FINALLY.... AND THE FIRST!!!!

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After months and months and months of waiting for this film to land in our shores, and days and days and days of hopeless anticipation due to its delayed play date. Finally, the film that I've been waiting since last year has finally reached its motherland. Indeed, the first Hollywood remake of a Pinoy Blockbuster is truly worth the wait! The Echo totally breaks the curse of Hollywood's Pile of Asian Horror Remake Drecks. I'm so proud to say ! Mabuhay kayo Yam Laranas and Iza Calzado!

FILM SYNOPSIS: Bobby is freshly released from prison after serving some years for killing a man who was trying to rape his girlfriend. He is looking to put together a new living. His old links have either moved away or won’t return his calls, his girl has moved along with her life without him, he is jobless, the only house available to him is the shabby apartment left empty when Bobby’s mother died alone and horrified of invisible voices while Bobby was in jail. Regardless of being frequently delimited by the din and buzz of New York City, Bobby is lonely and alone.



This remake is quiet different from the original film “Sigaw”. The astonishing “door twist” in the Pinoy film is probably one of the biggest plus in that movie. Surprisingly, in this Hollywood remake the twist is missing but I find it cool though. The supernatural twist however is still here and believe me it scares me more! The new premise makes sense to me. I think it is nifty to have an ex-convict playing the lead. Yam Laranas adds a lot of surprising elements in his second echo. For me this remake is scarier than the original. Some scares they put here are new and those scenes really create echoes inside the movie theater. The film right from outset and to its last scratch has this eerie feeling and you can still feel it once you leave cinema. You can really see Yam's touch all over the film. His camera movements are palpable but his magic when it comes to photography is quiet truant. I wish he was the cinematographer too. But still the visuals are still amazing! Oh God what a talented auteur you are Mr. Laranas!!!! I can't wait for his new project this month!



What I really love about The Echo is its spooky setting. Gosh, I just couldn't live in that apartment. It also looks believable that the story happens in New York even if they filmed this entirely in Toronto. They have pictured it perfectly. This film does a magnificent job in building sinister atmosphere. I salute the sound department on that. The stirring echoes across the walls makes me cringe. The whispers makes me shiver. The disturbing issue here really makes me wanna cry. I think that domestic violence is more terrorizing than the actual ghosts we see. We've been seeing a lot of crawling zombies in recent Asian Horror Remakes, don't you worry we won't see those over-the-top funny creatures from hell with Mena pearl cream all over their grisly face. The ghosts here will scare the shit out of you.



Surprisingly, Jesse Bradford is the perfect choice to play Richard Guttierez's original role. He owns this film. This is his film and he looks hot too! I remember reading that Yam asked Bradford to work out and his sexiness is truly scorching on the big screen. Bradford looks scared all the time. He does a marvelous job as Bobby just by looking in his eyes. I'm ambivalent on Amelia Warner. She is a deadringer for Keira Knightley but her acting is an enigma. Carlos Leon manages to steal a scene frankly. Guess who shines so effulgent? Our very own Iza Calzado who has a minor role in this film proves that she can also be a Hollywood Actress! Great job Iza!!! Honestly, I cried watching your painful scene. I shed tears because I was so happy to see you on the limelight. You owned that particular scene and because of you the earth stopped suddenly on me. Hands down to you Iza!!!



The Echo is a very good film. It is a stunning horror film. It is a moving drama film. It is a powerful Hollywood remake of a Pinoy film! Yam Laranas' effort works!!! Congratulations man! Unfortunately, this is going straight to DVD in the US but I don't care at all. They can still watch this nonetheless in their comfy couch. I believe that the pirates are also celebrating right now. Please don't buy the bootleg DVD because the experience inside the dark cinema is truly “once in a lifetime”. Yeah, I can still hear the “echo” right now. It's frightfully scary!