Cinemalaya 2018: 'The Lookout' is Unintentionally Epic, Entertaining and Major

The Lookout | Cinemalaya 2018

Director: Afi Africa

Cast: Yayo Aguila, Rez Cortez, Efren Reyes, Alvin Fortuna, Jeffrey Santos, Benedict Campos, Aries Go, Lharby Policarpio, Jemina Sy, Jay Garcia, Elle Ramirez, Andres Vazquez, Nourish Icon Lapuz, Xenia Barrameda, Dennis Coronel Macalintal, Ahwel Paz & Mon Gualvez

Most of the time, it's hard to articulate the words to describe a great film. No words can match its greatness, nor can suffice the good experience one has while watching it. It's the same thing for The Lookout... which is an incredible cinematic experience, to say the least. It is epic, entertaining, and major, except all for the wrong reasons. This film is the perfect example of a so-bad-it's-good movie that it piques more attention than other decent films.

The Lookout follows Lester Quiambao, a serial killer with a dark past that pushed him into a life of crime and insanity. Travis Concepcion, a hired 'lookout'-turned-Lester'silover struggles to find where his loyalty lies. This results in a crazy and puzzling game of espionage, betrayal, and romance revealing ghosts from their past, and non-stop twists along the way.

On the surface, the story has a lot of potential. Like a story straight from a pocket book, writer-director Afi Africa packs this film with seemingly any theme he can think of. It's a mystery-thriller, a provocative gay romance, a tragic family drama, so-on and so forth. There's too much going on, and anyone watching it wouldn't be able to keep up with all the emerging random plot details that continuously pop-up. Make no mistake, Afi Africa sees to it that all things make sense. But he sacrifices the credibility of the material in the process by adding too much spoon-feeding details that  it seems as if even he forgets to keep up with all that's happening.

It's ridiculous, absurd, and borderline idiotic that it's insanely hard to believe everything about it wasn't unintentional. Flashlight and torch in Ponderosa mountain? Over-the-top delivery of lines? Cheesy pick-up lines? Explaining the difference of love, and in-love? Excessive and unnecessary nudity? A random Jeffrey Santos cameo? Countless plot-holes and inconsistencies? I choose to believe that this is Afi Africa's masterpiece, and that he is a genius for making this.

Best enjoyed as a comedy.