Kimmy Dora and the Temple of Kiyeme is the sequel of the 2009 surprise hit Kimmy Dora: Kambal sa Kiyeme, which was written by Chris Martinez and directed by Joyce Bernal. The comedy movie broke records and boundaries since the Pinoy movie was able to draw moviegoers from the masa as well as those from upper classes of society.

The comedy hit about twin sisters (both portrayed by Eugene Domingo) became a hit because it was fresh and original.

It also catapulted the career of comedienne Eugene Domingo, who gained household name status after her remarkable role (or roles) as a hostile businesswoman (Kimmy) and a loving, half-wit woman (Dora).

Three years later, the team behind Kimmy Dora returns for the sequel. So is Kimmy Dora and the Temple of Kiyeme a worthy sequel to the original?

The answer is yes. The original, however, is still the better movie.

Unlike the original, which stayed in the comedy genre, Kimmy Dora 2 adds horror elements to its narrative.

Luisito (Ariel Ureta) brings his daughters to Korea, his homeland. There, the patriarch tells them that one of them has to marry into the Sang clan as a fulfillment of a promise made in the Go Dong Hae’s past.

The sisters refuse to marry a Sang since they are both in love with their beaus. In fact, Kimmy is slated to marry Barry (Zanjoe Marudo) while Dora has accepted the marriage proposal of Johnson (Dingdong Dantes).

However, a dark specter from the clan’s untold past haunts Kimmy and Dora.

Will Kimmy and Dora be able to appease this vengeful spirit, or will this ghost be successful in her goal to destroy the Go Dong Hae family?

How can they fight off the malevolent spirit when only Kimmy can hear the ghost and only Dora can see it?

What's remarkable about Kimmy Dora 2 is that even though it features a hybrid of two movie genres, each half of these genres are done so well. The humor parts are truly hilarious, and the horror parts will creep you out. What does not quite work are the parts in between, when there are efforts to mix the two genres together. These parts somehow feel dull.

The best component of Kimmy Dora 2 is still the performance of its actors. Eugene Domingo is still the star of the movie, and gets the best scenes and lines. Once again, she totally commits to the movie, giving life to two different characters.

This time, Kimmy is feisty, but loses composure in the presence of her sweetheart Barry (Zanjoe). The kiss they share, for instance, was hilariously overdone.

Dora is still simple-headed, but now carries some maturity the she might have gotten from her boyfriend Johnson (Dingdong). The two kiss but it was chaste.

Eugene Domingo also has a surprise fight scene in this movie, which she handles with finesse.

Other performers also fare well, including Ariel Ureta as Kimmy and Dora's father, Kiray Celis as the twins' young mother, and Miriam Quiambao as Kimmy's secretary who gets physically worn down as the movie progresses.

Zanjoe Marudo and Dingdong Dantes play the love interests of Kimmy and Dora, respectively, and they play these roles decently.

A few cameos also leave a mark. Maricar Reyes plays a stewardess who concedes to Dora's wishes. Senator Jinggoy Estrada is a politician who gets the brunt of Kimmy's cruelty. Kris Aquino is a snooty elitist who has negative things to say about Kimmy's fashion sense.

Aside from these, viewers will also be treated to nicely-shot scenes of Korea's sights and culture.

All in all, Kimmy Dora 2 is a well-made comedy-horror movie that features strong performances from its cast. But to fully enjoy the film, viewers should drop expectations that it should be better than the original.

This movie is graded B by the Cinema Evaluation Board and is rated PG-13 by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.

Co-produced by Star Cinema and Spring Films, Kimmy Dora and the Temple of Kiyeme is now showing in theaters nationwide.