If you're a fan of Japanese and Korean horror movies, here's something to look forward to.
Filipino director Yam Laranas's film Sigaw (internationally released as The Echo) has been drawing raves in Hollywood after producer Roy Lee watched the movie and confessed: "I found myself jumping at certain scenes and I have seen many other horror movies where that never happens."
You'll appreciate that quote more if you know who Roy Lee is. He's the hot Hollywood producer who brought Japanese horror movies The Ring, The Grudge and Dark Water to Hollywood and turned them into critically acclaimed, international box office hits. Right now, Roy Lee is executive producing The Departed starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Matt Damon, and directed by Martin Scorcese.
How Roy Lee discovered Yam Laranas and The Echo (Sigaw) is fast becoming the stuff of legend in filmmaking circles. It is absolute proof of the power of good word of mouth. Roy heard about Philippines' The Echo (Sigaw) from someone who watched it and loved it and knew other people who saw the movie and were raving about it as well.
Without a single centavo spent on Marketing and PR, Sigaw outlived the hype and hysteria of the 2004 Metro Manila Film Festival where it debuted and quietly cultivated a cult-like following.
The cult spread far and wide. Before Yam and his producers knew it, Sigaw had been booked to make its Hollywood premiere as The Echo, in the same LA filmfest where the original Japanese film The Grudge debuted.
Amidst the buzz, the respected critic Keith Breese of filmcritic.com asked for a copy of the movie and reviewed it, giving The Echo a stunning rate of 3 1/2 stars out of 5. That's the same rating the critics gave Batman Begins, and higher than the ratings of big budget Hollywood movies Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (3 stars), The Island (3 stars) and Fantastic Four (2 stars).
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Article comments
1 - Aaman
Thanks for this call-out - will try to catch it and report back. Have you seen it? Else this is an opinion, and not a review
2 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
ooh thanks miron! something else for to obssess over for a time, i feel...
3 - miron
Yes, I've seen the movie and loved it. It kept me frozen in my seat. You guys may want to check out the website at www.echothemovie.com
There's more information there, plus a very good review from beyondhollywood.com
Cheers!
4 - leonard
Great movie!
5 - Joel
What a great flick! Just saw this on DVD! Fantastic! Hollywood should definitely remake this! But I wonder who American director could do justice to the original?
6 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
well now. The Duke's first impressions are along the lines of the following; brilliant atmosphere, sod all else. it was certainly technically stunning, but my god in heaven, it's got nothing going on underneath. truly tedious, is what i thought of it all. the first fifteen minutes are fairly wonderful. soon it becomes apparent that beyond the great performances and soundtrack, and the excellent visual tomfoolery, there's fuck all to be getting on with. I was emotionally involved for about ten minutes. and it's just not at all scary, even though the eeriness of the soundtrack convinces a fella it might be sometimes.
a disspointment for yours truly, but hey, obviously some folks liked it. it reminded me a lot of Nakata's Dark Water, with the spooky grimy appartment and unsettling stains on the ceiling. contrary to the quotei n the post, though, Ringu has been with me since whenever the hell it was i saw it. 2000 or whatever. that's five years ago. i doubt i'll remember Sigaw in five minutes time.
just my opinion, mind.
7 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
oops, i just realised the fella refered to THE ring, and not Ringu. still, even that remake had more to say for itself than this.
8 - Christopher Sykes
I can't believe we're talking about the same movie. Respect your opinion and all but you must have completely missed out on the weird scariness of this one. I watched this in Singapore expecting a few fun jolts and usual thrills. I ended up cursing myself for coming in completely unprepared for so much real horror. yeah yeah haha, it scared the hell out of me. too bad Duke.
9 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Christopher, that's how it goes man. some folks get it some folks dont. i didn't, i guess. i will say i thought the first half hour was pretty wonderful. just that, for me anyhow, it tumbled hella far soon after. but certainly atmospheric, i can't deny that right there. the visuals, the soundtrack, these things were fantastic.