'Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins' frames horror as a generational cycle

"Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins" marks a shift for the long-running horror franchise by structuring its story across three time periods—1775, 2025, and 2050—while revealing that all three segments are linked.

Although the settings and characters change, the film establishes a single object: a sealed chest believed to contain a powerful entity, as the connective thread between the timelines.

Rather than focusing on standalone scares, the film leans on recurring themes that reappear in different forms across each era.

One of these is greed and vanity, introduced in the 1775 segment, where authority, ambition, and denial are placed in tension with faith and moral responsibility.

The refusal to acknowledge warnings and visions suggests how evil persists not through force alone, but through disbelief and self-interest.

The 2025 chapter reflects a more contemporary form of corruption, centering on karma and exploitation.

Deception and criminal behavior operate in plain sight, and violence is framed as part of a larger belief system rather than isolated acts. The segment implies that personal wrongdoing contributes to something greater, reinforcing the idea that evil gains power through collective participation.

Set decades later, the 2050 portion shifts the focus to survival and hope in a world shaped by the consequences of the past.

While the environment is marked by loss and collapse, the story places emphasis on guilt, responsibility, and the choice to keep going despite widespread devastation.

The use of aswang as a label for what remains reflects how folklore and fear evolve alongside history.

By connecting these three periods, "Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins" presents horror as cumulative rather than episodic.

The film suggests that unresolved belief, unchecked desire, and moral compromise do not disappear with time, but resurface in new forms, shaping the world left behind. —MGP, GMA Integrated News