija board. Out of boredom, she and her friends, Lisette (Maxine Medina) an up-and-coming young actress, and Chelsea (Ashley Ortega) a sought-after model, and their respective boyfriends, Enzo, Jag, and Andre, played the game and unwittingly opened a portal to the spirit world. The spirits that they have summoned start harassing the three girls which forces them to connect with a blind medium (Teri Malvar) to help them in unraveling the mystery of a crime committed 50 years ago to end the haunting (hence, the title The Haunted, obviously).

To be honest, this film would have worked thirteen year ago when Filipino audiences weren't that picky when it comes to horror flicks. But watching this film this 2017, I can't help thinking that this sequel came a bit too late. I mean, as a sequel, they should have thought about making the film bigger and better (or at least, scarier) than the first movie. Sequels always comes with the responsibility of topping over or at the very least, meeting the expectations of viewers who have seen the original. Unfortunately, this film doesn't try anything new. The first problem I had was the story itself. A group of friends playing the ouija board unwittingly summoning spirits that soon stats haunting them? Sounds familiar? Because it is. There are dozens of horror movies that have used the same story line for the past couple of years. Some of them are far better than others. But this movie did not really stand out among them. When you recycle a used story line, you need to at least come up with something to make the film memorable. Sadly, this film doesn't even try. It's not even campy nor fun to make it entertaining. Then, there's that bad editing. And don't even let me start with all those fade-to-black transitions that anyone with a Windows Moviemaker in their computer can do with their home made videos. 

Screenshots from the trailer

There's also a big problem with the spirits haunting the characters in the story. They are not just scary at all. They look like people in dress-up and don't even look so ghostly at all. I'm not sure why the characters in the movie feel scared and always scream on top of their lungs whenever these ghosts pop up. The people in Halloween costumes during the film's special screening that I attended were way more creepier than the ghosts in this film. I don't really see any effort in making them scary.

Which leads to the next problem of the movie. There's no actual danger here. Because the ghosts doesn't even look scary, you don't feel like they are any threat at all to the characters. I thought these ghosts were angry and vengeful. But while watching the movie, I didn't even felt like there is any danger at all in the story. There is no turning point, no tension, no dread. The so-called climax of the film doesn't feel so climactic at all. I was even surprised that the film has already ended because I didn't noticed that it already reached it's conclusion. Sorry to say but I got bored during the climactic part of the film. I have great respect for director Jose Javier Reyes and the casts, but this horror film was supposed to be scary. But it wasn't.

The only good thing about the movie that got my attention was the brilliant performances of Teri Malvar as the blind psychic that helped the group and Janine Gutierrez who plays one of the vengeful ghosts in the story. They're the only reason why I'm giving this movie a star. I love the flashback scenes featuring Janine as they were the most interesting ones to watch. Teri is always a delight to watch on screen. The scene where they played the ouija board for the very first time was a bit fun and deserves a star too. Seeing Benjamin Alves getting dragged into a room by an unseen force put a smile on my face. But aside from all of this, there's nothing else that made an impact to me as a viewer and as a horror fan.





Again, this review is just based on my own opinion. So maybe, just maybe, other people would find the film scary or fun to watch. As for me, sorry but it's not just scary enough.
Rating: ✰✰ of 5






Spirit of the Glass 2: The Haunted (2017)
Directed by Jose Javier Reyes, starring Cristine Reyes, Janine Gutierrez, Daniel Matsunaga, Benjamine Alves, Ashley Ortega, Enrico Cuenca, Maxine Medina with Teri Malvar, Janine Gutierrez, Dominic Roque, and Aaron Villaflor.

Upcoming Local Horror Movies to Watch Out This 2017!

Halloween is fast approaching. Everyone is already excited not only for the season, but for these upcoming horror movies that are proudly Pinoy.

A scene from "Haunted Forest"

The Filipino horror genre has been very lively this 2017. After the success of last year's MMFF where Erik Matti's critically acclaimed horror pic Seklusyon scared audiences and became a box-office hit, other titles soon followed. Dan Villegas, known for his romance films, tried the genre with Ilawod, starring  Iza Calzado, Ian Veneracion, Xyriel Manabat, Harvey Bautista, and Therese Malvar. Pedring A. Lopez gave us Darkroom, a found-footage film about a group of teenagers who tried to document their ghost hunting adventure and starred Ella Cruz, Bret Jackson and AJ Muhlach. Jerrold Tarog unleashed his award-winning (and highly controversial) pyscho-sexual thriller Bliss which starred  Iza Calzado, Ian Veneracion, TJ Trinidad, Michael de Mesa, and Adrienne Vergara. The said film earned Calzado the Yakushi Pearl Award for Best Performer at the 12th Osaka Asian Film Festival. After two years in development hell, the slasher horror Bloody Crayons, adapted from a hit Wattpad novel by Josh Argonza and directed by Topel Lee, was finally released. It featured an ensemble cast led by  Jane Oineza, Janella Salvador, Elmo Magalona, Maris Racal, Sofia Andres, Diego Loyzaga, Yves Flores,Empoy Marquez, and Ronnie Alonte. During the first edition of the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino which ran from August 16 to 22, 2017, we were able to catch Prime Cruz' romance gore film Ang Manananggal sa Unit 23B which starred Ryza Cenon, and Martin del Rosario together with Sherad Anthony Sanchez' found-footage horror film Salvage, featuring Jessy Mendiola and JC de Vera. And just recently, Prime Cruz gave us a taste of his color horror flick, The Debutantes featuring Sue Ramirez and Mile Ocampo in the lead roles.

Now that we are already on the fourth and final quarter of the year, it looks like the Filipino horror genre isn't stopping any time soon. Here are the four upcoming local horror films to watch out for before 2017 ends. 

Spirit of the Glass 2 : The Haunted. A sequel to the 2004 horror film that starred Rica Peralejo, it's written and directed by Jose Javier Reyes and produced by OctoArts Films and T-Rex Entertainment. It features an ensemble cast led by Cristine Reyes, Daniel Matsunaga, Maxine Medina, Benjamin Alves, Ashley Ortega, Enrico Cuenca, Janine Gutierrez, Dominic Roque, and Aaron Villaflor. It follows a group of friends who unwittingly opened a door to the spirit world after playing a Ouija board. It is slated for a November 1 release.

Screenshots from the trailer

The Ghost Bride. Chito S. Rono (Feng Shui, Sukod, The Healing) is back with another Star Cinema horror pic. This time, it features Kim Chui in the title role as Mayen, a girl who is offered to become a ghost bride. The film, which plays with the Chinese tradition of Ghost marriage, is her third film with director Rono. The film also stars Matteo Guidicelli, Alice Dixson and Christian Bables, and is also scheduled to be released this November 1.

Nay. After his successful coming-of-age barkada film Bar Boys, Kip Oebanda gives us the gore film Nay. Starring Enchong Dee, Sylvia Sanchez and Jameson Blake, it is an official entry to the 2017 Cinema One Originals this November. Nay follows Martin, a rich, sheltered youth who gets transformed into an aswang by his yaya, Nay Luisa. She teaches him how to hunt the poor and the weak for food, in Manila, a city that consistently dehumanizes and neglects the marginalized.

Haunted Forest. Jane Oineza stars in this teen horror flick from Regal Films as a young girl being targeted by a malevolent entity from the woods. The film, helmed by Ian Lorenos, also stars Jameson Blake, Maris Racal and Jon Lucas with Joey Marquez and Raymart Santiago, and is rumored to be Regal Film's entry to the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival.

Which one are you most excited about? Share us your thoughts and leave your comments down below!