Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins marks the return of the iconic horror franchise to the Metro Manila Film Festival since Shake, Rattle & Roll XV in 2014. While the franchise made a comeback last year outside the festival, Evil Origins reclaims its traditional MMFF home, where it has been a staple of Filipino holiday cinema.
In this High Five review, we take a close look at what makes the newest addition to the Shake, Rattle & Roll franchise stand out. Spoilers ahead so be warned.
The SRR Shared Universe
Still from Regal Entertainment
For starters, Shake, Rattle & Roll has always followed an anthology format, comprised of 3 chapters per movie. Evil Origins attempts to shake things up and take the storytelling up a notch by weaving the three stories in a shared universe.
All stories are connected by a malevolent force, making the viewing experience much more cohesive compared to previous films in the series. The focus on Philippine history and mythology also makes the film much more immersive, thus making the scares more effective as well.
An Origin That Returns to Form
Still from Regal Entertainment
“1775” was a dark and atmospheric opening to the film, setting the tone for the terror that the recurring antagonist in this film, Malum (Jerome Philip Canseco), will bring to humanity. The chapter effectively establishes an ominous mood that lingers throughout the movie, with the help of cinematography and scoring, inch by inch, unlocking Malum at its scariest form. Janice De Belen stands out in her commanding performance, delivering her classic horror acting, which she’s known for in the previous installments of the franchise. The rest of the ensemble delivered and evoked fear and curiosity in its audience.
However, the chapter leans heavily into familiar religious-horror imagery, a look and feel that is not at all novel. While this familiarity helps anchor the story visually, some use of jump scares can feel quite random in execution. What hampered this chapter is its limited runtime. Considering that this is supposed to be where the evil originates from, this episode fails to add a deeper layer to Malum’s origin story.
Strong Ensemble Performances
Still from Regal Entertainment
The Gen Z–driven, star-studded chapter “2025” emerges as the most engaging of the three segments. It opens with deliberately heightened dialogue and bold musical choices that may initially feel jarring, but gradually settle into an acquired taste that aligns with the chapter’s stylistic intent. As the story unfolds, high-pitched screams, romantic subplots, and striking costumes come together to form a clear homage to classic slasher films—and in this regard, the chapter delivers on its promise.
The adrenaline-packed “2025” delivered its sustained tension and kept the audience glued to their screens, wondering what comes next. And while plot twists were predictable, the bigger untapped potential in this episode is how it dipped into social commentary, but completely lost it mid-plot. Given that the antagonists in this episode are mere humans rather than the supernatural, the story had room to further deepen the backstories of the cult, the victims, and the ritual – further elevating fear beyond jump scares.
Even so, “2025” remains the peak of the movie, showcasing a dynamic ensemble of up-and-coming actors whose performances delivered tension and fun.
A Fragmented Conclusion
Still from Regal Entertainment
The final chapter, “2050,” was by far the weakest. Set in the post-Malum rebirth era, the chapter struggles to fully maximize its screentime to develop its characters and ultimately wrap the story with a satisfying conclusion. As a result, several plot points remain unresolved, and the closing scene lacked the emotional and visual impact audiences might have expected from the end of a century-spanning horror saga. Some narrative choices also feel inconsistent with the earlier episodes, weakening continuity and making for a disjointed viewing experience.
Ultimately, “2050” shows glimpses of imaginative potential, but a tighter narrative focus and coherence to the other episodes would have elevated it into a more satisfying finale..
Scares Galore and More
Still from Regal Entertainment
Overall, Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins attempts to break out from the expected format of the franchise. Aside from well executed scares, the film showcases a commendable range of storylines, from religious horror during the colonial era to modern-day cult narratives—many of which have never been seen in the franchise. Even so, continuity was the biggest concern in this movie. Its attempt to connect the stories into one unified story left some of the individual chapters feeling like they were forced to conform to the main plot, rather than develop organically.
Still, the film brings in a fresh take on the usual combination of eerie lore, out-of-this-world monsters, and well-timed comedic beats that are present in this horror franchise. The film’s Best Visual Effects is well-earned, with technical achievements that stand out not only among MMFF entries but also within the franchise itself. Longtime fans would love the comeback of the franchise mainstays, Janice De Belen and Manilyn Reynes, while Gen Zers will resonate with the fresh faces like Francine Diaz, Seth Fedelin, Fyang Smith, and JM Ibarra. This makes Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins a fun watch for families and friends during this holiday season.
SEA Wave rates Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins 3 out of 5 waves.