Lack of good storyline.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Within 8 minutes you can figure out what is going on. But it takes the director almost forever (85 minutes) to reveal the story officially to the viewer as if someone still hasn't a clue by then even when a certain event gets repeated over and over again. And if there had been some twist at the end or something else to compensate than I could have forgiven the director for this mistake. Sadly there aren't any surprises to be found in this movie.Sigaw started out pretty good by building a tense atmosphere only to ruin it with loud sound effects. The main character early on hears but also sees things. And this is the part that doesn't make sense. The place he lives is in a dump. Apparently he is one of the few people who are staying in the building. All the other tenants have fled. Still he refuses to leave his precious unit. Why? That never gets explained.(Well,he mentions he has bought the unit. But somehow this reason doesn't convince me enough since he has a very sweet mother who wants him to return to his old home.) It would have created some sympathy towards this character if we understood why it is so necessary for him to stay. Now he just seems very stupid who has an even more stupid (but good looking) girlfriend called Pinky who does things a normal person in their position never would do. The whole time we have to endure the lack of real thrilling moments combined with the stupid actions of these characters.If you managed to stay awake till the ending than you'll find out that there is no reward for doing so since the ending is complete abysmal and the most stupid of endings I have ever seen.I hate to say it but there is nothing that Sigaw offers that is worth watching. Waste of time!

Let's evaluate this for a second. I'm a non-Filipino and I am a huge fan of world cinema. Even though I would agree that some of the most talented performers are residing or undiscovered in the Philippines, the cinema usually leaves something to be desired - no offense. With the recent wave of Japanese horror rip offs, it is no surprise that the RP has followed suite. This is not a bad thing - in fact it is a breath of fresh air to see the recent wave of Filipino thrillers straying from the style that most other countries abandoned in the 60's. I do however think that the Philippines is not the place for this genre. Their cinema still requires that all actors be of model quality looks. For me, this takes away from the story. What so many other countries lack, that Japan offers is believable characters (looks and acting), a haunting score, a respect for the audience, drama first, and most importantly the sound scape - which I found missing in this film (an uncanny coincidence is that Sigaw won a big award for it's sound - case and point). On to the film: There are always certain elements that Filipinos include in their movies that no others can relate to. This is fine, but make it reasonable for us foreigners to relate or understand. Things like, how come everyone is beautiful and looks mestizo - explain, I've been to the Philippines and have never seen that. If they are so good looking, yet dirt poor, they would be in show business - not struggling in a crappy, haunted loft - hey you guys set this up - not me.The thing that kills me is, the story was 'good', not great, but they have taken the obvious parts of the Japanese Juon Trilogy and poorly executed it in this film - leaving out any of the rich folklore in the Philippines. If you borrow a story, at least pout an original spin on it. Another bothersome factor **spoiler** is when the ghost follows the couple everywhere short of the toilet - tip - you don't have to use every single shot you filmed. In any case, I feel that this film is a huge achievement in Filipino cinema, pushing it one step closer to international recognition - but they still have a long way to go before it can be taken seriously. I am rating this while putting aside most of my international comparison. This film does not deserve a 1 and does not deserve a 10 - so for the benefits to Filipino Cinema I rate it at 7. Good job Lam - I am eager to see where you go next. Although I stress that an American remake is a bad idea capital BAD.

I sat down and watched this movie at first not expecting much. I've seen a few Philippine films before and considered them about on par with American TV movies due to their low budget. "Sigaw" shows the viewer that an impressive movie can be made when a quality script, quality director and quality actors get together."Sigaw" is the story of about a young man who moves into an apartment building and can't find peace because of the constant noise create by the domestic problems of his neighbors down the hall. The neighbor wife and daughter are being routinely terrorized and victimized by her jealous husband. The husband and wife engage in the same argument word for word every evening--literally! The new tenant begins to hear strange noises and see strange sights in the dark hallway and eventually in his apartment. He tells his girlfriend, who at first doesn't believe him and insists that he just move out, but she later discovers, much to her dismay, that there's something very strange going on at her boyfriend's place and that they both have been swept into a terrifying situation in which there is no apparent escape.Sigaw reminded me of two other Asian scary gems--"Ringu" (later remade as "The Ring") and "The Eye." It's an excellent film that shouldn't be missed. One note: It is a foreign film, so there are subtitles, but much of the movie best scenes are, in fact unspoken.I highly recommend it.

The Echo (Sigaw) has teeth and it sinks deep through your bones. Predictable in some scenes but very unique in storytelling and the "scare" factor. Cinematography is excellent as well as music/sound and editing. This film is so scary that it will frighten you even after you've seen it. Very eerie and very claustrophobic. It would be cool if Hollywood will pick this movie and do a remake...I just wish they won't mess the story up too much. The movie's simplicity is what makes it scary. The "realness" is what makes it unique in some sense. It's very frightening because of the way the director made the film effective even without any special effects. I think that what makes The Echo (Sigaw) a very scary film. Must watch!