The Road is a 2011 Filipino psychological thriller with minor elements of supernatural horror produced by GMA Films under the creative control of internationally acclaimed film director Yam Laranas. Does GMA Film's The Road meet the hype and the positive reviews it got from international critics? Check out the spoiler-free Pinoy Movie Blogger's review on The Road.
The Road
Synopsis
The Road is about a 12 year-old cold case which is reopened when three teenagers are missing in an abandoned road. In the course of the investigation, deeper and gruesome stories of abduction and murders are discovered. After more than two decades, the secrets and mysteries of the road are finally revealed and the ghost lingering the dark and desolate pathway is out to make sure nobody leaves alive.
The Road Movie Review
The Road (2011) Film Review
Thanks to The Road's intriguing movie trailer which was shown on the Kapuso TV Station, it somehow made an impression that it is a really good horror film. Being a fan of horror movies and quality films in general, yours truly (the Pinoy Movie Blogger) did not miss out the opportunity to watch it on its first day that it hit the theaters (a while ago). As a horror cinephile, my mind and expectation was generally set high as soon as GMA Films logo faded.
Right off the bat, there is no denying that Yam Laranas' The Road has really excellent cinematography. The abysmal darkness of the road at night is balanced (if not contradicted) by the wonderful variety of shots of it during the daylight. As for the musical scoring, it is generally done well with some really complaints. One in particular is a scene where you obviously know that there is no hint of anything scary that is about to happen but the film still tried to pull it off just to try it and just because the production team can. As a veteran horror film enthusiast this somehow disappoints. As for the acting, I can say that it is generally alright. The Road is not a drama film so some lame acting on some selected parts are forgivable. Now let us now move to where the Road may possibly shine, the story.
The Road features three different segments which unfolds the mystery behind a seemingly haunted and abandoned road; and a reopened case that paved the way to answer questions from past to present. It is refreshing to see a Filipino film somehow uses creative retelling of stories through flashbacks, but I believe that there is no need to feature the word "PART" in different time interval. A mere date and changing of cinematography would do, but that is just a very small observation I had as the film flowed nicely. Since the film is currently on continuous viewing, trust me when I saw that it is best viewed from beginning to end. Entering the theater halfway or a quarter way to the film will generally ruin the film as most fun of the film is figuring out who did what and who appear when. I hinted before that it just had minor elements of horror because generally the movie could do without the spooky parts. Maybe because I was already prepared for to be scared (my defenses are up) or because I am a horror film fan, I somehow failed to appreciate the few scares that the movie tried to pull off. This might only be me as most of the movie audience had different reactions which was screaming and jumping out of their seats. I later found out that it was not really a horror film but a psychological thriller and that is when I started to appreciate The Road. There is still an element of horror to it as if you would try to makes sense of all the scares that the woods/the road showed its unfortunate passersby.
The Verdict for The Road (2011) Film
GMA Films and Yam Laranas' The Road (2011) is a psychological thriller film, and not the usual horror film that the Philippine film industry fed us through the years. Thus, it is advisable to leave your defenses down as soon as the film starts rolling. You will appreciate the scares better in The Road this way. The Road is far from perfect. It not really revolutionary overall or something that would put the Philippines in pedestal when it comes to horror and psychological film genres. What can be said about The Road is that it is a well-crafted film with a decent story line and a similar execution to other Asian horror films (specifically Japanes horror films). The Pinoy Movie Blogger recommends The Road to be best seen in theaters and a definite own when it is out on home video version. Pinoy Movie Blogger gives The Road (2011) an eight out of 10 (8/10) film review rating.