Dalaw (2010)

Stella (Kris Aquino) decides to marry Anton (Diether Ocampo), three years after her husband died. Anton was her great love before she was forced by her parents to marry Danilo. However, ... See full summary »

Director:

Dondon S. Santos

Writers:

Joel Mercado (story), Enrico C. Santos (story)

Stars:

Kris Aquino, Diether Ocampo, Gina Pareño

1 win & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kris Aquino	...	Stella
Diether Ocampo	...	Anton
Gina Pareño	...	Olga
Karylle	...	Lorna
Maliksi Morales	...	Paolo
Susan Africa	...	Milagros
Alessandra de Rossi	...	Trina
Ina Feleo	...	Kylie
Empress Schuck	...	Marietta (as Empress)
Lui Villaruz	...	Johnny
Bernard Palanca	...	Dexter
Richard Quan	...	Danilo
J.M. Briones	...	Marvin (as JM Briones)
Precious Lara Quigaman	...	Agnes
Gigi Columna	...	Doray (as Gigi Verder)

Storyline

Stella (Kris Aquino) decides to marry Anton (Diether Ocampo), three years after her husband died. Anton was her great love before she was forced by her parents to marry Danilo. However, after the wedding, she experiences major hauntings that endanger her life and the people around her. All the clues are pointing to her dead husband. Feeling guilty of her ex-husband's death, Stella tries to save her family from the ghost's wrath. Along the way, secrets start to unravel and Stella is now unsure of who's haunting her and why is she being haunted.

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Plot Keywords:

photograph | speak lines from movies | taxi | priest | exorcism | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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User Reviews

Predictable and far from scary...

Having only seen a single Pinoy horror movies prior to this, I don't really have much to compare it with. But in comparison to Hong Kong, Korean and Japanese horror movies, then this was a weak bowl of broth. It was fairly far away from being scary (from a Westerner's point of view), but I am sure that it must be semi-scary to Asian viewers.

What wondered me about the movie, was why nearly all of it was shot in the dark or in dim lighting. The lack of illumination really brought down the movie enjoyment, because most of the time it was hard to make out what was going on in the scenes.

The story told in "Dalaw" was actually good and interesting enough, making you want to sit and see what happens next. They managed to build up a lot of suspense in the movie, and that was a good thing. The movie did turn out to be as predictable as I had anticipated. The actual story, quickly summarized, goes something like this: Stella gets married to Anton, and move in together in a new home, together with her son Paolo. But something stirs and is wrong, there is some dark presence in the family. And the caretaker Olga have the ability to see "visitors". So what is it that is haunting the family...?

As for the cast in "Dalaw", then I am not familiar with any of the actors or actresses here. But the movie was carried by Kris Aquino (who played Stella) and Gina Pareño (playing Olga). The rest of the cast was mediocre and didn't really stand out.

I didn't find the ghost scary at all. And once you see it, you will immediately figure out the plot of the story. Trust me. I will not reveal it here, but it is quite predictable.

Being a big fan of Asian movies and Asian horror in general, I found this movie rather weak and far from scary. But all together, this isn't a bad movie at all. There were some really nice aspects to the movie, and a really good story. It could just have used more scare moments. And the effects used in the movie, though fairly simple, actually worked quite well. I especially liked the scene with the furniture moving about in the living room.

I suppose this movie is for die hard Pinoy fans. I however, wasn't overly impressed with it...

Details

Official Sites:

Dalaw (2010)

Country:

Philippines

Language:

Filipino Tagalog

Release Date:

25 December 2010 (Philippines)

Company Credits

Production Co:

ABS-CBN Film Productions, Cinemedia Films, MJM Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color