Synopsis
Nokturno is a Filipino folk horror film set to premier in 2024. It explores the haunting extremes of Philippine folklore and the psychological weight of family legacy. The film was directed by Mikhail Red and follows the story of Jamie, a young woman who works overseas. She is compelled to return to her rural hometown in the Philippines after her younger sister Joana dies under mysterious circumstances.
Supernatural horror and generational secrets await Jamie upon her return. As she attempts to come to terms with her sister’s death, she soon realizes her family is cursed with the Kumakatok; a mythical curse is said to the death-knocking witching hour for doomed mortals. The triad of ghoulish beings whom Filipino tales describe as shrouded in ghostly robes, heralding doom are an omen: death is imminent for whoever sees them. This curse took her sister’s life, and now threatens everyone and everything in her family’s life.
While recalling the troubling events surrounding her estranged mother Lilet, Jamie starts to realize the chilling truth that lies within her bloodline: the family is bound to a curse. The only feasible method of breaking it is through a terrifying ritual steeped in forgotten traditions. With the Kumakatok growing bolder and the body count increasing, Jamie must face an ancient evil, make peace with her family, confront her worst fears, and do all that before time runs out.
Cast & Characters
Nadine Lustre as Jamie: Nadine Lustre gives an astounding performance as a woman battling with modern independence, familial obligations, and generational trauma in her stunning leading role. Jamie’s emotionally guarded nature and fierce determination make her a complex and deeply relatable protagonist.
Eula Valdez as Lilet: Valdez plays Jamie’s traditional mother Lilet who has always been a stoic figure due to the burden of loss and guilt. A mother willing to do whatever it takes to shield the remaining fragments of her family, even when that means keeping dark secrets, is something only Valdez can bring to life with the nuance and strength her character requires.
Bea Binene as Joana: Even after her death in the film, Joana’s essence lingers. It is only through flashbacks and supernatural visions that Joana’s character is brought to life. Bea Binene conveys the powerful emotion needed for the tragedy that sets the film’s events in motion.
Wilbert Ross as Manu: He is Joana’s boyfriend and one of Kumakatok’s few non-family victims. His character escalates the story’s intensity when he teams up with Jamie. Together Manu and Jamie try to solve the mystery of a Kumakatok’s ghost.
Ku Aquino as Tito Jun: Ku Aquino is a protective barangay captain and a caring uncle. His character is one of the few who knows the myth buried deep in the culture and aids Jamie in her navigation through the folklore associated with the rituals she must perform to stay alive.
Guiding the film into new directions
With a commendable command of genre flexibility, Mikhail Red approaches Nokturno with a meticulously crafted narrative and lens. The film’s aesthetic gives us an almost dream-like essence with its shadows, foggy exteriors, and candle-lit interiors. It is important that the setting is rural because not only does it provide a sense of isolation for the horror to build but also acts as a cultural space where potent traditions and myths dangerously remain alive.
Red largely avoids jump scares, preferring to create menace through slow-burn suspense and psychological dread. The Kumakatok are not fully shown which builds suspense, keeping them mystifying and spookier. Unease is created in the film through sound design, especially with the resounding knocks and the haunting silence that follows.
Nokturno is more than just a horror film; it’s an intricate examination of culture, grief, and the weight of familial legacy. One of the focal struggles is the conflict between belief and skepticism. For example, Jamie embodies the contemporary Filipino, a mythic skeptic wishing to elide the bygone, while her mother Lilet embodies the older generation that is steeped in the lore of the unseen, curses, and the voodoo of ritualistic power.
The Kumakatok serve as metaphorical intergenerational dread, silent, visageless, anthropic visitors of the past knocking at the present door demanding for acknowledgment. The film also tackles the immigrant paradigm through the lens of Jamie. As an OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker), she tries to distance herself from her roots only to be forced to confront them. The enduring idea of being tied to one’s roots, no matter how far one travels, is central to her odyssey.
The family curse showcases supernatural features, but also highlights real life generational trauma where pain, guilt, and fear are passed on, without explanation, until there is confrontation. For Jamie, the journey is not only about surviving through the curse, but also facing realities, which for her, are emotional truths deeply entrenched.
Cinematography and Music
As previously mentioned, cinematography is one of the most remarkable attributes of Nokturno. The nighttime scenes are marked with shades of blue and gray, invoking an eerie and surreal atmosphere. The countryside, in all its beauty, is truly daunting and feels like a character that is alive. Tight candle-lit rooms, dark ancestral houses, and narrow corridors add to the suffocating atmosphere.
The music in the film is hauntingly minimal, laced with restive silence. The score is filled with traditional instruments and folk music pays homage to Filipino culture. It often becomes the silence between the sharpest footfalls or gentle raps on the door that isolates the most chilling moments.
Reception
Nokturno, which came out in late 2024, got mixed reviews. The reviewers appreciated the film’s ambition, Nadine Lustre’s performance, and the modern horror themes interwoven with Filipino mythology. However, several critics cited issues with the pacing and pointed out that the focus on atmosphere rather than on action sometimes undermined character development.
Nevertheless, for fans of folk horror and ethnographically rooted narratives, Nokturno is an unusual addition to Philippine cinema. Reception was largely positive for the film’s effort in formulating a localized horror mythology that does not draw from Western influences.
Conclusion
Nokturno portrays a chilling and intriguing addition to the horror genre in the Philippines. The film does not strive solely to invoke fear; it contemplates, critiques, and pays respect to the intricacies of Filipino identity. Backed by stellar performances and rich cultural context, accompanied by a narrative that lingers long after the viewer’s attention fades to black, the film reinforces that horror can be brutally impactful and deeply thoughtful. The film accomplishes its goal of rekindling metaphorical and literal fears and forcing both the characters and the audience to confront their nightmares, even if they have to navigate through the dark to face those fears.
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