BLISS RATING: ★★★★
“Unrequited love is like trying to fill a heart-shaped hole with a square-shaped piece.” – Unknown
If you like to observe a steady cascade of young men’s bulges, then this is your movie. If you like a movie about unrequired love, then this is also your kind of movie. And finally, if you like horror, then this is your movie as well. While it gave us all three, it did so a bit too inconsistently. Yet, it did try.
Summarily, this is a story where a young male nurse named Dino who takes a personal caregiver job to provide care to a semi-invalid rich man called Don Filipo, in a rural province. A young male, named Obet, is the custodian for the property and has worked there for years. The two quickly develop a friendship as both are about the same age. They performed the roles of these two young men with gusto and a genuine sense of believability. Obet’s friendship for Dino is more than meets the eye, however, as he begins to fall hard for him. Dino, on the other hand, is straight and becomes attracted to and falls in love with a local girl by the name of Mia (Megan Sharpe). I believed Obet that he was attracted to Dino and had a deep unrequired love for him.
Unfortunately, individuals, both males and females, are disappearing from this small village and no traces of their whereabouts can be found. Without getting too much into the weeds in describing this movie, Don Filipo is not who he appears to be, and neither is Mia and Obet. Both are also involved in the disappearances of the locals. Needless to say, it does not end well for Dino and endings tragically for Obet.
However, the other roles were just not believable or very sincere. I do not think it was necessarily bad acting but more so a poor screen play and unfocused direction. Additionally, the make-up was awful and special effects nonexistent. It is obvious that this is a low budget production, but there are still ways to add to and enhance the horror and gore that should have come with this type of movie. While not meaning to be so, some of it was downright funny especially in scenes were there were ‘ghosts’. It was obvious that they were in poor make-up.
Philip (Rap Robes), who claims to be the ‘nephew’ of Don Filipo, makes odd and sudden appearances as if he came out of nowhere (hint). In addition, he always seems a bit overdramatic. Although he was supposed to be a sinister figure, he was not very menacing. More annoying and irritating than menacing.
To say this movie is odd would not adequately describe it. While indeed It is a horror-like movie, frankly it is not very scary mainly because there are very little to no special effects displaying or extending the horror. And you really do not see much of the black magic that is supposed to make it scary.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the movie? Luis Padilla as Dino and Drei Arias as Obet deserve this distinction. They literally carried this movie and did make efforts to give their characterizations depth and emotions and therefore gave them a life and personas. They are the only two who made this movie even remotely believable. At least both put some effort into their roles and emotionally connected to it. Honestly, Luis and Drei are incredibly built and handsome and had no apparent problems appear nude with an occasional quick frontal view. They also liked to walk around in very tight underwear or speedos which means there were lingering shots of bulges.
That is a real plus for this movie because while it screams of sensationalism, it is what young men would do who are built like that and who are not afraid to show their bodies. Honestly one could see a real connection between the two of them as friends and a genuine bromance establishing. Drei played the part of the unrequired lover with despondency and his regrettable actions were peppered with real pangs of guilt and genuine remorse. While Luis as Dino showed a deep sense of sincerity to his relationship with Mia. In the end, Obet sacrificed himself and paid the ultimate price for his unrequited love for Dino.
Honestly, there were a few surprises in this movie that I was not expecting. The unrequited love scenes were unexpectedly good and done with sensitivity. As Obet passes his hand just above Dino’s body as if he is outlining it, that was quite sensual and just whispers the extent to which he is attracted to Dino. The ending did surprise me a bit and I like surprises in horror films. I was not expecting that, and it gave this movie an interesting twist. Perhaps I should have guessed that move but did not.
The creativity to show off their bodies was a refreshing change in a BL, and it felt natural and real. When they took showers, there were full nude scenes of the back and occasionally the front which celebrated their bodies, not sensationalized them. Two young men when becoming close and are friends would not hesitate to shower together without it appearing to be lustful or erotic. It is simply two young men showering naked with no inhibitions. A refreshing dose of reality in a BL series that is usually only imagined or presumed but we know happens in real life. Perhaps some might take offense or find it unnecessary for the nude scenes, but to not celebrate the pulchritude of the male (or female) body as an artwork of beauty is to take away from the reality of life.
This movie could have been much better with a little more effort put into a screenplay focusing on greater characters development, a more focused direction, and of course more special effects. However, there is no denying that it goes into different directions for a BL theme. The use of nudity was refreshingly honest and real. And the ending had a surprisingly good twist to it. For that, they deserve an expression of praise.
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