Feng Shui (2004 film)

Feng Shui is a 2004 Filipino supernatural horror movie starring Kris Aquino. The film centers on a cursed Bagua mirror where a person gets killed if they stare at the Bagua mirror, with their death relating at any way to their Chinese zodiac. The film grossed ₱114,236,563.00 and was the highest-grossing film of 2004 in the Philippines. The Hollywood version of the movie is still frozen and it is unknown if Star Cinema have decided to have a contract with Hollywood. A sequel, Feng Shui 2, was released on December 25, 2014 as the official entry to the 2014 Metro Manila Film Festival.

Plot
While on a bus, Joy Ramirez (Kris Aquino) finds a package left by a man (Emil Sandoval). She visits Aling Biring (Luz Fernandez) at the bakery and shows her the package: an antique bagua mirror. Following feng shui tradition, Biring thinks that the mirror will drive away evil spirits and bring good luck to her husband Inton (Jay Manalo) and their children Denton (John Vladimir Manalo) and Ingrid (Julianne Gomez).

Joy places the bagua mirror in her home and a series of fortunate events happen: her friend Alice (Lotlot de Leon) grants her a promotion and she wins the grand prize at a grocery store. The series of events makes Joy suspicious of her luck. The next day, Joy recognizes the man who left the mirror on the bus, identified as Evart Mendoza, was run over by a Rabbit Liner bus. She discovers that he was born in the year of the Rabbit after she examines his age. Later, Joy learns that Aling Biring died from leptospirosis that morning; her birth corresponding to the year of the Rat. Denton's friend Billy (Ernesto Sto. Tomas) tells Joy about the omens and deaths occurring in their neighborhood. Joy sees tricycle driver Mang Nestor, who was killed earlier in a brawl at a cockfight, having been born in the year of the Rooster. She is later haunted by the ghosts of Nestor, Biring, Evart, and a woman. Their deaths are connected to the Chinese zodiac of their birth year.

Joy visits Evart's wife Lily (Cherry Pie Picache), who tells her about the bagua's history; Lily found the bagua in an old, dilapidated rental house during her years as a real estate agent and decided to keep it. The artifact brought her good luck, but like Joy, also left a series of deaths. Lily reveals that anyone who owned the bagua would receive good fortunes, but for each stroke of luck, a death would always follow afterward. She urges Joy to return the mirror to her instead, but the latter refuses and leaves. Later, after Joy accepts an inheritance from her late client, she learns that the subdivision's security guard, whose reflection he had seen in the bagua mirror, has been found dead from a snakebite. The security guard was revealed to be born on the year of the Snake.

Joy, along with Alice and their friend Thelma (Ilonah Jean), seeks help from a local geomancer Hsui Liao (Joonee Gamboa). Liao reveals to them that the bagua was once owned long ago by two siblings—brother and sister—children from a wealthy Chinese family in ancient Shanghai. During the revolution of Sun Yat-sen, the family was forced to evacuate, wherein the brother abandoned his foot-bounded sister, nicknamed "Lotus Feet", referencing to the Chinese tradition of binding the feet of young girls to avert it's physical growth. Because the brother had thought of her as a burden, her servants had betrayed her and killed her by burning her at the stake. Before her death, she took the bagua and placed a curse on it, claiming that she will take the soul of anyone who sees their reflection on the mirror.

Before they leave, Alice realizes that she had glanced at the mirror earlier. Having suspected her husband's affair with his former lover Dina (Jenny Miller) at work, Joy begrudgingly confronts him. She later realizes after accepting the prize from the day she won at the grocery store earlier, revealing that Alice was next. After an argument, Alice, who was born in the year of the Horse, is assaulted by a drunk neighbor and dies after falling on a stack of crates of Red Horse Beer bottles from her window. The ghosts of all the victims haunt Joy's house and her family is forced to leave. Joy attempts to destroy the mirror, but is stopped by Alice's spirit. Joy eventually faints, overwhelmed by all the ghosts.

The next morning, Master Liao calls Joy and tells her the key to end the curse: she must reject offers of good luck so that she would be able to destroy the mirror and save the next victim. Just before they leave, Billy gets involved in an accident and Joy volunteers for a blood transfusion to save him. She then realizes that Inton is the next victim. Joy arrives at the motel where Inton and Dina are to warn the former but she arrives too late as Dina's husband Louie arrives at the parking lot and kills his wife and Inton when they attempted to flee, both born in the year of the Dog. Joy pleads Louie as both of them were cheated on by their spouses and tried to help him, but Louie refuses as he commits suicide with his shotgun. Meanwhile, Thelma takes Denton and Ingrid with her in the hopes of taking them to their mother. Thelma sees a truck of cows and chickens in front of her car. She comes to the realization that Ingrid was born in the year of the Rooster, and Denton and herself were both born on the year of the Ox. Horrified, Thelma tries to alert the truck but an oncoming vehicle speeds towards them.

Joy arrives home and is greeted by Regalado, a lawyer sent by Lily to offer Joy the chance of returning the bagua to her in exchange for money. Joy refuses the offer. Distraught by the string of deaths that followed her, Joy finally destroys the mirror. Thelma arrives with Denton and Ingrid. Joy is filled with relief thinking that she has finally broken the curse and saved her kids, but she soon discovers that they were all killed earlier in the truck accident along with Thelma after she saw her dead husband joining with them as Joy screams in horror.

A family is shown moving into their new house and the family's twin daughters wander into Joy's former home while playing. They find the restored bagua and decide to show it to their parents. From Joy's house's window, the Lotus Lady watches over them, awaiting her next victim.

Cast

 * Kris Aquino as Joy Ramirez
 * Jay Manalo as Inton Ramirez
 * Lotlot de Leon as Alice
 * Ilonah Jean as Thelma
 * John Vladimir Manalo as Denton Ramirez
 * Julianne Gomez as Ingrid Ramirez
 * Ernesto Sto. Tomas as Billy
 * Cherry Pie Picache as Lily Mendoza
 * Nonie Buencamino as Louie
 * Jenny Miller as Dina
 * Gerard Pizzaras as Teodoro
 * Joonee Gamboa as Hsui Liao
 * Daria Ramirez as Mother-in-law
 * Archie Adamos as Tito
 * Emil Sandoval as Evart Mendoza
 * Luz Fernandez as Aling Biring
 * Leo Gamboa as Mang Nestor
 * Mon Confiado as Raul (Guard)
 * Denise Joaquin as Office mate
 * Jon Achaval as Mr. Mateo
 * Hazel Espinosa as Billy's Tita
 * Jenine Desiderio as Wife Neighbor
 * Froilan Sales as Husband Neighbor
 * Archie Ventosa as Atty. Regalado
 * Aloynius Noroña as Atty. Ocampo
 * Bianca Ito as Girl 1
 * Blanca Ate as Girl 2
 * Rosie Salco as Lotus Lady

Reception
The film was released at the time that 'Asian horror' gained popularity. It was a critical and commercial success, receiving positive reception from critics and audiences alike, and grossing ₱114,236,563 at the box-office. The film was the first in the line-up of box-office horror hit that Kris Aquino did under Star Cinema in which she was tagged as "Philippine's Box-office Horror Queen". It was followed by Sukob (also directed by Roño), Dalaw, and Segunda Mano.

Sequel
A sequel was confirmed by Kris Aquino, and the cast includes Coco Martin, Carmi Martin, Ian Veneracion, Beauty Gonzalez, Rez Cortez, Ian de Leon, Martin Escudero, Elizabeth Chua, Diana Zubiri, Francine Prieto, Pinky Marquez, Raikko Mateo, Kych Cyl Minemoto, Randy See, and Teodoro Baldomaro. Roño returned to direct the film. It served as Star Cinema's official entry to the 2014 Metro Manila Film Festival. The film focused on Coco Martin's character who, upon getting the cursed bagua, starts to get all the luck and prosperity he could get in his life, but with deadly consequences. Kris Aquino reprised her role as Joy Ramirez to save him from the curse. Filming of the film commenced by late August 2014.