Cinemalaya review: Gen Z angst simmers in suspenseful 'Blue Room'

Fred Hawson

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt=" A scene from " Blue="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/entertainment/08/12/blue-room.jpg"/><figcaption>A scene from &#x27;Blue Room&#x27;</figcaption></figure></div><p>Troy Rodriguez (Elijah Canlas) is the front man of an up-and-coming indie rock band called Rebel Rebel. His band mates include smart sensible Rocky Montinola (Nourijune) on bass guitar, working student Christian Lagdameo (Leoni Jin) on lead guitar and bitter 18-year old Chigz Montero (Harvey Bautista) on drums. </p><p>One fateful night, they were joined by one former band member Anton Lorenzana (juan karlos), who just came back home from a long vacation. Things were not particularly going well for them that night, but things were about to take even darker turn when their drive home was interrupted by policemen manning a checkpoint.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rrQ66QdIxj0?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>The lead ensemble was a young and impressive ensemble of raw natural talent. Elijah Canlas is already an acclaimed actor. Juan Karlos Labajo, now stylized as juan karlos, is more known as the singer of hit song &quot;Buwan.&quot; Harvey Bautista was a child actor, now transitioning into mature roles. Making their screen debuts are Nourijune (a.k.a. UP theater actress Nour Hooshmand) and Keoni Jin (member of alt-rock band the Revisors).</p><p>Playing the policemen who made that night a veritable nightmare for the young people were: Bombi Plata (as the hot-headed PO2 Santiago), Jericho Arceo (as the rogue PO1 Toledo) and the ubiquitous Soliman Cruz (as the perversely dirty station chief SPO3 Delgado). These three actors were so good at being bad cops, they inspire fear, indignation and anger. At the same time, they also provide some moments of uneasy black humor. </p><p>In a remarkably auspicious directorial debut, Ma-an Asuncion-Dagñalan developed her story with an escalating sense of unsettling suspense and simmering Gen Z angst. The climax was met with loud spontaneous applause in the screening I caught. </p><p>The screenplay, co-written by Dagñalan with Siege Ledesma, was well-plotted, tautly streamlined, with pointed, pertinent social commentary. She made us feel the liberating spirit of the indie music scene, as well as stuffy claustrophobia of corruption. </p><p>This review was originally published in the author&#x27;s blog, &quot;<a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2022/08/cinemalaya-2022-review-of-blue-room.html">Fred Said</a>.&quot;</p>

Cinemalaya review: Gen Z angst simmers in suspenseful 'Blue Room' | ABS-CBN

Halalan 2025

Entertainment

News

Metro.Style

Sports

More

Traffic

Horoscope

Showbiz

Cinemalaya review: Gen Z angst simmers in suspenseful 'Blue Room'

Cinemalaya review: Gen Z angst simmers in suspenseful 'Blue Room'

Fred Hawson

Published Aug 12, 2022 12:50 PM PHT

Read More:

Cinemalaya

movie review

Blue Room

Elijah Canlas

Juan Karlos Labajo

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.