In the opening credits, when the 3D text of the movie title "The Healing" appeared and positioned itself against the mountains like the HOLLYWOOD billboard sign in L.A., you know that you're in for an interesting experience.
Seth (Vilma Santos) brings her stroke victim father (Robert Arevalo) to Manang Elsa (Daria Ramirez), a faith healer in an unspecified province. The following day, Seth’s father is already miraculously up and running, making up for lost time by urgently living vicariously, taking in young girls for lovers and creating a Facebook account. News of the miracle healing has quickly spread in Seth's neighborhood, and soon her ill neighbors and close friends (Pokwang, Ces Quesada, Ynez Veneracion, Cris Villanueva, Janice de Belen) are begging to be brought to Manang Elsa, including the seriously ill stepdaughter of her ex-husband Kookie (Kim Chiu). Same thing happens, they all get miraculously well. But their cure, unfortunately, did not come free after all - each one healed will pay a horrific price…and the "Star for All Seasons" has the key to save them.
Split into two versions (PG-13 and R-18/The Director's Cut) so that the general public can all enjoy the movie, The Healing is horror-suspense laced with comedy. Director Chito Roño (Feng Shui; Sukob) and writer Roy Iglesias opted for a "fun" suspense flick, concocting a fast-paced storytelling meant to make scaredy cats jump from their cinema seats when they're not laughing at Pokwang or Seth's wild father. By the way, the Director's Cut, if you're curious, offers a right boob exposure and lots of bloody slayings, the graphic, gruesome violence not appropriate for the faint-hearted.
So, what of the narrative?
The plot itself is plain and simple enough to bring about its core entertainment: the string of horror and suspense that befalls each victim. However, if one follows the pattern of the killings, it has become inconsistent with the ultimate climax-- the scene with Kim Chiu. Her "different" case not explained; her horror different from the rest of the cast. Obviously, the different twist to her character aims to provide the audience with the element of surprise through deception, but still, it's not an excuse to change the story pattern without a valid narrative explanation. Yes, it succeeded in providing the audience with suspenseful scenes, but the more discerning audience would be distracted with the Why's. There are other essential factors disregarded for the sake of carrying the horror towards its end goal in an easy manner, which makes the Seth character either somewhat dense or not that concerned with her close friends. But then again, you are aware that it's the narrative that is a bit loose, purely concentrating on scaring you thus compromising important details.
Vilma Santos and the rest of the cast deliver absorbing performances; Santos delivers a natural portrayal of her character albeit some minor, forgivable slips-- chasing her lines in the script, like losing her balance and being able to catch herself before she falls. But in the entirety, she exudes the matriarchal, kind-hearted role she portrays with ease.
The special effects are still a bit crude but passable, and the funny “crazy eye” thing takes away the horror factor, but both the editing and cinematography are impressive, the scene transitions smooth, and the camera angles aptly capturing all the essential scenes. But what is highly memorable in this movie is the art direction-- it uses that film technique of "complementing" the set's interior color scheme with the actors' costumes. This movie did not seem to understand the idea of this technique, and instead laughably dressed the actors in uniform color-- with matching props. The entire town is wearing white, then the next day blue, then red, and so on. Instead of creating a harmonious, aesthetically pleasing, complementary color palette in your eyes, the result is distracting, hilarious, and such an eyesore, even confusing one movie reviewer I’ve read, who wondered if the “Color of the Day” scheme is some kind of a town ritual.
In its entirety, The Healing is well-acted, engaging and as a matter of fact will not bore you one bit because of its gimmickry on suspense. If a solid narrative, and even art direction, is not really an issue to you and you are a Pinoy horror fan seeking for the Chito Roño brand of horror-suspense, then you will surely enjoy this movie. And, of course, if you are a “Solid Ate Vi” or a “Global Kim Chiu” fan, this movie will giddily entertain you to bits.
2.5 out of 5 stars
In Cinemas July 25, 2012
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