I haven't seen any good original horror movies on Netflix since I stumbled onto the works of Oz Perkins and his standout, atmospheric gems The Blackcoat's Daughter and I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House. That is, not until I watched the new Filipino flick Eerie. Its atmosphere, pacing, and snippet-like horror sequences are jolting and stark, reminiscent of The Ring - a horror movie I nearly jumped out of my theater seat with. Eerie set me ill at ease from the get-go, bringing an old trope to a new setting for some directorial precision in terms of the scares department. The movie is spoken almost completely in Filipino, and the landscape is set with the Spanish imprint left upon the island in terms of religion and proper names.
Eerie tells the story of Santa Lucia, a strict Catholic boarding school and the recent death that's just fallen upon it. A young student, Erika, has recently hung herself in a bathroom stall, setting off an instant urban legend for the other girls to fear. The girls also fear Sister Alice, whose strict, fascist practices rule them with an iron fist. When young Anna slips onto the third floor to the "comfort room" to use the facilities, she's met with Erika's gnarled, ashen hands and left for all intents and purposes catatonic.
On the other side of Sister Alice's taciturnity is the neat and orderly school counselor Pat Consolacion. She finds herself concerned with the clandestine workings of the school, and is determined to get to the bottom of Erika's death - especially when she is visited by Erika's ghost, and when another girl turns up mysteriously dead. Pat engages in cryptic, late night conversations with Erika as to what truly happened to her, revealing that even a ghost can be haunted with their own demons. This concept juxtaposes nicely with the previously mentioned I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, which features a truly original character study of a ghost. Eerie reminds me of this and The Ring meshed one, while churning a slow-burning, eerily-scored whodunit.
Pat is haunted to premonition-like dreams, as she continues to burn the midnight oil and fall asleep at her desk. This is when she's not attempting to reach Erika, who constantly leaves her hanging with the words "someone's coming." Pat is fearless and probing, concerned only with finding out the truth behind the deaths. She finds Sister Alice highly suspicious of possible foul play, and the stern, icy nun can sense as much with uneasy stares and contemptuous glares. Alice is hiding something, and Pat knows that the red herring janitor had nothing to do with the deaths of the girls as many believe.
According to Sister Alice, Erika was responsible for the deaths, and soon, the truth is revealed in a shocking, chilling finale. Eerie could have been better, but the ending isn't exactly expected, so at least director Mikhail Red did well in this regard. Eerie is a fresh breath of air with an excellent score and excellent pacing. If you enjoy the bad seed versus do-gooder aspect of The Ring, and the chilling introspection of a ghost displayed in I Am the Pretty Thing, then take a chance on Eerie. It's one of the better horror options streaming on Netflix.
On the other side of Sister Alice's taciturnity is the neat and orderly school counselor Pat Consolacion. She finds herself concerned with the clandestine workings of the school, and is determined to get to the bottom of Erika's death - especially when she is visited by Erika's ghost, and when another girl turns up mysteriously dead. Pat engages in cryptic, late night conversations with Erika as to what truly happened to her, revealing that even a ghost can be haunted with their own demons. This concept juxtaposes nicely with the previously mentioned I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, which features a truly original character study of a ghost. Eerie reminds me of this and The Ring meshed one, while churning a slow-burning, eerily-scored whodunit.Pat is haunted to premonition-like dreams, as she continues to burn the midnight oil and fall asleep at her desk. This is when she's not attempting to reach Erika, who constantly leaves her hanging with the words "someone's coming." Pat is fearless and probing, concerned only with finding out the truth behind the deaths. She finds Sister Alice highly suspicious of possible foul play, and the stern, icy nun can sense as much with uneasy stares and contemptuous glares. Alice is hiding something, and Pat knows that the red herring janitor had nothing to do with the deaths of the girls as many believe.According to Sister Alice, Erika was responsible for the deaths, and soon, the truth is revealed in a shocking, chilling finale. Eerie could have been better, but the ending isn't exactly expected, so at least director Mikhail Red did well in this regard. Eerie is a fresh breath of air with an excellent score and excellent pacing. If you enjoy the bad seed versus do-gooder aspect of The Ring, and the chilling introspection of a ghost displayed in I Am the Pretty Thing, then take a chance on Eerie. It's one of the better horror options streaming on Netflix.
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