'KMJS' Gabi ng Lagim: The Movie' makes solid case for a potential franchise

Even with a bigger budget and a grander scale fit for a cinematic experience, “KMJS’ Gabi ng Lagim: The Movie” at its core feels like another thought-provoking episode of Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’s iconic annual horror segment — an impression solidified by the host’s closing spiel, which reminds viewers that th is is more than a two-hour tale full of jump scares.

- By JANUAR JUNIOR AGUJA

“We must fear not ghosts, elementals, nor the devil. But the evil and darkness in our society, and in ourselves,” Soho said before concluding the film.

There’s no doubt that we should be scared of an Indonesian ghost lurking at sea, an aswang-like creature terrorizing a small town, and a demon possessing a vulnerable young girl. But beneath these scares, the film attempts — sometimes more successfully than others — to offer social commentary about the ills of society, which, in real life, may feel like the scariest story of all.

'Pocong'

The film opens with Miguel Tanfelix as Mark, a newly hired seaman who has ghostly visions. While this usually doesn’t bother him, he becomes increasingly unsettled by the presence of a mummy-like figure called the Pocong. In Malay and Indonesian folklore, pocongs are ghosts trapped on Earth due to an incomplete burial, forced to hop to move.

As the Pocong claims victim after another, Mark fears for his life and the people around him, with almost no means of escape.

At best, this segment is carried by Tanfelix’s committed performance and the visual effects-heavy look of the Pocong, which makes the creature truly terrifying. Unfortunately, those are among the few strengths of this first story.

Even with its short runtime, the episode feels dragging due to shallow characterization that fails to keep viewers invested or concerned for the characters. Many horror films use slow-burn storytelling to explore a character’s psyche before delivering the big scares, but here the pacing only highlights the weak writing.

It also doesn’t help that the episode uses artificial intelligence to generate exterior shots of the ship, resulting in off-putting and inconsistent visuals that clash with the real footage. It’s a solid example of why relying heavily on AI can be a poor filmmaking choice.