Mary Cherry Chua (2023) Movie Trailer Impressions: A Filipino Urban Legend About a Slain Student's Spirit Haunting a School Gets Adapted into the Big Screen

Mary Cherry Chua is a horror film produced by Viva Films under the screenplay and direction of Roni Benaid starring Abby Bautista, Kokoy de Santos, Lyca Gairanod, Krissha Viaje, Ashley Diaz, Joko Diaz, and Alma Moreno and is slated for a July 19, 2023 nationwide theatrical release. Let's check out what this 2023 horror film about the urban legend of Mary Cherry Chua has in store for Filipino horror movie enthusiasts here at Pinoy Movie Blogger.



Mary Cherry Chua
Plot / Synopsis



Merry Cherry Chua is based on a Filipino Urban Legend about a kind, beautiful, and exceptional student who was later found dead within the premises of the school she was attending. While the culprit behind her murder surrendered, her spirit still lingers and haunts the halls of the school and the people within it.

Watch Mary Cherry Chua Official trailer here:



Mary Cherry Chua Official Trailer Impression
Mary Cherry Chua Film Trailer Review



What can be said about the Mary Cherry Chua (2023) official movie trailer? As a big horror movie fan, the premise isn't that revolutionary but it would be interesting to see a popular Filipino urban legend get another big screen adaptation. What is interesting about urban legends is how familiar yet unknown they are. You may hear that it originated at a particular school, but later found out that it isn't. That almost every school has its own version of Mary cherry Chua, just like how every school was once claimed to be a burial grounds or cemetery.



What is interesting is that I am not even familiar with Mary Cherry Chua's urban legend. What I am familiar with is the concept of haunted school grounds and lingering restless spirits haunting people within it. One can say it is a tried and tested formula while others may say it is a tired cliche as well. The only difference is that this time you just have fresh faces or talenst from Viva Films this 2023 acing along with veteran performers like Joko Diaz, Alma Moreno, and Rolando Inocencio. I think this urban legend can seamlessly be blended within one of the segment of a Shake, Rattle, & Roll (SRR) film; but I can also say that Filipino film production studios and creatives are running out of concepts to make for a compelling and noteworthy horror film because of horror franchises like SRR are using all the concept up. The same reason why Pridyider (2012) became its own supernatural horror title even if it was part of an episode of the original Shake, Rattle, & Roll (1984). Will Mary Cherry Chua be scary or engaging enough to justify its normal standalone Filipino film runetime or will it feel dragging and longer than it should. I guess, movie goers will know that once it premieres in cinemas nationwide.



How about you guys? What do you think about this 2023 horror film featuring another popular Filipino urban legend? What popular urban legend are you familiar about? What recent horror film that focuses on urban legends have you enjoyed? Will you be seeing this horror film once it hits the theaters in the 19th of July, 2023? Share your thoughts and opinion about Mary Cherry Chua (2023) in the comments section below and let's talk about it.

Haunted Mansion Trailer Impressions: 2015 MMFF Horror Film Debuting the MarNella Love Team Centering on a Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion is a 2015 horror film from Regal Entertainment Inc. (Regal Films) and is an official entry to the 41st Metro Manila Film Festival this 2015 under the direction of Jun Robles Lana which stars Janella Salvador, Marlo Mortel, Jerome Ponce, Janice De Belen, Iza Calzado, Dominic Ochoa, LJ Reyes, Joem Bascon, and Sharlene San Pedro slated for a December 25, 2015 theatrical release. Let's check out what this 2015 haunted house... (erm) mansion horror film featuring the MarNella (Marlo Mortel and Janella Salvador) love team has to offer.


Haunted Mansion
Plot / Synopsis

Haunted Mansion is set to tackle students holding a retreat and something weird and creepy happens afterward. The first teaser of the film released on Oct 25, 2015.

Watch Haunted Mansion teaser trailer here:





Haunted Mansion Teaser Trailer Impression
Haunted Mansion Film Teaser Trailer Review


So what can be said about the Haunted Mansion 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival horror entry teaser trailer? Well, it could very well be the main trailer but teaser sounds get and enough to build hype at this early. I commend the marketing team for releasing the teaser early as I have mentioned in the past that film studios should maximize the potential of the internet and market their film heavily on this platform. But going back the film which seemingly has good cinematography uses that age old haunted house feel only with a MarNella (ABS-CBN's Marlo Mortel and Janella Salvador) love team skin glazed over it.


A little digging resulted to some information that Haunted Mansion was formerly titled as "Retreat House" and it serves as the debut film of MarNella (Marlo Mortel and Janella Salvador) love team. Given such information and seeing the trailer gives you a good indication of what to expect in this 2015 MMFF horror film entry. A group of kids focusing on a main romantic teenage couple is thrown in a mansion where chaos ensues. If you are of the newer generation and have not seen THAT many horror films but so into it, I highly advised to check out some old ones and you'll be surprised at the better written and acted horror stories featured in the past. There are other 2015 MMFF horror entries like Buy Now, Die Later and Nilalang which I think have much better story, performance, and overall feel to it that Haunted Mansion, but that's just me.


How about you guys? What's your favorite Haunted House themed horror film? What do you think of the three horror films included in the 2015 Metro Manila film Festival and which one are you more curious to see? Is the MarNella Love Team enough for you to check this one one? Share your thoughts and opinion about the Haunted Mansion teaser trailer in the comments section below:

Buy Now, Die Later Teaser Trailer Impressions: 2015 MMFF Horror Film About Haunted Objects

Buy Now, Die Later a 2015 horror film from Quantum Films and is an official entry to the 41st Metro Manila Film Festival this 2015 under the direction of Randolph Longjas which stars Vhong Navarro, Alex Gonzaga, Rayver Cruz, John Lapuz, TJ Trinidad, Lotlot De Leon, and Janine Gutierrez slated for a slated for a December 25, 2015 theatrical release. Let's check out what this 2015 MMFF horror entry featuring haunted, possessed or demonic objects has to offer.


Buy Now, Die Later
Plot / Synopsis

BUY NOW, DIE LATER is a compendium of five interconnected stories, each one representing one of the five senses. Ang mga kuwento nina ODIE, ATO, CHLOE, PIPPA at MAITA ang magpa paalala sa atin - - that every bargain comes with a price.

Watch Buy Now, Die Later Official Teaser Trailer here:






Buy Now, Die Later Official Teaser Trailer Impression
Buy Now, Die Later Film Teaser Trailer Review


So what can be said about the Buy Now, DIE Later teaser trailer? First off let me commend the marketing Team behind the 2015 horror movie entry as it does what any film should do, market and build hype early for their film. This makes it feel like they are actually proud of their film and an actual effort was put into the making of the film. This is from the same film studious and production behind another 2015 MMFF entry, Walang Forever on which its trailer was also recently released. Tease the audience enough months before to build the hype and create buzz for the film; For that a big plus point.


Now onto the meaty part. Buy Now, Die feels familiar; very familiar. Let's see, a haunted or possessed object up for sale and its unknowing consumer and usually the people around them starts getting killed off Now where exactly have I seen that part before.... Hmmm. This can be attributed with the over saturation of Filipino horror film titles of the past. Well, one can argue that those are old movies and not so many new movie going fans are familiar with them, but what of those who have seen old horror films? Is there nothing new to offer than a fresh coat of paint? When we say "new" we are not referring to the actors featured in the film as I don't really consider Lotlot and Vhong as a "new", what we are referring to is the premise and the potential CGI-fest that Buy Now, Die Later could have. What will differentiate this from one of the many Shake, Rattle, & Roll films of the past? Can we say that film studios finally have realized that they will run out of ideas to play with if they continue featuring 3 different scary stories for each annual installment of the Shake, Rattle, & Roll? Can we then say that this is the reason why we don't have a Shake, Rattle, & Roll entry for this year? Well, by the looks of it, it seems to be case. It is not a bad approach. Film studious can only make so many variations of tiyanak, aswang, and tikbalang, before movie going Filipinos gets tired of it (like most of us do). In every rule there is an exemption though, which comes in the form (genre) of romantic comedies and romance. Will still be looking forward to seeing the actual and full trailer for Buy now, die Later once it hits online to either validate this early impressions of it or praise it for not being a disappointment.


How about you guys? What do you think of a Buy Now, Die Later's premise of a group of people buying a haunted object and later suffering the consequences of purchasing such items? what are your thoughts with the recent application of CGI in Filipino horror films? Are they any good? Share your thoughts and opinion about the Buy Now, Die Later teaser trailer in the comments section below:

Binhi Trailer Impressions: A 2015 Haunted House Film with Joem Bascon and Mercedes Cabral

Binhi or The Seed is a Haunted Tower Pictures Inc. and (in association with) Viva Films horror film written and directed by Pedring Lopez starring Joem Bascon, Mercedes Cabral, Roxanne Barcelo, and Cholo Baretto slated for a May 20, 2015 theatrical release. Let's check out this 2015 haunted house horror film simply entitled Binhi or The Seed by Pedring Lopez.


Binhi
Plot / Synopsis

Daniel and Cynthia, a young couple with a child on the way, experience some hard times in Manila. They head back to Baguio, where Daniel is originally from, to start over again. Through the kindness of Alex, Daniel’s well-to-do childhood friend, they get to stay in a large house, rent-free; and he gets a job offer as well.


Everything seems to be falling into place for them – or so they think – until strange things start to happen in their house

Watch Binhi Official trailer here:


Official Binhi Trailer Impression
Binhi (The Seed) Film Trailer Review

From what we can see on the trailer, Binhi looks well shot and seemingly atmospheric. AS for the story though, I guess it will do. A young couple moving to a new house to start over which they found out was eventually haunted is not really something new. The usual hook with these kinds of horror premise is how does it related to the protagonists (and most of the time it really doesn't), but it seems like in Binhi, it does.



Binhi's ghost girl sure likes to whisper quite a lot, huh?
Have thought out a couple of possible scenarios that would connect the haunting to the film's couple. This is not really spoilers but just humor me with this. The female ghost child could either be the husband or wife's child from a different person from the past who could have died or curse them, but begs the question why only occur on this house alone? Or could very well be their first child and the memory of the loss could haunt them. Okay speculation, done! Man, since when did I start doing these speculations? Well, I always like a film that goes the other way and breaks what was initially speculated or expected in a good relevant way. It is quite surprising that Viva didn't get the usual (high-paying) actors to be their protagonist and this is not to devalue the film's chosen actors; on the contrary this is a great move as Mercedes Cabral is one of the more competent actor up there. Binhi seems to go the quality over quantity route. The question is will it deliver the scare as a horror film should be? That is yet to be find out.


How about you guys? What do you think of the casting for "The Seed"? Any idea or speculation behind how the film will develop and unveil the identity of the girl haunting the house? Share your thoughts and opinion about Binhi in the comments section below:

Amorosa Trailer Impressions: The Mystery Behind the Restless Spirit of the Haunted House

Amorosa is an upcoming horror film produced by Skylight Films under the direction of Topel Lee starring Angel Aquino, Enrique Gil, Martin Del Rosario and Xyriel Manabat. Amorosa is a 2012 Filipino horror film slated for an August 29, 2012 nationwide theatrical release. Let's check out this trailer here.

Amorosa
Plot / Synopsis

After a tragic incident, a family decided to move into a new house to start a new life only to find themselves dealing with a spirit that haunts their home. What is the secret behind this spirit?

Watch Amorosa Official trailer here:


Amorosa Official Trailer Impression
Amorosa Film Trailer Review

Now what do we have here in Amorosa? Amorosa is another Filipino horror film that uses the tried and tested haunted house-themed story. The question is does Amorosa offers something different to set it apart from the number of Filipino horror films that uses the same theme before it? Has this trailer get the job done in building hype making people to actually consider watching this 2012 horror film when it comes out in August 29?

Horror film fans can already come up with a number of potential stories and twist for this film, but luckily the film didn't put too much information on its official channels (FB Page and Youtube), something most horror films from Viva and Regal has been guilty of recently. Amorosa has managed to still preserve a tiny element of mystery behind the story, identity, and the motivation of spirit that haunts the house. Hopefully when the film does decide to release its official synopsis (which usually go with its official trailer) that it wouldn't follow the same failed marketing mess that films like Guni-Guni and Hitman did earlier - that is including the whole story in full details in its synopsis treating movie goers like morons that they can't seem to find it out for themselves. What Amorosa would want to emulate is what The Healing has achieved amidst the cliche horror theme it used. I just don't know with Amorosa. It just screams mediocrity basing from what is seen on its trailer.

The trailer even showed what the spirit looked like that made me scratch my head and exclaimed shouldn't they reserve that "opportunity" for people who might want to check this film out? Either that or they decided that the spirit is so generic that the its origin and the scares are more important than preserving how it looked like only revealing it to its audience. What is left to explore is the origin of this spirit and if it does have any connection with Angel's family. Amorosa is one of those "wait until its official home video format (DVD, VCD, Bluray) gets released and rent it" kind of film. You can still watch Amorosa if you have the extra time and money to spare for it. If you are also a fan of any of the cast included in this 2012 horror film; curious of the outcome or to find out about the story, motivation, and what this spirit can do, then you might want to check this out in theaters but the Pinoy Movie Blogger gives it a low recommendation.

How about you guys, what can you say about this film? Share your thoughts about Amorosa's official movie trailer in the comments section below:

Segunda Mano Trailer Impressions: Ladies, Beware of Antique Handbags!

Segunda Mano is a 2011 Metro Manila Film Festival horror entry from Star Cinema under the direction of Joyce Bernal starring Philippine's "horror" queen Kris Aquino. What does this MMFF 2011 horror entry has in store for Filipinos who likes being scared to death this Christmas? Let's check the trailer out.

Segunda Mano
Plot / Synopsis

Segunda Mano which directly translates to "Second hHand" tells a story of various cursed antique objects that haunts its unfortunate new owners.

Segunda Mano official movie trailer here




Segunda Mano Trailer Impression
Segunda Mano Trailer Review

Watch out for that seemingly expensive looking antique handbag, it might be cursed! Silly as it might sound, that is what seems to be main evil that would linger in the entirety of the film. A malevolent spirit or a curse in a bag or in whatever antique object offers the film showcase. Antiques have always been used as a good source of curse or evil in various horror film and that is what Segunda Mano is all about. Of course, the fun in such preposterous idea is how each victim gets to be killed by such evils.

Segunda Mano is probably guilty of being using second (third or how many times) hand concepts that most horror films have been using from day one. But guess what, even if that is the case, this film will still get a good number of Filipino movie goers watching it this Metro Manila film Festival 2011. Who does not want to see that ever sophisticated and controversial sister of the Philippines President Noynoy Aquino get smothered by water. That scene alone is funny and would convince me to go check it just for the laughs hahaha. Seriously speaking, given to choose only one horror film to watch this MMFF 2011, I do not think Segunda Mano will be my choice. Well, that is me, but many may beg to differ.

What do you think about this horror film starring the "Philippine horror queen" Kris Aquino. Does she deserve the title? Share your thoughts on the Segunda Mano 2011 film trailer at the comments section below: