I went into Whalefall with relatively low expectations. My initial assumption was something along the lines of a Discovery Channel or National Geographic documentary. Perhaps, with a biblical twist inspired by Jonah and the whale.

Learning about marine life and having a mildly existential moment about the ocean seemed plausible enough. What I wasn’t prepared for was being physically thrown around in a cinema while watching a man get swallowed whole by a sperm whale.

Based on the novel of the same name, Whalefall follows Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams), who dives off the coast of California in search of his father’s remains. What begins as a deeply personal mission turns into a fight for survival when Jay finds himself trapped inside the very creature that could end his life.

(L-r) Director Brian Duffield and Austin Abrams as Jay Gardiner in 20th Century Studios’ WHALEFALL. Photo by Jennifer Clasen. © 2026 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Watching it in 4DX made the experience all the more harrowing. My seat moved and the tension mounted. I found myself gripping the armrests as though I had personally signed a waiver to become whale food.

I went in expecting an underwater adventure and left with a renewed appreciation for dry land, breathable air, and the many reasons to stay out of a sperm whale’s digestive system. More surprisingly, I left thinking about my father.

Oh, the questionable decisions we make when we’re hurting

Anyone who has spent time diving knows that going underwater alone is a risk. Conditions can change in an instant. Having nobody around to help when something goes wrong can turn a manageable situation into a life-threatening one.

Jay, unfortunately, has other things on his mind. His decision to dive alone is frustrating to watch, particularly when you can see how much trouble his stubbornness is going to cause him.

There were moments when I wanted to reach through the screen and confiscate his diving equipment. I wanted to tell him that grief is not an excuse to abandon every survival instinct he has ever learned.

Then again, grief has a rather unpleasant way of making sensible people do questionable things. Jay is still carrying the weight of his father’s death, compounded by the memory of their last fight.

Diving was something they shared, and returning to the water becomes his way of reconnecting with a man he can no longer speak to.

His search for his father’s remains is also a search for something less tangible: closure, forgiveness, and perhaps, a chance to make peace with the things left unsaid.

That part hit a little too close to home. My own attempt to reconnect with my father involved tennis. Apparently, when daddy issues meet a sports hobby, the brain starts entertaining the idea that a shared activity might somehow repair years of complicated feelings.

Baggage you can’t breathe away

I haven’t read the original novel, so I can’t speak to how closely the film follows the book. What I can say is that Whalefall uses its survival premise to explore the kind of emotional baggage that no amount of deep breathing can magically dissolve.

Jay is fighting to stay alive, but he is also confronting the guilt that has kept him emotionally tethered to his father’s death. The whale becomes a fascinating extension of that struggle.

As Jay fights his way through its body, the physical obstacles begin to mirror the emotional ones he has spent so long avoiding.

The creature sometimes feels more like a manifestation of his father. It forced him to confront memories he has buried along with his grief. Survival, in this case, means more than finding a way out. Jay must also find a way to forgive himself.

Suspense that gets under your skin

It’s so deeply unsettling watching a person trapped inside a living creature. I can handle the occasional horror movie, but the human imagination has its limits. Mine would very much prefer not to picture what happens when the walls around you are made of whale.

Jay’s ordeal is brutal. He suffers serious injuries, struggles with dwindling oxygen, and has to work through one terrifying obstacle after another with very little room for error.

The film makes the environment feel claustrophobic and unpredictable, keeping you painfully aware that his body is running out of time.

The 4DX presentation makes all of this considerably harder to watch. Every jolt and movement pulled me further into Jay’s predicament. The physical effects heightened the sense that something could go wrong at any moment.

I was no longer comfortably observing a survival thriller from my cinema seat. Apparently, I was a passenger on the world’s worst underwater excursion.

There were moments when I genuinely wanted to look away and ask someone to tell me when it was safe to look again. I knew Jay was the protagonist, and a small, sensible part of my brain assumed the story would find a way to keep him alive.

The rest of me remembered that films can be cruel. That being the main character isn’t always a legally binding guarantee of survival.

Between hope and hopelessness

What kept me watching was the tension between hope and helplessness. Jay has knowledge that could save him, much of it drawn from lessons his father taught him. But remembering what to do is difficult when panic takes over.

His chances seem to improve just enough to make you hopeful before another complication threatens to undo everything.

The film doesn’t rely solely on the spectacle of a man being trapped in a whale. Its suspense comes from watching Jay piece together what he knows while confronting everything he has spent years trying not to feel.

And no, this is not Moana. There is no helpful manta ray carrying the spirit of a dead grandmother to guide our hero through his darkest hour. Jay has to do the work himself, even when the memory of his father becomes the closest thing he has to a guide.

That is what makes the whale’s presence so compelling. It feels as though Jay is being forced into an encounter with his father, except the reunion comes with broken bones and a ticking oxygen supply.

A survival story with grief at its heart

I expected Whalefall to be a survival thriller about the sheer terror of being swallowed by a sperm whale. It certainly delivers on that front, particularly in 4DX, where every movement makes the experience feel uncomfortably immediate.

What I didn’t expect was to leave the cinema thinking about my own relationship with my father. The film’s most affecting moments emerge when the physical struggle and Jay’s emotional journey begin to converge.

(L-R): Austin Abrams as Jay Gardiner and Josh Brolin as Mitt Gardiner in 20th Century Studios’ WHALEFALL. © 2026 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

The whale and the memories of his father all become part of a story about learning to live with loss. Its imagery gives the audience room to consider how grief can trap us in the past, even when we desperately want to move forward.

It’s painfully familiar to hold on to the last argument, the final conversation, or the version of a relationship we wish we could have changed.

We replay those memories as though enough mental editing might eventually produce a different ending. Sometimes, we even try to revisit the things we once shared with someone, hoping the familiarity will bring us closer to them again.

Making peace with who we were

Jay’s journey suggests that making peace with a person who is gone also requires making peace with the person we were when they were still here.

That’s a difficult thing to accept, especially when the relationship itself was complicated. Forgiveness doesn’t necessarily mean every wound disappears or every unanswered question finds a neat resolution.

Sometimes, it means acknowledging what happened and allowing yourself to keep living. Whalefall surprised me with how much emotional weight it carried beneath its survival-thriller premise.

(L-R): Austin Abrams as Jay Gardiner and Josh Brolin as Mitt Gardiner in 20th Century Studios’ WHALEFALL. © 2026 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

The cinematography and storytelling give its more introspective moments room to settle, making the experience linger long after the credits roll.

If you’re looking for a survival thriller that will leave you gripping your cinema seat, Whalefall is worth the trip. The 4DX experience makes its claustrophobic ordeal all the more visceral. Consider this your reminder to bring your strongest stomach.

If you have a complicated relationship with your father, the film might leave you with something heavier to carry home.

I arrived expecting to watch a man fight his way out of a whale. I left thinking about the things we carry long after the people we love are gone, and the difficult business of learning to let them go.

Seeing a memory take shape beyond your screen changes how it feels. A favorite photo becomes a print you can tuck into a journal or pin beside your desk, and the everyday moments you capture get a little more room to live.

That was the spirit of Fujifilm’s instax Playhou2e launch in Makati, where visual artist Jill Arteche brought her signature illustrations into the event space.

Her artwork surrounded the latest additions to the instax family, the instax Pal 2 and instax Link WIDE 2. Both devices treat photography as a form of personal expression, from the snapshots you take throughout the day to the printed memories you want to keep close.

A pocket-sized camera that goes wherever you do

The original instax Pal made the case for carrying a camera without a full-sized setup. Its successor, the instax Pal 2, builds on that with a refreshed design and improved image quality.

The palm-sized camera is built for everyday adventures and can capture angles that are awkward to get with a smartphone. Its compact body also makes it easy to bring along if you like documenting your day as it happens.

Fujifilm gave the Pal 2 a semi-matte finish. A new monitor on top lets you review shots right after you take them, and the added viewfinder, control dial, and lever give it a more tactile feel to shoot with.

The specs have moved up, too. The Pal 2 captures 10-megapixel images, double the original’s five megapixels, and its internal storage holds up to 100 images compared with 50 before. A separately sold microSD card adds more room.

The creative options are where the Pal 2 gets playful. It offers 30 effects, so you can give images different moods without editing each one from scratch. Its instax Animation mode strings up to 10 consecutive shots into a flipbook-style animated video.

Transferring your photos is straightforward. The Pal 2 supports wireless Bluetooth transfers, and a USB Type-C connection offers faster transfers to compatible smartphones. From there, you can edit the images and post them to social media or keep them in your camera roll.

Because the Pal 2 is part of the instax ecosystem, its digital photos can also be printed on instant film through compatible instax printers. That means you can shoot first and decide later which moments deserve a physical copy.

Turning your camera roll into something worth keeping

Taking photos is only half the fun. The other half is deciding what to do with the hundreds of images that pile up on our phones.

The instax Link WIDE 2 is Fujifilm’s answer for anyone who collects travel photos or documents celebrations. As the brand’s WIDE-format smartphone printer, it prints at twice the image area of the instax mini format, which leaves more space for group photos and landscapes.

Its biggest new feature is Photo Mixer, which builds scrapbook-style collages from multiple images you pick in the dedicated app. Instead of printing a single photo, you can combine highlights from a trip or a gathering into one larger keepsake.

The app suggests layouts based on your chosen photos and adjusts image sizes, angles, text placement, and fonts to keep the design cohesive. You can then add your own text and stamps. A cutout function identifies people and objects in your photos so you can layer them into the collage.

With Photo Mixer, printing becomes part of the creative process, and your camera roll turns into material for building a visual record of an experience in a single print.

The Link WIDE 2 also gets a design refresh, with two-tone finishes in Duo Beige and Duo Blue. The light and dark surfaces give it a polished look on a shelf or desk, and an illuminated instax logo glows while it prints.

Connectivity has expanded, too. Beyond smartphones and tablets, the printer works with PCs, Fujifilm X Series cameras, and the instax Pal 2, so digital artwork and other compatible images can become physical prints.

A more personal way to keep your memories

The instax Pal 2 and Link WIDE 2 share the idea that photography is a way to express yourself. The Pal 2 makes it easy to capture moments as they happen, and the Link WIDE 2 gives those images a place in the physical world.

Jill Arteche’s artwork at the launch backed that idea up. Her illustrations filled the space with personality and showed how photos and art can make an environment feel more personal. The event also made a case for revisiting and reinterpreting the images we collect.

Taking a photo takes seconds, and printing one can make the memory feel more special. The instax Pal 2 and Link WIDE 2 bring that into everyday life and give your snapshots room for creativity, from the moment you press the shutter to the moment you find a place for the print.

In the Philippines, the Fujifilm instax Pal 2 retails for PhP 10,599, while the Fujifilm instax Link WIDE 2 is priced at PhP 10,999. Both devices are now available on Fujifilm’s authorized stores and retailers nationwide.

LE SSERAFIM member Sakura has a game recommendation for Nintendo Switch 2 owners, and it is an unexpected pick for fans looking for something to play.

During a fan send-off at the group’s PUREFLOW tour stop in Newark, New Jersey, a FEARNOT reportedly asked Sakura which Switch 2 game she would recommend. She pointed the fan toward Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon, a classic RPG from Square Enix.

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The Newark concert took place at the Prudential Center on October 8, 2026. The game Sakura mentioned is now available internationally as Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD-.

What is Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon about?

The game follows Torneko Taloon, a merchant from Dragon Quest IV who dreams of becoming the world’s greatest weapons dealer.

Torneko hears rumors of a mysterious dungeon filled with incredible treasures. He ventures inside to collect valuable items, bring them home, and expand his shop.

The premise is straightforward, but surviving the dungeon is another story. Each expedition brings a new layout, different items, and new monsters. Torneko must make it out alive if he wants to keep the treasures he finds.

Source: Official Dragon Quest website

What kind of game is it?

Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon is a turn-based roguelike dungeon crawler with RPG and resource-management elements.

Every step counts as a turn. When Torneko moves, enemies move too. Players must decide when to fight, when to use items, and when to retreat. Poor decisions can quickly turn a promising run into a disaster.

Death also carries a hefty penalty. Torneko loses the items collected during a failed expedition and returns to the first floor at Level 1. However, successfully bringing items home helps expand his shop and provides a sense of long-term progression.

The game originally debuted in Japan in 1993. Its Classic HD release brings the pioneering dungeon crawler to international audiences with updated visuals, an official English localization, and adjustable difficulty options.

The game is available on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Source: Nintendo

How long does it take to beat?

According to HowLongToBeat estimates reported by M4 Games, the main story takes around 7.5 hours to complete. A playthrough that includes additional content takes approximately 16 hours.

Those estimates offer a useful starting point, but the game’s procedural dungeons and punishing mechanics can affect how long individual players need to finish it.

Source: M4 Games

What do critics and players think?

Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD- has received a mixed-to-positive response from critics.

Review aggregator listings put its critical reception around the high 60s to low 70s out of 100, depending on the platform and the aggregator. RPGFan awarded it an 80/100, praising its strategic dungeon runs, charming Dragon Quest monsters, and satisfying progression.

However, the game also shows its age. Critics have pointed to dated presentation, limited quality-of-life improvements, and pacing issues. Its demanding mechanics may also frustrate players who prefer more modern, forgiving roguelikes.

The general sentiment is that the core gameplay remains engaging, particularly for fans of classic RPGs and dungeon crawlers. However, this is a 1993 game at heart, and its remaster does not completely modernize the experience.

Sources: RPGFan, CriticDB, Steam player reviews

Would you play it because of the game or because of Sakura?

Let’s be honest. A recommendation from Sakura might be enough to make some FEARNOTs curious about a game they would otherwise overlook.

From a gameplay perspective, Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD- offers a glimpse into the roots of a genre that continues to thrive today. Its turn-based combat, randomly generated dungeons, and risk-reward loop could appeal to players who enjoy methodical RPGs.

Still, the game isn’t necessarily for everyone. Its old-school design and punishing mechanics may require some patience, especially for players accustomed to more modern dungeon crawlers.

Personally, I’d be tempted to give it a shot because of Sakura. 👀

Whether the game itself can keep me playing is another question. But if a FEARNOT is looking for a new Switch 2 game and Sakura recommends this one, that might be reason enough to take a closer look.

Would you play Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon because of the gameplay, or because Sakura recommended it?