| Sundo | |
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Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Topel Lee |
| Produced by | Jose Mari Abacan Topel Lee |
| Written by | Aloy Adlawan |
| Starring | Robin Padilla Katrina Halili Rhian Ramos Hero Angeles Mark Bautista and Sunshine Dizon |
| Music by | Carmina Robles Cuya |
| Cinematography | J.A. Tadena |
| Editing by | Marya Ignacio |
| Distributed by | GMA Films |
| Release date(s) | March 18, 2009 |
| Running time | 161 min. |
| Country | Philippines |
| Language | Filipino Tagalog English |
| Budget | Php34,500,000 |
| Box office | Php100,079,566 |
Sundo is a 2009 Filipino suspense-thriller film from director Topel Lee, with screenplay written by his Ouija screenwriter Aloy Adlawan. The film stars Robin Padilla, Katrina Halili, Rhian Ramos, Hero Angeles, Mark Bautista and Sunshine Dizon.[1] The film was released on March 18, 2009.[2]
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The film opens with Vanessa (Iza Calzado) who was killed when she was visited by her long dead husband as her companion. The film then cuts to Romano (Robin Padilla), a retired military operative who goes into seclusion after being seriously wounded in battle and almost died, discovers that he has the uncanny ability of seeing ghosts around people who will soon encounter sudden, disastrous deaths. Worried of his brother, Romano’s blind sister Isabel (Rhian Ramos) persuades him to return to Manila with the help of Louella (Sunshine Dizon), Romano’s childhood friend who harbors affection for him.
An aspiring actress, Kristina (Katrina Halili), a widow, Lumen (Glydel Mercado), and her nephew, Eric (Hero Angeles) hitch a ride with Romano, Isabel and Louella along with Louella’s driver, Baste (Mark Bautista). On their way back to the city, the group manages to avoid a fatal accident on the road and their respective “sundo” or ghost companion by a twist of fate. After surviving, the group took their supper in a local eater somewhere in Baguio. Lumen, who was eager to pee, went into the bathroom where she died as a rail spike pins her head. Soon, Eric died in a series of odd reaction similar to Final Destination happened as he was electricuted.
The group realized that there is a way to cheat death as Baste and Romano nearly survives a large explosion in a public market killing a large populace. Then the group starts to die in gruesome ways and Kristina, Baste and Isabel died in mysterious ways. Romano was confronted by death for the last time in the rooftop and he fell in the tower towards the pool. He rose up the pool and saw Louella grieving not because of Romano but how she want to avenge her father's death (in the film was a family matters). Romano turns around and saw his dead body lying on the pool and he was the ghost companion of Louella, the last one to die.
The film opened with favorable reviews, obtaining a B grade from the Cinema Evaluation Board, and a PG-13 rating from the MTRCB (Movie and Television Review and Classification Board) - the country's film rating system. Critic Nitz Miralles described the film as "a high octane horror", she continuous to praise director Topel Lee for his ability to genuinely scare the audience, as like from his previous horror film efforts like Ouija and Yaya.[6] However, the film is criticized for being "too violent" for a PG-13 movie by critic Veronica R. Samio, whilst praising the film for its fast pace and screenwriter Aloy Adlawan's "shocking" twist ending.[7]
The final gross of the movie is P100,079,566 according to box office mojo.
The series was released onto DVD-format and VCD-format by GMA Records. The DVD contained the full-length trailer of the movie. The DVD/VCD was released in 2009.
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