PA-SIYAM is another lame Filipino ghost story that fails to do the job properly. It was supposedly the first Filipino film to be shot in high definition, but it looks as cheap and tacky as the rest I've watched. The set-up isn't too bad at all, another stab at the 'old dark house' genre in which a woman's death leads to her children assembling at her home, a gloomy, rambling old pile, to observe pa-siyam, the nine days of prayer following death. They discover a malignant spirit instead. There are one or two gory scenes but this is mostly static and slowly-paced, with too much trite dialogue bogging it down.

The scares are repetitive, not because the filmmakers ran out of tricks to dish out, but because they are coming from a nagging ghost-mom, trying to make her children aware of their wrongdoing. At first, it's just a few pieces of poo, a puddle of urine, a pack of Pancit Canton. The next time, it's a bucketful of poo, overflowing urine, and more Pancit Canton to feed a squatter colony. She's obviously nagging them, but the children are headstrong on their innocence, insisting that they're guilt-free of their mom's suffering.

Pa-Siyam is a truly rare Filipino horror film that can compare well to the other well known and copied Asian horror counterparts. While many horror films copy the usual Ringu, Ju-On, and Dark Water trio, Pa-Siyam draws upon local superstition as a source. The film builds up the tension and atmosphere to deliver scares that are not cheap. Special kudos to Paulate who is tremendous and is able to break out of the usual fare he was involved in. The rest of the cast did good as well. Despite the small budget, the film delivers the goods in a more efficient and effective manner than some of the bland and big budget copies of successful horror trends. Note, I didn't use the subtitle so I can't comment on it.

A ghost story that still manages to surprise and scare youFirst, just in case:! S P O I L E R A L E R T !One big house, one family gathered for a funeral, one ghost, one priest, one psychic medium, a lot of pee and droppings and blood and you got yourself a great horror film!!! Erik Matti manages to use a not so great script (but with a few nice twists) and still make it scary, weird and atmospheric. Camera and photography are absolutely great and very original for this genre. Philippines cinema is definitively getting more interesting every day. I definitively recommend it!