Ekis (2025)

There’s something genuinely exciting about a reboot that doesn’t try to play it safe. When Erik Matti’s cult classic Ekis gets reimagined with an all-female lead ensemble and a fresh creative team, the immediate question is whether the new version can stand on its own — or whether it just coasts on the reputation of the original. The good news is that director Christian Paolo Lat’s 2025 version of Ekis has real energy, a ferocious cast, and enough raw nerve to make it worth watching. The not-so-good news is that it doesn’t quite nail the landing.

But let’s be clear about one thing — for fans of Filipino crime drama and action cinema, Ekis 2025 is absolutely worth your time. It’s messy in places, yes. It’s uneven in places, yes. But it’s never boring, and that counts for a lot more than people give it credit for.

The Story: When a Kidnapping Goes Very, Very Wrong

The premise is clean and brutal. A crew of female thugs — tough, desperate, and operating outside the law — puts together a kidnap-for-ransom scheme that looks airtight on paper. The target is chosen, the plan is laid out, and for a brief moment it seems like everything might actually go smoothly. It doesn’t. Nothing ever does in films like this, and Ekis earns its chaos fair and square.

What makes Ekis interesting is what happens after the plan falls apart. This is where the film moves beyond its crime thriller surface and starts digging into something more uncomfortable — betrayal within the group, the way desperation warps loyalty, and the question of whether any of these women ever really trusted each other to begin with. The kidnapping plot becomes almost secondary to the psychological unravelling happening within the crew itself, and that shift is where the film finds its most interesting moments.

The escalating bloodshed in the back half of the film is handled with real intensity. Director Christian Paolo Lat doesn’t flinch when things get ugly, and the film’s R-18 rating is earned — not through gratuitous excess, but through a genuine willingness to show the brutal consequences of the choices these women have made.

Performances: Angela Morena Owns Every Scene She’s In

The biggest revelation in Ekis is Angela Morena as Alison. From her very first scene, Morena commands the screen with a coiled, dangerous energy that keeps you watching even when the script isn’t giving her the best material to work with. She plays Alison as someone who has made peace with who she is — a woman who operates outside normal moral frameworks without apology — and that confidence makes her genuinely compelling rather than just threatening.

Cheena Dizon as Dolor brings a different kind of intensity. Where Morena is controlled, Dizon is volatile — and the friction between their characters gives the film some of its best moments. Their scenes together crackle with a tension that feels genuinely unpredictable, and the film is smart enough to lean into that rather than resolve it too quickly.

Aliya Raymundo as Gina and Astrid Lee as Roxy round out the core crew effectively. Raymundo in particular gets some of the film’s more emotionally layered scenes, and she handles them with sensitivity that slightly surprises you given the register the rest of the film operates in. Yda Manzano as Elsa is another standout in a smaller role — watchful, quiet, and doing more with silence than most actors do with dialogue.

Direction: Christian Paolo Lat Shows Real Promise

Christian Paolo Lat handles the action and tension sequences with genuine confidence. The film moves well, pacing itself carefully through the setup before letting things spiral out of control in the second half. The decision to keep the visual style grounded and unglamorous is the right one — Ekis doesn’t want to be slick, and it isn’t. The world these women inhabit feels real and unglamorous in exactly the way it needs to.

Where Lat struggles slightly is in the quieter character moments between the set pieces. Some of the dramatic scenes in the middle of the film feel underwritten, relying on the performers to fill gaps that the screenplay hasn’t fully addressed. The result is a film that is more exciting than it is emotionally deep — which is fine for what it is, but occasionally leaves you wanting just a bit more from the story beneath the chaos.

What Works and What Doesn’t

Ekis works best as a propulsive, well-performed crime thriller with a genuinely interesting premise. The all-female ensemble is not a gimmick — these women feel like real, dangerous people with real, dangerous motivations, and the film takes them seriously as characters rather than using their gender as a novelty. That alone puts Ekis ahead of a lot of similar films in the genre.

Where it stumbles is in its final act, which rushes slightly and doesn’t give every thread the payoff it deserves. Some character arcs get resolved too quickly, and there’s a sense in the closing scenes that the film is slightly out of time rather than out of story. A tighter edit and ten more minutes of character work in the second act could have made Ekis something genuinely special rather than just very good.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Angela Morena delivers a star-making performance as Alison
• Strong all-female ensemble with real chemistry and tension
• Confident direction from Christian Paolo Lat in the action sequences
• The premise is sharp and the film earns its R-18 rating honestly
• Grounded, unglamorous visual style that suits the material perfectly
• The crew dynamics are more interesting than a typical kidnapping thriller

Cons:

• Final act feels slightly rushed and undercooked
• Some character arcs don’t get the payoff they deserve
• Quieter dramatic scenes occasionally feel underwritten
• Non-Filipino viewers may need some context for the original Ekis

Final Verdict: Is Ekis (2025) Worth Watching?

Yes — especially if you’re a fan of Filipino crime cinema or looking for something with real edge and a cast that delivers. Ekis 2025 is a flawed but genuinely exciting film, anchored by a fierce performance from Angela Morena and driven by enough raw energy to keep you locked in for its full runtime.

It doesn’t quite reach the heights it’s aiming for, and the final act leaves some threads dangling that deserved better. But as a bold, all-female reimagining of a Filipino classic, it more than earns its place. Christian Paolo Lat is a director to watch, Angela Morena is a name you’ll be hearing a lot more of, and Ekis is a film that proves Filipino action cinema is in very capable hands.

Our Rating: 3 / 5 ⭐

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is Ekis (2025) about?
Ekis 2025 follows a ruthless all-female crew that executes a high-risk kidnap-for-ransom scheme. When the plan goes violently wrong, the women find themselves trapped by betrayal, greed, and escalating bloodshed where survival becomes far more dangerous than the crime itself.

Is Ekis (2025) a remake?
Yes. Ekis 2025 is a reboot of director Erik Matti’s Filipino classic Ekis. The 2025 version features an all-female lead ensemble and a new creative team led by director Christian Paolo Lat.

Where can I watch Ekis (2025)?
Ekis (2025) is available to stream on Vivamax, the Filipino streaming platform. It was released on December 19, 2025.

Is Ekis (2025) suitable for all audiences?
No. Ekis carries an R-18 rating and contains graphic violence, mature themes, and adult content. It is strictly for viewers aged 18 and above.

Who are the main cast members of Ekis (2025)?
The main cast includes Angela Morena as Alison, Cheena Dizon as Dolor, Aliya Raymundo as Gina, Astrid Lee as Roxy, and Yda Manzano as Elsa.

How long is Ekis (2025)?
Ekis (2025) has a runtime of 1 hour and 50 minutes.

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