Mary Cherry Chua is a 2023 Filipino horror film based on an urban legend about a high school girl who was murdered by the school janitor.
Written and directed by Roni S. Benaid (Marita; Poon).
The Viva Films-Studio Viva production stars Ashley Diaz, Joko Diaz, Kokoy De Santos, Lyca Gairanod, Krissha Viaje, Abby Bautista and Alma Moreno.
Review:
Mary Cherry Chua, which let’s be honest is a mouthful to say and will have you screaming at the characters in the movie to just call her Mary Chua or plain old Mary, is seemingly based on a genuine Filipino urban legend, and is not, as one might assume, a made-up concept.
The urban legend tells the tale of a popular and rich high school student who was carnally assaulted and murdered by a deranged school janitor. The next morning, her corpse was found on campus by some shocked fellow students.
In this film, we follow a creepy nerd named Karen (Ashley Diaz) who has an obsession with horror stories and urban legends, although as this is a film she is noticeably attractive and not shy and awkward like many nerds are in real life. She hears about the legend of Mary Cherry Chua and decides she wants to investigate what happened.
But wouldn’t you know it – her campus is trying to shut her down! There is a cover-up going on and someone doesn’t want her to discover the truth.
However, one of her teachers takes a keen interest in her investigation and encourages her to find the truth, which leads her to uncover a terrible campus scandal. Or something like that. This is a teen-based horror film so the plot doesn’t need to make any logical sense.
And thankfully it doesn’t. It’s like a thrill ride at an amusement park when you are wondering ‘What’s the purpose of this loop to the ride’s storyline?’ And that’s where part of the film kind of falls apart. The ghost finds out that the lead nerd is trying to help her, but yet for some reason, she persists in trying to scare her. Why are you doing that? Is it because no one else is interacting with you and you feel the need, as a ghost, to scare someone?
Anyway, on top of the usual jump scares, make-up effects, blue colour grading – and the fact that so much of this movie is set at night when I don’t believe a bunch of high school students would remain at their campus grounds for no good reason – what you’re going to get here is just the standard teen horror flick that you’ve seen a dozen times before.
I’ve got to add that the colour grading is just a bit much though. It takes almost all the atmosphere out of the scenes and makes them feel uncomfortably lifeless, such as the classroom scenes, or in fact most of the scenes that are set on the campus grounds.
Yet the horror scenes are fine, and the eventual revelation of the story just validates the gut feeling you have about thirty minutes into the film where you question the motives of a particular character.
Honestly, it’s not a bad film, although you’ll struggle to remember the plot line of after a few weeks. Like I most certainly will. That said, I do enjoy movies about urban legends, and with the exception of the colour grading, this one isn’t too bad.
The Arty Dans, MOVIES & MANIA
YouTube reviews:
Trailer [1080p HD]:
Main cast and characters:
Ashley Diaz … Karen; Joko Diaz … Mr Manzano; Kokoy De Santos … Paco; Lyca Gairanod … Faith; Krissha Viaje … Lena; Abby Bautista … Mary Cherry Chua; Alma Moreno … Ms Estrella; Elia Ilano … Student; Rolando Inocencio … Emilio
Migo Valid … Oca; Gil Macahis … Security Guard; Cherrylyn David … Mrs Wong; Maria Riya Palma Miranda … Mrs Liwanag
Technical specs:
2 hours
Also directed by Roni S. Benaid:
MARITA Reviews of Filipino horror with teasers, trailers and two clips!
