As someone who has followed Filipino horror cinema through its peaks and valleys, I approached Derick Cabrido’s “Untold” with genuine excitement. The film promised to blend psychological horror with social commentary—a combination that, when done right, can produce some of our most memorable genre pieces. Unfortunately, what should have been a haunting exploration of journalistic ethics and karmic retribution instead becomes a frustrating exercise in missed opportunities and filmmaking missteps.
The Foundation: Promise in Premise
“Untold” centers on Vivian Vera (Jodi Sta. Maria), a celebrated television journalist who hosts an investigative documentary series of the same name. Vivian’s career has been built on sensational exposés, but her ruthless pursuit of ratings and recognition has come at a moral cost—she has manipulated facts, exploited vulnerable subjects, and prioritized sensationalism over truth. When supernatural forces begin plaguing her and her crew following a particularly traumatic investigation, Vivian must confront the ghosts of her past, both literal and metaphorical.
The premise itself is compelling and timely. In an era where media ethics are constantly under scrutiny and “fake news” has become part of our daily lexicon, a horror film exploring the consequences of journalistic misconduct feels both relevant and necessary. Director Derick Cabrido, known for his work on “Clarita,” seemed well-positioned to handle this delicate balance between supernatural scares and social commentary.
The film also marks a significant milestone as Jodi Sta. Maria’s first horror project under Regal Films and notably, it was the final film approved by the late Lily Monteverde before her passing—adding a layer of industry significance to an already ambitious project.
Where Good Intentions Meet Poor Execution
However, good intentions and solid premises don’t automatically translate to effective filmmaking, and “Untold” stumbles significantly in its execution. The most glaring issue is the film’s approach to storytelling, which feels jarringly disjointed throughout its runtime. Rather than building a cohesive narrative that gradually reveals the connection between Vivian’s past misdeeds and her present supernatural torment, the film lurches between time periods and plot points without establishing clear emotional or logical bridges.
This structural problem is compounded by a script that seems fundamentally uncertain about its protagonist. Vivian Vera should be a complex character—morally compromised but not entirely unsympathetic, someone whose ambition has led her down a dark path but who retains enough humanity for audiences to invest in her journey toward potential redemption. Instead, the character as written makes baffling decision after baffling decision, creating a frustrating viewing experience where we’re asked to follow someone whose actions seem driven more by plot convenience than genuine character motivation.
This isn’t a failing on Jodi Sta. Maria’s part—she delivers a committed performance that suggests she understood the character better than the script did. There are moments where her natural charisma and dramatic instincts shine through, particularly in quieter scenes where she’s processing the weight of her past actions. However, even a skilled performer can’t overcome fundamental character inconsistencies that seem to stem from a screenplay that hasn’t fully developed its central figure.
The Horror Elements: Quantity Over Quality
Perhaps most disappointingly for horror fans, “Untold” falls into one of the genre’s most common traps: mistaking frequency for effectiveness when it comes to scares. The film is packed with jump scares—so many, in fact, that they begin to lose all impact by the midpoint. Rather than building genuine tension or dread, these moments feel mechanical, as if the filmmakers were working from a checklist rather than crafting genuine frights.
The film attempts to blur the line between reality and hallucination as Vivian’s mental state deteriorates, which could have been an effective technique for both character development and horror. However, the execution lacks the visual sophistication needed to make this approach work. Effective psychological horror requires careful visual language to help audiences distinguish between what’s real and what’s imagined, even when the protagonist can’t make that distinction herself. Films like “Black Swan” or “The Machinist” demonstrate how cinematography, sound design, and editing can create this kind of ambiguous reality without confusing the audience.
“Untold” doesn’t seem to have developed this visual vocabulary. Instead, supernatural encounters and psychological breaks are presented with the same visual treatment as mundane reality, making it difficult to track Vivian’s mental journey or understand the rules of the world we’re inhabiting.
The Ending: A Twist That Doesn’t Turn
The film’s climax attempts to deliver a shocking revelation that recontextualizes everything we’ve seen, but the twist feels both predictable and poorly set up. Rather than emerging organically from the story’s established elements, it feels imposed from the outside—a final desperate attempt to provide the kind of memorable ending that might make audiences overlook the journey that brought them there.
Effective twist endings, whether in horror or any other genre, require meticulous preparation. Every scene, every line of dialogue, every visual choice should contribute to both the surface story and the hidden truth that will eventually be revealed. When done well, audiences should be able to look back and see how they were cleverly misdirected while all the pieces were actually in plain sight.
“Untold” doesn’t earn its revelation. Instead, the twist feels like information that was withheld from the audience rather than cleverly hidden in plain sight, creating a sense of cheating rather than the satisfaction of a well-constructed puzzle finally clicking into place.
The Human Element: What Could Have Been
What makes “Untold” particularly frustrating is that buried within its flawed execution are genuinely interesting ideas about accountability, the cost of ambition, and the ways that our professional choices can haunt us personally. The concept of a journalist being literally haunted by the people she’s harmed in pursuit of her career has rich metaphorical potential.
The film touches on real issues within media culture—the pressure to sensationalize stories for ratings, the dehumanization of subjects in pursuit of compelling content, and the way that professional success can come at the cost of personal integrity. These themes resonate particularly strongly in the Philippine context, where sensationalist journalism has long been both commercially successful and ethically problematic.
If the film had committed more fully to exploring these themes through its horror elements, it could have been both genuinely scary and meaningfully provocative. Instead, the social commentary feels surface-level, never digging deep enough to create the kind of uncomfortable recognition that makes the best horror films linger in viewers’ minds.
Final Thoughts: A Cautionary Tale for Filipino Horror
“Untold” represents a missed opportunity for Filipino horror cinema. While the genre has produced some remarkable films in recent years, it has also sometimes struggled with the balance between commercial appeal and artistic integrity. This film feels like it was designed by committee—taking popular horror elements (jump scares, psychological ambiguity, twist endings) and combining them without understanding what makes each component effective.
The film isn’t without merit. Jodi Sta. Maria’s performance suggests what the film could have been with a stronger script, and there are individual scenes that demonstrate Cabrido’s potential as a horror director. The production values are solid, and the film’s attempt to tackle serious themes through genre filmmaking is commendable.
However, good intentions and professional competence aren’t enough to overcome fundamental storytelling problems. “Untold” serves as a reminder that effective horror filmmaking requires more than just adherence to genre conventions—it requires a clear vision, consistent execution, and above all, respect for the audience’s intelligence and emotional investment.
For Filipino horror fans who were hoping for the next breakthrough film, “Untold” is likely to be a disappointment. But perhaps it can serve as a learning experience, both for its creators and for the industry as a whole, about the importance of putting story and character development before commercial considerations.
The seeds of a great horror film are present in “Untold”—they just needed better soil in which to grow.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Available on Netflix Philippines
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