Rhed Bustamante (left), Jerry O’Hara, and Phoebe Walker (at the back) in “Seklusyon.”-
(We are running this guide to help moviegoers plan their holiday cinema tour. The 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival runs from Dec.25, 2016 to Jan.3, 2017.)
Directed by Erik Matti; stars Neil Ryan Sese, Phoebe Walker, Rhed Bustamante, Dominic Roque, Ronnie Alonte, John Vic de Guzman, JR Versales, Lou Veloso
A few years after the Pacific war and on the eve of their ordination, four deacons stay in a seclusion house, “a holy fortress,” for a week—to test their determination to become full-fledged priests. Their will, morals and sanity are tested by a mystical child and her mysterious caretaker, a nun with a tragic past.
The horror drama had its world premiere in the Hidden Dragons section of the International Film Festival and Awards Macau recently.
The Hollywood Reporter’s Clarence Tsui says this “furious fable… packs powerful political punches beneath its swathes of gloom and gore.”
Screen Anarchy describes it as a “satanic thriller”—the perfect bonding flick for the entire barkada this Christmas. Says the site’s founder and editor Todd Brown: “Matti’s occasional forays into serious-minded horror… have proven very effective.”
Screen Anarchy’s Armando dela Cruz notes: “Matti is no stranger to the insufferably atmospheric. In his deft hands, ‘Pa-siyam’ (2004) proved to be an unflinching ghost story about a dysfunctional family.” Dela Cruz points out that “Seklusyon” “recalls… Matti’s short film ‘Vesuvius’ (2012), in which a young man sees demons.” —BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR.