A serial killer in Payatas leaves the bodies of young boys in the dump as two Jesuit priests try to solve the murders.

Adapted from FH Batacan’s bestselling book by screenwriter Ria Limjap and directed by Raya Martin, the 2017 movie Smaller and Smaller Circles, is a twisted crime thriller whose horrifying plot will chill you to your soul. A film about secrets that doesn’t hold back on the darkness of real life, Smaller and Smaller Circles is due for digital release this March 19th.

A compassionate and courageous Catholic priest who moonlights as a vigilante tracking down and exposing child molesters within the priesthood is called upon to consult on a possible serial murder case in his poor and rural parish. The bodies of two young boys have turned up badly mutilated in the local dump site, and Father Augustus “Gus” Saenz (Nonie Buencamino), who also specializes in forensic analysis, finds a sick pattern from the remains of their discarded bodies – no genitals, no face, and no heart. The victims are surgically removed of everything that makes them human, a fact that he and his colleague and partner, Father Lucero (Sid Lucero), use to create an M.O. to profile suspects. Fathers Seanz and Lucero follow the grisly trail of clues as the body count continues to rise, while being hindered along the way by an incompetent police force that is more focused on closing the case rather than solving the case, as well as a powerful Cardinal who is known to put the brotherhood of the church before morality.

It is not violently gory, but I myself had a violent reaction to the extremely graphic display of the bodies. The depiction of the mutilation was only that much more offensive due to it being the bodies of children, horrifying not out of scariness but instead out of sadness and shock value – the camera lingering on these disfigured corpses makes for uncomfortable and intense shots! The atmospheric eeriness that director Raya Martin cultivated is bolstered by the suspense of not seeing sadist who is preying on the children until the very end, but this also served to de-escalate the tension as there was no real cat and mouse back and forth. However, I like that we get some insight into the mind of the serial killer with scenes of him faceless, carrying out or finishing some deed. It creates a sense of anticipation hurtling towards the inevitable showdown with the priests, and as they get closer to their man, a music score of heartbeats and haunting choral melodies chimes in just enough to help this graphic thriller to its climax.

The narrative for Smaller and Smaller Circles is based on controversial material but is relevant to current times as sexual abuse and accountability are at the forefront of social psyches the world over. The film is based on a novel that broke ground as the first mystery crime novel out of the Philippines, and though its plot critiques the Catholic church, it still values it as part of Filipino culture. The film is in Tagalog, which employs a mix of Filipino, Spanish, and English language and the cast is comprised of native Filipino actors: starring Nonie Buencamino as Father Augusto Saenz, beautiful Carla Humphries as the plucky journalist and fellow pedophile crusader Joanna Bonifacio, who I felt was an interesting and relatable character. At one point she muses to Sid Lucero’s character, Father Jerome Lucero, that “Jesuits are getting cuter these days”, and you will probably agree to that, as Mr. Lucero plays the sidekick father with a cool, straight-man attitude that is endearing and he’s nice to watch while doing it.

The blurb of the movie reads like some great comic series or graphic novel – a team of Jesuit, crime-fighting priests investigating immoral atrocities against the downtrodden. I cannot speak of the source material, but it seems it was used well as this felt like a completed narrative and world, was not rushed, and the characters did not feel flat – all traps book adapted movies often fall into.

Small and Smaller Circles is certainly horrifying for its gruesome subject though it is devoid of any action that might have made for a more intense and therefore interesting watch. Overall though, this controversial material was the only thing of interest, and otherwise, the film just dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s as a crime thriller.

Uncork’d Entertainment released the film in Los Angeles and additional select markets on March 1. It will then be released digitally on March 19 (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, Fandango Now, Xbox and local Cable).