Reporter Donna Suarez (Kim Chiu) is tired of reporting about night markets and illegal logging because nobody really reads those kinds of articles. According to her boss (Cris Villonco), people, nowadays, want blood and gore. So when an opportunity inadvertently comes in Donna's way, it's only natural for her to take it.
So the news was, a mother and daughter got caught in an accident. Both are dead. The cause of the incident was a misplaced barrier. Whoever misplaced it is a mystery. The sure thing is that both souls are looking for revenge, and they will haunt whoever makes an illegal u-turn on the place of accident.
It wasn't long until people started dying. Donna and the police are a little skeptical about the series of unusual deaths, calling all of it suicides. But when Donna's twin brother (Martin del Rosario) falls victim to these restless ghosts, she starts to investigate the grisly case with the help of her boyfriend (Tony Labrusca) and a policeman friend (JM de Guzman).
"U-Turn" is an adaptation of the 2016 Indian film of the same name. The reason behind this adaptation is a huge question mark. The Indian "U-Turn" is not a well-known film in the Philippines. The only probable excuse to greenlit this film is its simple premise that makes producing it inexpensive.
Too bad the story of this film is too shallow to make a deep dive, and every turn it takes to make things interesting are dead-ends. Some scenes are just senseless, like Donna's intrusions with the police investigation and her making a deal with the ghosts. Moments like these, plus the undedicated acting from the supporting casts, will make the viewers ask if the filmmakers are really serious about the story or are they just in it for the cash.
Honestly, there are moments in the film that can make it better if only the filmmakers would focus on it. The commentary about fictional journalism, corruption, and the justice system are topics that viewers might find interesting. All of it can make a bland film compelling, or at the very least intriguing. But the film is more concerned to scare than to tell a story.
The silver lining behind all of these shenanigans is its callbacks to classic Japanese horror films like "The Grudge". It's comforting to know that director Derick Cabrido takes cues from Asian horror films.
"U-Turn" is just a tiring narrative. There's not much to get out of it as it avoids all kinds of commentary it accidentally encounters. It is best to turn around and forget about this film's existence.
