2019 is a year full of good horror films with beautiful cinematography. Seeing Banal's trailer, I didn't hesitate to watch it. It's Halloween season, so I watched it on Netflix.

Set in 2004, Banal centers on a group of high school friends who goes hiking to a fictional mountain called Mt. Awanggan in Northern Luzon (my guess would be in Benguet or something). The film opens with a text saying that it is based on a real mountain fire in 2004, and the cause of the fire is unknown (actually searched on Google, but I can't find any stories about it. Not so sure. Probably they're just saying 'based on true story' for promotion.). Anyway, back to the plot of the movie-as you guessed it, and unbeknownst to the teenagers, the movie is haunted and full of vengeful entities.

Let me start with the positives first. Add Banal to the list of horror films with beautiful cinematography. Like, really-I love the setting, camera works etc. The special effects, especially on that river scene, are also pretty impressive.

But with a movie about teens getting killed one by one by supernatural entities, don't expect realistic acting. The acting is sub-par. Brillantes (sosyal girl) and Tanfelix (nerd guy) are both pretty good, with Tanfelix being the most impressive in my opinion, but there is nothing really remarkable on what they did here. Umali (protagonist) is good at delivering her lines, but seems to only have one reaction on her face throughout the whole film. Taki (BFF girl) is a hit-and-miss, while Last (jock) needs more improvement.

The dialogues are way worse-bad dialogues produce unconvincing acting. Most dialogues even made me laugh out loud. Plot is pretty predictable. The twist is a really good one, but it is badly executed. It could've had potential to be better---this whole film could've been a lot better.

3/10