The film’s black-and-white camerawork and John Arcilla’s eloquent take on his character is a downright atrocity, meld perfectly to create a beauty drenched in terror.
VIVA FILMS
Actors: John Arcilla, Sid Lucero, Cindy Miranda, Natalie Hart
Genre: Suspense, Thriller
Premise: When a couple gets lost after taking a reroute to their town, a man offers his home nearby. As they feel something’s wrong, things turn deadly. (Vivamax)
Running Time: 114 minutes
Director: Lawrence Fajardo
Watch it on: web.vivamax.net, Vivamax app
Why You Should See It:
Sinister comes aplenty in this harrowing and rustic thriller which exudes an eerie beauty despite its grubby, eye-grabbing details. Fajardo, who was at the helm of several critically-acclaimed gems, including the Gawad Urian winner, Amok (2011), is completely upfront in his creative manipulation of ‘Reroute’, whose spine-tingling dread fest is hard to come by.
Sinister comes aplenty in this harrowing and rustic thriller which exudes an eerie beauty despite its grubby, eye-grabbing details. Fajardo, who was at the helm of several critically-acclaimed gems, including the Gawad Urian winner, Amok (2011), is completely upfront in his creative manipulation of ‘Reroute’, whose spine-tingling dread fest is hard to come by.
The problematic couple, Dan (Sid Lucero) and Trina (Cindy Miranda) are on their way to Dan’s hometown when a military roadblock prompts them to take a reroute, which will turn what is supposed to be a five-minute drive into a few hours. Hot-tempered Dan does not welcome the idea of prolonging their struggle, so he decides to take a shortcut by trespassing through private property. Unfortunately, the car’s engine breaks down. Gemo (John Arcilla), a rifle-bearing local, comes to their rescue and offers them a place to stay, while they wait for the mechanic Gemo requested to come.
Arcilla doesn’t have to exert much effort to articulate the absurd wickedness of his character, as the very environment and atmosphere he paces in, are terrifying enough to evoke the dread. That said, Gemo has moments when he becomes, in his own words, ‘demon’, himself. The lurid sense of danger is omnipotently present when he is around, and his very actions elicit insanity and terror.
Fajardo’s choice to drench this masterpiece in ominous black and white remains a fascinating distinction until the end, although it’s easy to guess it was brilliant cinematographer, Byron Bryant’s curious design to carry out Fajardo’s brutish screenplay.
As revolting, absurd, and frightening the film is, Reroute brims with beauty and wonder. It takes a widely bizarre imagination and a great deal of blatant honesty to deliver the film’s creeps, and to his credit, Fajardo certainly understood the assignment. Reroute is undeniably Vivamax’s best film, to date.
5 – Excellent
4 – Very Good
3 – Good
2 – Tolerable
1 – Terrible
Stream ‘Reroute’ now on the Vivamax app or via web.vivamax.net. Watch the official full trailer, below:
