Huramentado: Kill the President

A dark story about corruption, murder, grief and revenge in the Philippines.

This action drama feature focuses on Northern Samar, regarded as one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines. It is suggested that there is a great deal of corruption going on at this area and sometimes citizens work as bodyguards for politicians and occasionally are hired to execute political rivals. The plot explores how these circumstances affect the lives of some of the inhabitants of Northern Samar.

The protagonists are individuals who live dangerous lives and are looking to get even. There is Morales, a gunman who seeks revenge for the murder of loved ones, Michael Castro, a policeman whose father was killed by criminals and is now determined to get even and Maria Martinez, a tough policewoman and mother, who will stop at nothing to get the bad guys. Their lives intertwine with one another as they each try to complete their plans. A large number of people get shot and there is hand-to-hand combat.

This could be described as a murder-revenge film, as the idea of vengeance is often pointed out. Lowlifes and hoodlums are often present and the mood is pretty much downbeat, with plenty of run-down neighbourhoods and rare moments of happiness. The narrative is nonlinear and keeps cutting back and forth in time, which can be confusing.

Arguably, the highlights here are the action scenes. However, since the movie was filmed on a low budget, they do not look spectacular, but nevertheless are entertaining enough. Apart from these scenes, there is not much to enjoy. The story about people wanting revenge and fighting bad guys is a plus, however there are numerous sequences that are uninteresting.

As mentioned, this is a low-budget movie, and the picture quality and sound are not good. The action sequences often include slow motion and fast cutting techniques, however throughout the film the editing and camerawork is frequently clumsy. There are also scenes that include unrealistic punching sounds. The acting is not particularly good either.

Regarding the score, it is tense, indicating danger and the same heavy rock music is heard during the action scenes, making viewing those parts a bit annoying.

Overall, this feature does not offer an experience that is worth pursuing. It seems that the film is aiming to be taken seriously, but ends up being silly and dull instead.