Directed by King Palisoc and with a screenplay from Dodo Dayao, (K)ampon is one of two horror films showing during the upcoming Metro Manila Film Festival, which kicks off this December 25th. The film stars Derek Ramsey and Beauty Gonzalez and was produced by Quantum Films. 

A prologue establishes how we’ll be dabbling with the supernatural and the black arts, along with Filipino countryside practices that deal with healing, death, and resuscitation. Then, we segue to the city and are introduced to Clark (Derek Ramsey) and his wife, Eileen (Beauty Gonzalez), a childless couple. Eileen is the apple of her father's eye (Al Tantay), who never approved of Clark, an ex-cop, but wishes he was a grandfather. 

The stylized title points to how the word has more than one meaning. Kampon is a surrogate or disciple, while Ampon is an orphan. The fact that Clark and Eileen are without children and that Eileen yearns to have a family, but Clark has been medically diagnosed as impotent, becomes crucial factors in how the double meaning of the title resonates in the film. 

The film’s narrative becomes ominous and disturbing when the child Jade (Erin Espiritu) shows up on the doorsteps of the Clark and Eileen residence one stormy night. It’s a spacious home, and it’s established early on how, with his police background, Clark has wired the home with multiple closed circuit cameras, and all cameras are controlled in one room that Clark regularly retires to. 

I mention this control room as Palisoc has one imaginative sequence later in the film when a break-in is shown purely from this control room and the multiple screens. It’s the entry of Jade that brings about the organic and very real element of weirdness and suspense/horror that permeates through the film. As she’s childless, Eileen immediately sees Jade as someone to protect, and the revelations that the child eventually utters will create serious doubt and discord within the house.

What the screenplay and directing admirably do is embark on a journey of discovery, with a malevolent form of the supernatural entering the lives of Clark and Eileen. No spoilers here, as there is a gradual tightening of the screws, and rather than herald the jump scares through the musical score, we’re asked to notice and discover the horror elements on our own.

I find this approach to horror more appealing, as it’s a more disturbing method, making us feel that the horror emanates from regular life and does not have to involve witches, serial killers, or unhinged, escaped lunatics. Kampon effectively uncovers horror in the lives of regular people. 

Watch this disturbing, frightening film, and appreciate how the filmmakers haven’t relied on the Big Bang or an over-loud chilling musical score - but a steely, resolute deep dive into terror within a common-place environment.