Segunda Mano

The Bag. One of the symbolism of the film. Lol I don't get this though

Segunda Mano (English: Second Hand) is a 2011 Filipino horror-suspense film starring Kris Aquino and Dingdong Dantes. It is produced by Star Cinema, and co-produced by Agostodos Pictures, and MJM Productions. It is an official entry to the 2011 Metro Manila Film Festival. (Initial information from Wikipedia.)

Main Cast:

Kris Aquino - Mabel
Dingdong Dantes - Ivan
Angelica Panganiban - Mariella
Bangs Garcia - Anna
Jhong Hilario - Dindo
Helen Gamboa - Adela

Mariella (Angelica Panganiban) who is heavily injured, seeks for help

Plot:
 Late at night while driving near a lake, Mariella was killed by her lover Owen, for suddenly backing out with their elopement. Mariella's husband, Ivan forgets Mariella as he sees that Mariella doesn't love him anymore and just decides to move on with their daughter, Angel. Ivan finally meets a new lover, Mabel and have a new relationship again. But their relationship worsens when Mariella starts haunting Mabel after accidentally buying Mariella's bag at a second-hand shop of bags and eventually buying her dress accidentally at a thrift shop.

Story Analysis:

The story shows the concept of  "Segunda Mano" (Second Hand) in relationships. Being a second in a relationship can be painful and can lead into sadness and obsession.

Segunda Mano in Family Relationship.
Mabel has been always lonely for 20 years for thinking that her mother doesn't love her and blames her for the death of her younger daughter, Marie at the sea. Mabel's mother, Adela was never able to get over of the loss of her daughter and still misses her even after 20 years.

Mabel thinks that because of this, her mother is only with her because of her responsibility and not because she loves her. This made her feel that she is just a "second" or "segunda mano" for her mother.

Ivan (Dingdong Dantes)

Ivan, also feels the same. After being replaced by Mariella over a lover, he feels that his family is not complete. He longs to have a complete family for his daughter Angel, and sees Mabel as a woman who will complete the family he has ever dreamed of. His dream of having a complete family rooted from his background of having a broken family where his mother also had an affair with another man and witnessed how his father suffered it.

Segunda Mano in Love Relationship.
Ivan has always felt the pain of being a "second" in a relationship with Mariella. That is why he has been obsessed in keeping his woman with care and has to make sure that his new woman will stay with him. Mabel experienced this. Even though she felt love from Ivan, she felt being handled by a possessive man as Ivan starts getting strict with her with meeting other men such as Dindo who is only Mabel's friend.

Other characters such as Samantha has experienced this "segunda mano" or being "second" in a relationship. She has secret desires for Ivan but she was unfortunate because Mariella had become the first for Ivan and after Mariella is gone, she attempts to be the first but unfortunately becomes not nearly second when Ivan already found his true love in Mabel.

All people wants to be the first for the people they love, obsession takes place when they really want to be first hardly and falls into desperation. But with understanding each other, the status of being first and second can be broken and can make a relationship complete.

Rating:

-Sound: 

-Cinematography: 

 -Actors:

-Story:

 -Personal Interest:

 -Overall:

Sound. The sounds are actually high quality. It's effective in bringing suspense elements. I don't know about the soundtrack though, I wasn't able to remember anything of it if it had any.

A scene that I didn't seem to see at the movie, only at the trailer. This is actually a good horror scene.

Cinematography. The cinematography was great. It was able to explain the story very well. The effects were good even the digital ones except for making the ghost appear through a TV signal effect, which doesn't fit the theme of Segunda Mano. It is creepy but not for a film like this. Such effect is used if the story has technology elements such as Kairo - Pulse and The Ring.

Mabel (Kris Aquino) effectively execute a disturbed look

Actors. At first, I was doubting why Dingdong Dantes won as best actor with this film. It seems like his plain acting at first but he surprised me with his effectively portrayal of an obsessive and psychotic man. Now I understand why he won. Kris Aquino never fails to amaze me with her acting, she is really far from her usual self when acting. It's as if she is really a kind a different person. Bangs Garcia is actually a comic relief. She is really funny and made the film less serious and brightened up dull moments. Helen Gamboa was also excellent in portraying a mother who lost and misses her daughter.

Story. The plot twists and construction was great but the presentation was lacking. Even though the film is expressive, it was predictable. I won't be telling you big spoilers here so I won't elaborate. At least I appreciate the story and it touched me by the way.

Mariella (Angelica Panganiban)

Personal Interest. I'm not really interested with Philippine horror films because they are usually flop, meaning they are only made for the sake of the fans who wants to see their favorite stars more than the story. But I'm not even going to lie, Segunda Mano is still flop but it's not that really bad than the previous flop movies that I had watched. There is improvement in this film for story development and I hope this will continue in the coming horror films to be made.

The Doll. Belongs to Marie. Symbolism of Mabel's family being stuck with the past where Marie was still a child.

Overall. I don't actually recommend people to watch this but it's not really disappointing to watch. But I already warned you that it might be a flop. But for me, I can stand it because of the good story.