U-Turn – Netflix Review (2/5)

U-TURN is a new Netflix horror movie from the Philippines but it’s actually a remake of a movie from India. This Filipino horror movie does feature a very classic horror plot so you might guess much of the plot ahead of time. Read our full U-Turn (2020) review here!

U-TURN is a new Netflix horror movie produced in the Philippines. If you’re worried about this being in a foreign language then please don’t. At least fifty percent of the dialogue is in English, so if you just have subtitles running, you’ll only need to look at them every now and again.

Also, besides speaking full sentences in English, much of Filipino and Tagalog [languages of the Philippines] has been heavily influenced by Spanish as well. Basically, you’ll be able to catch a lot of what is said if you speak English and some Spanish. It’s a strange sensation to sit back and feel like you understand a language by catching all the familiar words.

To add to the international feel of this movie, U-Turn is actually a Philippine remake of the thriller U Turn (2016) from India. That movie was written and directed by Pawan Kumar who gets due credit for this remake as well.

Continue reading our full U-Turn (2020) review below and check it out on Netflix.

A very classic horror story

While U-Turn (2020) in this Filipino version is a remake of a movie from India, it should feel familiar to most horror fans for a different reason. Basically, this Filipino Netflix movie features a very classic horror plot. This means you’ll guess most of the plot ahead of time.

If you’ve watched some of the iconic Asian horror movies – or their remakes – such as The Grudge or The Ring, then you’ll know what’s in store. We’ve watched a lot of Asian horror movies here at Heaven of Horror. This also means we can recognize many of the stories and be irritated that they’re not innovative enough.

However, this movie lends mostly from Japanese horror movies that deal a lot with ghosts and superstition. Whereas Korean horror movies tend to deal more with character-driven plots and slow-burns.

In U-Turn, there isn’t much of a slow-burn going on. Instead, it’s full speed ahead with lots of dead bodies along the way. If that’s your thing, then you should enjoy this movie!

Watch U-Turn (2020) on Netflix now!

Roderick “Derick” Cabrido is the director of U-Turn in this 2020 version from the Philippines. The screenwriter is Cenon Obispo Palomares who has adapted the screenplay from Pawan Kumar who made the original movie in India.

If you enjoy this Filipino horror movie, then you should definitely check out some of the other genre movies from the Philippines. For one, there’s the movie Eerie (2019) which received a lot of hype as the scariest movie ever. Apparently, people passed out while watching it. I don’t think this is at all a fair hype, but the movie did work in many ways and was released on Netflix.

You might like: Our review of the movie Eerie released on Netflix >

You could also check out the Netflix movie Dead Kids and try to find the serial killer movie Smaller and Smaller Circles (read our review here) which had a lot of great elements.

Honestly, I was not crazy about U-Turn for the simple reason that I felt I had seen it all before. Even with a runtime of just 98 minutes, I still felt like it was too long for the story so it really wasn’t my cup of tea. However, it is out on Netflix now, so obviously you should give it a chance. Especially, if you enjoy some of the classic horror movies mentioned earlier in this review.

The 2020 version of U-Turn is out on Netflix from December 1, 2020.

Details

Director: Derick Cabrido
Writers: Cenon Palomares, Pawan Kumar
Stars: Kim Chiu, JM de Guzman, Tony Labrusca, Janella Salvador, Martin del Rosario, Kate Alejandrino