The Healing is an effective horror movie, I must say. I didn't expect that it would turn out to be this good especially since it's a Filipino movie. I definitely loved the gore and suspense that this movie gave because for once, I felt proud watching a Filipino movie. It felt so different from other Filipino horror movies because of the fact that it's so thrilling. Most horror films from our country tend to be stupid and cliché but this changed the game. I admit that the premise of dying one by one (like Final Destination) is predictable but like FD, it's so effective in building suspense and intrigue that you have to watch and wait for it. The execution of the movie was impressive especially during the death scene of that poor girl. I was shocked when that actually happened. "Did this really came from the Philippines?!" was my reaction. The story is not inventive or new but totally engaging. I was just distracted with the color coding in the movie (you'll know what I mean when you watch it). Overall, it's a definite improvement in the Philippines' movie industry and is one of the better local horror movies.

Last 29th Of July 2012 Watching "The Healing" Is A Straightforward Supernatural Thriller It is a Counterpart of The 2007 Korean Thriller "Voices" So this movie has eerie, gruesome, bloody, and Disturbing Effects,No Long-Haired Female Spirits,But Psychotic Persons And Buckets of Blood and Gore,The film tells the story of Ghostly Visions,Faith Healing, And Demon Possessions. The film follows Seth (Vilma Santos) brings her sick father Odong (Robert Arevalo) To a Mysterious Female Healer Manang Elsa (Daria Ramirez) To cure his stroke Manang Elsa gives her a Herbal Medication so in order to be healed,But Elsa becomes ill and was coerced by Seth and her Family to heal one of her friends and Family Members,All at Once they were miraculously cured and their wish was granted,But at the same time it turned into a day of Terror and Blood,When one of Seth,s Family Members ,Loved Ones and Friends ends up possessed by unseen dark forces,And turning into Bloodthirsty Savages and starts to commit bloody homicides and suicide attempts,Strange and Weird Things starts on-going Now Seth has disturbing dreams and strange visions including a black crow and Doppelgangers of her Friends,With the help of Elsa,s Brother (Joel Torre) Who holds the secret key on what way to Destroy The Curse ,He reveals to her the Mystery of How Her Sister brings back to life a dead man named Dario(Jhong Hilario) And the dark secret was The lives of those who were cured from their diseases will be taken away so that Dario May live fully,He also told Seth the best way to Put an End to the curse is to Liquidate Dario so that his malevolent corpse will not live. I really hope that "The Healing" Is Counterpart of 1976's "The Omen" and 1998's "Ringu",So when you are cured by a Faith Healer whom you have visited Watch Your Step,So you will be safe from the Curse,But "BEWARE" There,s Something Sinister and Evil is coming your way!

"The Healing" is a horror film by Chito S. Roño starring Vilma Santos and Kim Chiu. The movie revolves around the risks of believing in faith healers and the consequential phenomenon of evil doppelgängers.I am glad that this is not a horror flick taken from worn-out concepts. The idea of doppelgängers is not popular in our culture, but the writers managed to come up with an engaging storyline combining it with superstition and folklore.After watching the R-18 version of the movie, I can easily tell which scenes were omitted from the R-13 version. I commend director Chito Roño for his audacity in this project. The movie is raging with startling murder and death scenes. It departs from the usual fare and becomes one of the most gruesome Pinoy movies in recent years.In terms of writing, the movie is unstrikingly average. After the first character dies, you already knew how the rest of the story would go. The script heavily employs elements of "Feng Shui" and the "Final Destination" series. The suspense relies on the viewer's anticipation on how the next victim will die.There were glaring loopholes in the story at the end of film, which makes me think that they're trying to come up with a sequel. I felt that the conclusion was either rushed or not given much thought, which was disappointing considering the number of script consultants from Star Cinema that this movie had when I checked the closing credits.By the end of the movie, the biggest question left upon the viewers is the mystery behind the film's intriguing color schemes. It appears that the film was somehow divided into chapters with the enigmatic use of color coding. You can see the characters prominently dressed in blue, red, and yellow as some sort of a uniform. The set design, costumes and props complement the same colors ubiquitously shown at certain parts of the movie, though no clear explanation was given to explicate the meaning behind it. It's so vague it becomes pointless. One could be forgiven for thinking that the 'blue chapter' was just a lame ploy to bring into mind Ate Vi's Bear Brand endorsement.Other minute observations: The opening credits did not complement the material. The use of special effects was so-so. The casting was great and the actors showed some believable acting (especially Vilma Santos and Janice de Belen).Though Filipino horror has yet to find its true strength, you can fairly say that it has evolved with this film. With its well-defined characters and a taste for gore, "The Healing" is a notch above the rest. It's better than most local scare flicks produced in recent years, notwithstanding its flaws and weaknesses. As a horror film, its impotent scares is insufficient to produce a desired effect. It fares better as an accidental slasher film.

I am a fan of Filipino horror films as I have mentioned in other reviews. "The Healing" features a big Filipino movie star, Ms. Vilma Santos, in a rare appearance in a horror film. It is also helmed by a director who had been responsible for two of the best Filipino horror films in the last decade, "Feng Shui" (2004) and "Sukob" (2006). The well-made teaser trailer was an effective come-on. It was a given that I should also check out this particular film.Ms. Vilma plays Seth, a woman who runs a boarding house in a middle- class community in the city. After her father (Robert Arevalo) was successfully treated of his post-stroke condition by a faith healer named Elsa (Daria Ramirez), five of her friends and neighbors all convince Seth to bring them to Elsa to treat them of their various medical maladies. In addition, her son Jed (Martin del Rosario) also brought along his half-sister Cookie (Kim Chiu) so her kidney ailment could be cured.After that day of the fateful healing, one by one, everyone in that group treated by Elsa begins dying of strange circumstances, each one more bizarre than the last. Before each death, Seth would be visited by a crow and a puzzling vision of her friend's doppelganger. Seth now has to race against time to find out why this macabre series of deadly events is happening and hopefully stop it before everyone in the group kicks the bucket.After the first side character dies, you already knew how the story would go. The suspense you will feel as you watch on will be more in anticipation of which gory method with which that character will die, not exactly because you do not know what will happen next. To Rono's credit, each death scene somehow topped the previous one in as much as the blood factor is concerned.The acting performances were nothing to be excited about. Everyone did well at looking scared. Ms. Vilma Santos is Ms. Vilma Santos. She doesn't really disappear into her role as Seth. Kim Chiu appeared in very few scenes despite her second billing. Like on TV, she needs more energy in her performance though. I did not know Martin del Rosario before this movie, but he actually delivered very well in his meaty role as Jed. Special mention would have to go to Robert Arevalo for daringly delivering the most embarrassing lines in the movie -- funny! Not really sure why Ynez Veneracion had to show her right boob though, maybe for old times sake.Several camera angles used by Mr. Rono were very well-planned and executed to maximize the tension on screen. Like other productions I see now, there was color coordination in the costumes of all the characters on screen. Here though, I did not quite see why a certain color was chosen for which scene. It was also distracting sometimes to see the common color scheme continuing into subsequent unrelated scenes. The usual scare tactics and music were employed here -- nothing highly original. But thankfully, at least there was NO Sadako-like creature in this one. Overall, it is just OK. I think that "The Healing" had been too reminiscent of other horror films the way the friends of the lead character were dying around her and it is up to her to break the curse. If it was Kris Aquino who played Seth instead of Vilma Santos, it would just be "Feng Shui" all over again.