The Next Best Thing

Independent films are gaining much more popularity nowadays. In fact, it's much cheaper to produce a movie like these ones. Indie films have low budget and shorter time of shooting and I mean the entire movie. What I like about it is that its substance is never compromised. Since it's not commercialized like the ones produced by Star Cinema or GMA Films, short films are more appealing to most theater and movie buffs. It's much more convincing because veteran actors prefer doing it. It always is a powerhouse of great actors.

Let's take for example, Yanggaw, a horror film written and directed by Negrenses' pride Richard Somes. I happened to see the movie and it brought me shivers while watching it. It only proves that it does not require expensive CGI effects to make convincing scenes.

Yanggaw, produced by Cinema One Originals, scores high because of its great cast - Ronnie Lazaro and Joel Torre. Cheers to both of them!

The plot is well written. It will take you to a far-flung province of Negros. Junior (Ronnie Lazaro) is a patriarch of a family living in a small farming community. One day his daughter Amor comes home with a mysterious sickness. She becomes weaker and weaker as days go by and the whole family has no choice but to consult his daughter's case with a local healer healer. Junior and his wife learn that his daughter has been infected by a malevolent spirit. Little did they know that she is slowly turning into an aswang. A very typical Negrense father at that, the local authorities, headed by Joel Torre, getting closer to the truth, Junior seeks to save his daughter from this curse, or failing that, to protect her at all costs. That starts the conflict between Joel Torre and Ronnie Lazaro. And by all means, Junior has to protect her daughter even if it would cost his neighbors lives. The limitations in production do hurt at times. There’s a somewhat lacking in the death scene near the end of the film that just never manages to be convincing, though they do established their point across.

"Yanggaw is easily one of my favorite films; getting a fresh take on Negrense local myths."

Indie films are definitely the next best thing.