Like before, SRR2K comes in three episodes, Poso, Aquarium, and Lihin ng San Joaquin. Each episode plays on a theme that we already know, but each is done in an entertaining and new way, all adding up to a fun time at the theaters.

Poso plays with the theme of a spirit who suffered a violent death and seeks justice in the afterlife. But the twist here is AiAi delas Alas’s spiritista. She’s a fake, a sham who’s been playing people for a long time and wants to get out of the business. But then an offer that can’t be turned down is made, and as she thinks she’s going to pull her biggest sham, she winds up facing the real thing. This episode strikes a great balance between humor and horror. The humor gets us to put our guard down, and as the gears shift from funny to scary we’re there for the whole ride.

Aquarium is about a family that moves into a new condo and finds an aquarium there. Their great luck is that it’s cursed. Again, we’ve seen this story before, but it’s delivered is such a way that we are entertained. We know where this story is taking us, but there are enough little twists to keep tugging us along until we get to the adrenaline-pumping climax.

The last, and probably the best-looking in terms of the shots and cinematography, Lihim, plays on the story of the couple that winds up in aswang-town. I remember that there were other SRR episodes that featured the same story. But Lihim becomes interesting because of its visuals and its new play on it. Rather than going with brooding horror, it opts for survival-action-thriller, with Mark Anthony Fernandez hamming it up as an action hero. It’s great fun to watch. And the new portrayal of the aswang as no longer some transformed beast but a feral-like man who has succumbed to something deep and dark in his nature is refreshing.

All in all, SRR2K5 comes across as one of the most surprisingly good and fun experiences in this year’s filmfest. For those of us who feared that it might go the way of Asian horror or try to ride some other trend, there was no reason for that fear. This holds up well, and if they can keep up this franchise the way that they’ve revived it, then it would be great to see a SRR film every year, filmfest entry or not.