Pagpag: Nine Lives (2013) - Pagpag: Nine Lives (2013) - User Reviews - IMDb
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2/10
Bad acting ruined this film
arcangel3310 December 2020
Bad acting ruined what should have been an interesting story. It was not even scary.
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9/10
I enjoyed this great film!
justintomovies25 December 2013
As I watched this movie yesterday(Dec.25th,2013) with some of my friends, I can say that it is really worth watching! The story is simply amazing having this different Filipino superstitious beliefs! The actors are all good with their acting. Also the twists and turn of events were absolutely well done! And I can say that, the ending really also took me at the edge of my seat! I enjoyed how the story become connected with the different aspects in the movie. Scenes are beautifully captivating. Although, it has its comedy parts which I also liked in the movie. Pagpag (siyam na buhay) has its own uniqueness that I think made it more different to other type of same genre. The killing scenes were actually well done and directed! I can say that this Philippine horror movie had evolved in becoming a Hollywood type of horror movie! It is rated PG so to those fan of horror movies, this is one horror movie I recommend you to watch!! It is a great film I can say!
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1/10
Pagpag is far from good Filipino film honestly
raulcustodio0827 September 2015
Jump scare bullshit, trying to remake the success of Feng Shui and Sukob which are for me, the best Filipino horror films of this generation. They don't care about how the film was made. What they only care about is to grab money from the audience. Horrible use of CGI, they should stuck up using practical effects like Feng Shui, bad acting is bad, mainstream type of stupid characters, conclusion, this is one of the worst Filipino film of all time.. Pagpag, don't watch it, Katniel should only do romantic movies, don't go to horror film, it's an insult for us horror fanatics. . I'm a Kapamilya but I want a change from Star Cinema, just support movies of Erik Mati (like On the Job and Honor Thy Father) and Jerrold Tarog most recently Heneral Luna.
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3/10
Wow, seriously?...
paul_haakonsen10 November 2023
Sure, I had never heard about this 2013 Filipino horror movie titled "Pagpag: Siyam Na Buhay" (aka "Pagpag: Nine Lives") prior to stumbling upon it by random luck whilst perusing the Netflix catalogue of Asian movies. And given my fascination and love for both horror and Asian cinema, then of course I opted to sit down and watch what director Frasco Mortiz had to offer.

Which turned out wasn't exactly a whole lot, truth be told. Yeah, writers Joel Mercado and Kren V. Yap didn't exactly churn out a stellar script for director Frasco Mortiz to bring to the screen. The storyline in "Pagpag: Siyam Na Buhay" was, in fact, a laughable one.

If you manage to remain awake during the slow the narrative that persists for 105 minutes, admits equally boring characters and mundane acting performances, then you deserve applause.

There was nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, scary about "Pagpag: Siyam Na Buhay". Well, aside from the slow pacing of the narrative.

It felt like you had to be native Filipino to properly enjoy this 2013 movie from director Frasco Mortiz.

My rating of "Pagpag: Siyam Na Buhay" lands on a three out of ten stars.
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5/10
Watchable light horror.
el74 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This is really more of a five and half stars than a five, but I can't quite bring myself to give it a six. The plot summary doesn't quite let you know what the movie is really about. It's about a group of teens who inadvertently get caught up in a plot to resurrect someone from the dead. The way they accidentally nominate themselves to give up the nine lives required for the ritual is by way of the superstitions referenced in the title and movie summary. There are really two different groups of teens involved in this. The 'Haves' are a group of young party people whose SUV breaks down and the nearest place they can go for shelter turns out to be the wake. The 'Have Nots' are teens who run their family's mortuary service. They're at the wake for business reasons. Through one of those plot coincidences that's probably not a coincidence, one member of the 'Have Nots' has a past connection to the creepy family having the wake. The rest of the movie is about them finding out this connection while fighting off a pissed off ghost in a 'picked off one by one' type of narrative. Some of the scares are pretty good. The one with the towel really got me. I was not expecting that to happen. Other scares are more funny than frightening, like the selfie scare which made me LOL. Overall it's not too gory or disturbing to have on if there are people in the room who are easily scared. The finale went on a little too long, with an ending that was like, okay sure. The score is not one for the books. However, it's pretty watchable and definitely not the worst horror movie on the channel.
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6/10
Pagpag is surprisingly a decent light-horror film.
ramosj623 August 2014
Basically this film revolves around superstitions during funerals hence, the title pagpag. This film stars Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla as the main characters. As usual, their chemistry is great and I enjoyed watching them on screen. The supporting characters were enjoyable to watch. The cast of this film were good.

As a horror film fan, I actually think this movie is pretty decent. Surprisingly, the effects in this film are pretty good (considering that most Filipino horror films use horrible CGI/effects - it is improving as time passes by though so no offense); however, comparing it to horror films from other countries, this isn't really anything special. It is surprising though since I can see that the quality of movies in the Philippines has improved and this is a proof to that.

Regarding the story, I find the concept pretty interesting. A problem that I see though is that it lacks substance. The story was simple which is nice since it's easy to understand and not much thinking is needed but the scares were predictable as well as the ending. I believe this movie could have been better.

Overall, this movie is watchable and pretty decent. It's enjoyable if you're looking for a light horror film revolving around teenagers.
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8/10
Well-Made Horror Lite for the Teen Set
3xHCCH5 January 2014
"Pagpag" is the horror movie offering in the 2013 Metro Manila Filmfest. Being the Pinoy horror film fan that I am, even if it is already the second week, I still had to catch this one.

"Pagpag" is the Filipino custom of dropping by another place first before going home after visiting a wake. This was done so that you will not bring the spirit of the dead home.

Leni (Kathryn Bernardo) manages the Heavenly Touch Funeral Parlor which she had inherited from her parents. One day, she was asked by Lucy (Shaina Magdayao) to arrange the wake of her recently-departed husband Roman (Paulo Avelino).

Cedric (Daniel Padilla) is a spoiled rich kid who was out on a drive with his friends, who almost runs Leni down when he lost control of his car. While waiting for the tow truck, they all wait inside the room where Roman's wake was.

Of course, these young people do not make "pagpag" before they went home, so one by one, people begin to die. As the death count reaches seven, Daniel and Leni have to figure out how to stop the curse before it reaches them as the last two souls required to enable to raise a person from the dead back to life.

Admittedly the way this film was told, it reminded me too much of "Feng Shui." At the wake, each one violates some superstition about behavior in a wake (no crying over the coffin, no wiping the coffin, no taking out food from the wake, no looking at mirrors, etc...). Then they would die in a most bizarre manner related to the faux pas they committed.

Since the leads of this film are the leading young teen stars in local show business, the target audience will be teenagers, hence the terror factor is not too high. In fact this film was even quite funny at times. However, it does not mean that it does not deliver the creeps and the jumps. It surely did!

Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo were charming together, and knew how to play for their fan base with their "kilig" scenes. Matet de Leon (as Ate Eva who knew the secret of Roman and Lucy) and Janus del Prado (as Leni's drunkard Tiyo Dencio) stand out in their supporting roles. Clarence Delgado was very cute as Leni's adopted brother Macmac.

Of course, there were some noted lapses in small details or annoying advertising for Kakao Talk, but these can be ignored. Overall, I thought this was a very well-made horror flick, with above-average (by Philippine standards) special effects when it came to the gruesome death scenes and ghostly apparitions. Director Frasco Mortiz does well to balance the horror and the comedy elements into one entertaining film.
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9/10
Very fine, but almost the same with "The Healing"
ljmendones31 December 2013
Warning: Spoilers
When we were in a long line in "Pagpag : Siyam na Buhay" I was very excited, judging from the positive comments online, I thought this would be a good shot. But the movie had many flaws too, like the advertisement for Kakao Talk. Well that was one small flaw. But what really struck me most is the similarity of Pagpag with Chito Rono's horror flick The Healing, like the order of deaths in the movie, the solution to stop the curse from continuing and the demonic spirit inside the antagonist. But the things that I liked in the movie is that the visual effects are really perfect, the performances of Paulo Avelino, Shaina Magdayao, Matet de Leon, but the thing that bothers me is the performance of Kathryn and Daniel, sometimes they try to bring back Chichay and Joaquin from G2B, but at the near end of the film, Kathryn and Daniel's performance improves from 25% to 85% and of course i wouldn't forget the performance of Janus del Prado, he was funny and serious at some points, which made him deserve the nomination for Best Supporting Actor. And another thing that I liked is the brutality of the deaths of the gang, from an eye- gouging, impaling, car accidents, stabbing. Mr. Frasco Mortiz is not afraid to push to the limits the gore and horror in this film, he just keeps on pushing and pushing until he cannot do anymore. This film is almost perfect and could've won Best Picture, if Shake Rattle and Roll was the longest-running-film franchise in the Philippines, Pagpag: Siyam na Buhay is The biggest horror film in the history of MMFF! Breathtaking and spectacular. Very suitable to be called as a Pinoy-Hollywood Film, keeps ancient pamahiins alive. MUST Watch for everyone.
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Best movie film
medinajoy24 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
In our culture, there's a long list of do's and don'ts when dealing with death and this movie focuses on that. In particular, it zooms in on the customary need to "pagpag" after attending a wake. This means that visitors should not directly go to their homes after visiting a wake (lamay) and instead do a pitsop first at any other place (hang-out somewhere else), so as to avoid having any bad spirits follow you home.

PAGPAG o Siyam na Buhay starts with the death of a young man who then haunts his ex-girlfriend who apparently didn't do the mandatory stopover before going home. After this, we are introduced to Cedric (Daniel Padilla), a rebellious teenager who loves to party with his friends. Cedric then has a meet-cute with Leni (Kathryn Bernardo) and almost runs her over with his car. Leni on the other hand, is sort of an events coordinator for a near-bankrupt funeral services. Desperate for revenue, she agrees to a controversial client that most people wouldn't touch with a 10-ft pole. Cedric and Leni's paths then cross once more when Cedric almost runs over her again near the house of Leni's new client (Lucy played by Shaina Magdayao) where a wake is currently taking place. Cedric and his gang of snotty teenagers then seek temporary shelter in Lucy's house because one of their friends isn't feeling well. What follows is a series of events where majority of the characters break every single rule in the book when it comes to proper funeral decorum. Lucy's sister-in-law, Eva (Matet de Leon) is quick to point out each violation

In summary , Pagpag o Siyam na Buhay starts with the death of a young man . The recent spirit of dead man. And hunts down the nine persons and also tries to kill each of them . After the victims ignored some superstitions during his night vigil . Yet, because it is one of the heritage superstitions of our ancestors, that no one shoud go home directly after visiting the a night vigil . My comments regarding this films actors and actresses acts their role well- arranged. I admired and so much appreciated their talents and skills.
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8/10
Must read this!
dizonkellyn24 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Is a example of a local horror fil for make sure to meet out its scary movie but there's obvious skill on display in the film. Kathryn Bernardo as Leni runs a struggling funeral home. She's called out to a house in the middle of nowhere to set up a wake. Rich kidDaniel Padilla as cedric has his car break down near that house, and he and his friends stay there for a bit while waiting for the truck. While there, each of them does something you're not supposed to do at a wake. Though they dismiss the warnings as superstition, it soon becomes clear that there is a spirit after them. As the people around them start dying, Leni and Cedric investigate, hoping to find a way out of their curse.

For me the more the film reveals about its ghostly premise, the less sense it makes. The rules are really ill defined. Are these people dying because they committed taboo acts at the wake.So if that's the case, one of these deaths does fit in the framework. If the ghost is simply out to kill a bunch of people, then it seems to have gone to a lot of trouble to track these particular people down. As is the case with plenty of local horror films, the film uses the supernatural as license to tell a story that largely ignores logic. It offers explanations for why stuff is happening, and then ignores those explanations when it's inconvenient for the narrative.

This wouldn't be such a bad thing if the movie were actually scary. Because the design for the supernatural threat doesn't look very good on screen. And his modus operandi doesn't elicit much terror. Rather than just be source of painful violence, this ghost kind of goes through the trouble of coming up with thematically appropriate deaths. Apparently, the ghost isn't in any real hurry to kill anyone, and likes to take the time to construct elaborate means of murder. This would actually be interesting either.

The film's somewhat campy sense of humor helps a bit, People are dying, after all, and levity doesn't always seem appropriate. The acting is all right. Neither Daniel Padilla nor Kathryn Bernardo is called on to do very much, but the characters they play are well within their wheelhouse. Shaina Magdayao is remarkably good at playing creepy, her eyes often conveying something a twisted underneath. No one in the supporting manages to stand out, but that's more an issue with the writing than it is the acting.
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8/10
Must read this!
dizonkellyn24 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Is a example of a local horror fil for make sure to meet out its scary movie but there's obvious skill on display in the film. Kathryn Bernardo as Leni runs a struggling funeral home. She's called out to a house in the middle of nowhere to set up a wake. Rich kidDaniel Padilla as cedric has his car break down near that house, and he and his friends stay there for a bit while waiting for the truck. While there, each of them does something you're not supposed to do at a wake. Though they dismiss the warnings as superstition, it soon becomes clear that there is a spirit after them. As the people around them start dying, Leni and Cedric investigate, hoping to find a way out of their curse. For me the more the film reveals about its ghostly premise, the less sense it makes. The rules are really ill defined. Are these people dying because they committed taboo acts at the wake.So if that's the case, one of these deaths does fit in the framework. If the ghost is simply out to kill a bunch of people, then it seems to have gone to a lot of trouble to track these particular people down. As is the case with plenty of local horror films, the film uses the supernatural as license to tell a story that largely ignores logic. It offers explanations for why stuff is happening, and then ignores those explanations when it's inconvenient for the narrative. This wouldn't be such a bad thing if the movie were actually scary. Because the design for the supernatural threat doesn't look very good on screen. And his modus operandi doesn't elicit much terror. Rather than just be source of painful violence, this ghost kind of goes through the trouble of coming up with thematically appropriate deaths. Apparently, the ghost isn't in any real hurry to kill anyone, and likes to take the time to construct elaborate means of murder. This would actually be interesting either. The film's somewhat campy sense of humor helps a bit, People are dying, after all, and levity doesn't always seem appropriate. The acting is all right. Neither Daniel Padilla nor Kathryn Bernardo is called on to do very much, but the characters they play are well within their wheelhouse. Shaina Magdayao is remarkably good at playing creepy, her eyes often conveying something a twisted underneath. No one in the supporting manages to stand out, but that's more an issue with the writing than it is the acting.
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