Leofwine_draca THE ECHO is a VERY low budget ghost story made in the Philippines. The tale is about a guy who buys an apartment in a run down old building which turns out (naturally) to be haunted by various spirits with sinister intentions. The model for this film is very much RINGU and the Japanese ghost story in general, so there's a dingy, grubby look to the surroundings and lots of slow-burning suspense. Sadly, the budget is so limited that it all adds up to very little in the end, but at least all of that creeping about in the dark adds up to a little atmosphere.

chrichtonsworld Within 8 minutes you can figure out what is going on. But it takes the director almost forever (85 minutes) to reveal the story officially to the viewer as if someone still hasn't a clue by then even when a certain event gets repeated over and over again. And if there had been some twist at the end or something else to compensate than I could have forgiven the director for this mistake. Sadly there aren't any surprises to be found in this movie.Sigaw started out pretty good by building a tense atmosphere only to ruin it with loud sound effects. The main character early on hears but also sees things. And this is the part that doesn't make sense. The place he lives is in a dump. Apparently he is one of the few people who are staying in the building. All the other tenants have fled. Still he refuses to leave his precious unit. Why? That never gets explained.(Well,he mentions he has bought the unit. But somehow this reason doesn't convince me enough since he has a very sweet mother who wants him to return to his old home.) It would have created some sympathy towards this character if we understood why it is so necessary for him to stay. Now he just seems very stupid who has an even more stupid (but good looking) girlfriend called Pinky who does things a normal person in their position never would do. The whole time we have to endure the lack of real thrilling moments combined with the stupid actions of these characters.If you managed to stay awake till the ending than you'll find out that there is no reward for doing so since the ending is complete abysmal and the most stupid of endings I have ever seen.I hate to say it but there is nothing that Sigaw offers that is worth watching. Waste of time!

mr_zombi (KillPopStars) but probably cry...Truly i have seen plenty of Filipino horror films for the past decade (more noticeably the 90s era where most pinoy horror films where nothing more than laughed at shadows to it's former classic roots). But it's changed for the past few years, and this is one of them. Sigaw (trans title: THE SCREAM *or Hollywood title THE ECHO) sets around a man named Marvin who has bought a room (reffered as Unit) in a rundown apartment. Every night there has been shouting and loud banging of abuse from his neighbors. A Policman who suspects his wife having a lover hidden in the apartment enrages him. Soon the wife starts asking for help from him. Not till long that Marvin is caught up in all the mess that has been created. It will not only destroy his residential stay, but probably his life. Sigaw more than ranks up with one of Asia's most noted horror films. Though as usual, more dramatic than scary. It puts a mood of sadness through out the film. Making you actually care about what the characters have to go through. With it's moody plot, addicting characters, great scenery shots (trust me, if you've seen half of the filipino movies i have, this pretty much has the shooting budget of Star Wars), and so much atmosphere with a lot of nicely edited composed score. This is one film you should not pass up. Though it will be hard to find a copy of the DVD in the Us (though probably near you at a local Filipino Store, or at the Regal site). But already has been given a US Remake to boot. Surely this film will at least reach cult status.

j Look past the production value of The Echo (Sigaw) and you'll know what I'm talking about.While yes, the cinematography, direction and editing is good, the attempts at scaring viewers is too obvious and highly predictable. After 10 minutes into the film, I already know the basic story and the possible outcomes. At least The Others had me wondering for an hour.One thing Laranas must take into account is more attention to detail. He spend too much time making sure his shots is eerie enough to be part of the horror genre, but he (and the entire production crew) forgot details that would have added much realism to the movie. Yllana's "costumes" are way too clean for a two-bit police officer - his uniform is too new and doesn't look even used. I was bothered at the lack of blood splatter on him and his clothes during the hacking scenes. Was he wearing an invisible shield? Even the stick was clean (and not dripping with blood after hitting Calzado several times over) when he went for the little girl. Getting beaten up on the head by a police stick would usually result to a cracked skull, and not merely a small wound oozing out blood. Normally, a person would be literally knocked out and be unable to stand, much less protest. The wound on Guevarra's head changes places - from the right side of her head when she first appears in the elevator, and then on the left sometimes center side in other parts of the movie. Can someone make a decision where the wound should be? And stick to that decision. On to the actors: too rehearsed, bad and not to mention "forgetting what to do next". They are all too conscious of their own looks. I'm sure that if I get kicked, dragged, punched – my hair would be a mess. But not Locsin, whose hair falls back into place quite beautifully after the scene. Another idea for a hair commercial? Probably. Secondly, night-after-night beatings would definitely result in a swollen upper lip, a bruised cheek and all that. This time, not Calzado, who only has a few minor "charcoaled-in" bruises.The eerie-ness of the movie was not helped by the sound effects that were just too loud. After a while you started to expect it already. It would have been better to have more naturally creepy sounds than music that get too loud at "suspenseful" moments.There are also scenes that elicit a "huh?", which I will not discuss because I am sure that there are people who has not seen the movie yet. It's not a great "scare" movie but if Hollywood will do a remake, maybe it will be a better version. Laranas should review his movie and plug the holes so there will be no leaks this time.