When Shake Rattle and Roll came back in 2005, it presented itself as a platform for hungry young talents to strut their stuff, introducing audiences to the likes of Rico Ilarde and Richard Somes. The next year, it gave us another group of formidable talents in Topel Lee and Mike Tuviera. In its last two iterations, however, it simply gave the reins back to Lee and Tuviera, and while the two undoubtedly have their strengths, a kind of fatigue and complacency seemed to have snuck their way into the movies, resulting in a couple of rather lackluster editions. This year, however, the series gets a fresh transfusion of new blood, and the result is something a lot more interesting.

The strongest segment is Don Michael Perez’s Ukay-Ukay, which pits Ruffa Gutierrez and Zoren Legaspi against a vintage wedding gown that also happens to be haunted by a vengeful ghost. Perez plays the segment with a full dose of Gosengfiao-level kitsch, taking great pleasure from having its characters say the most ridiculous things in the most over-the-top ways. “Fashion designer ako! Gown ka lang!” exclaims John Lapus at one point, with all the dramatic conviction of Cherie Gil winding up for a slap. It’s the best line delivery of the year, and it’s just one of the many great moments provided in this segment, sharing time with a chainsaw-wielding Ruffa Gutierrez and plenty of surprisingly gruesome deaths. Perez fills his frames with little hilarious details, making almost every moment immediately worth it. The segment probably should’ve been ten minutes shorter, but for me, Ukay-Ukay is everything a Shake Rattle and Roll segment ought to be.

Solid is Jossel Monteverde’s Lamang Lupa, which is your typical group-of-youths-get-stuck-in-the-wilderness-and-deal-with-some-creature business. Jennica Garcia leads this particular group of youths, and she looks to have some real potential moving on. The rest of the cast doesn’t fare nearly as well, either not getting much screen time, or not making much use of what time they’re given. Monteverde appears to have some real talent with the camera, using handheld techniques to give his scenes a sense of speed and danger. The outdoor setting obviously gave the director some problems, making this the least polished-looking short, but the talent is definitely there. The story has some clever and surprisingly dark bits in it, but the narrative device it uses robs the short of much of its tension. Overall, it’s a mixed bag, though there’s plenty of potential here.

The weakest of the three is Rico Gutierrez’s Diablo. Gutierrez is quite good with his special effects, and to his credit, this segment features the best-looking CGI among the three. The story, though, is just a complete mess. The segment features Maja Salvador as a young doctor who becomes possessed by a demon. This simple premise soon gets lost in a convoluted mess of flashbacks and extraneous characters. Maja Salvador offers up a lot of enthusiasm in her possessed state, but the plot is lost pretty early on.

The problem with any Shake Rattle and Roll movie is that the three segments make up a pretty lengthy whole, and this iteration is no exception. And with segments of varying quality, it’s a little tricky to recommend the whole. But I do think that Ukay-Ukay alone is worth the price of admission, despite the overwhelming length. It’s one of the most enjoyable things I’ve seen all year, featuring that sort of low-rent charm that can bring an 80s kid right back to childhood. And though it’s not all great, Shake Rattle and Roll XI ought to be commended for once again giving a few new voices the chance to tell their stories.

My Rating: