Livelo comes up with something decent amid budget constraints in this supernatural film about youngsters with superpowers.
Globe Studios
Actors: Gabbi Garcia, Alex Diaz, Markus Paterson, Dylan Ray Talon, Anikka Camaya, Dino Pastrano and Rhederlee Star Orjaliza
Genre: Comedy
Premise: A group of high school misfits become unlikely superheroes as they discover their “useless” powers. (Upstream)
Running Time: 75 minutes
Director: Miko Livelo
Watch it on: UPSTREAM.PH
Why You Should See It:
You can see that this film is trying so hard to stretch what it can do with its resources if you imagine what it could have offered if it operated under a much bigger budget. This film tackles superheroes, thus expect it will look like at least our local superhero films or TV shows, should not hurt.
Ero takes place inside the premises of a school where students with superpower abilities are enrolled. The students take classes that later be the basis to get classified as ‘heroes’ or ‘sidekicks’. For the latter, restrictions are applied that keep them from doing actions that only heroes are designated to carry out. The biggest of these restrictions is arguable, saving someone in danger. Only certified heroes are allowed to save or rescue people. Conflict arises when no reliable hero is around, and the sidekicks are left watching in horror as people in need of help desperately call for help.
Of those certified ‘heroes,’–the most prominent and visible is Tristan (Markus Paterson), whose superpower is immortality. That said, he is out-shadowed by the presence of a group of certain sidekicks, which include Asher (Alex Diaz), Malaya (Gabbi Garcia), and Hazel (Anikka Camaya). You can easily guess these misfits are the real heroes of the story because the spotlight is more focused on their journey towards becoming ‘certified heroes’.
Ero isn’t a sci-fi film though –it’s a film about superheroes, and there are efforts to introduce sci-fi elements. Again, that does not necessarily need to mean a bad thing. Miko Livelo has already worked on several handsomely-shot movies, including Elise (as a screenwriter, 2019) and Unlilife (as director, 2019), and both received critical acclaim. Here, he did what he could do amid the awful limitations. While you can say he did not make a total mess, you will most likely end up wishing that he should have done something much better.
5 – Excellent
4 – Very Good
3 – Good
2 – Tolerable
1 – Terrible
Stream ‘Ero’ now on UPSTREAM.PH for only PhP210.00.
