A distinctly Filipino mix of piety and prurience comprise this uneasy cocktail. Story of religious fervor and related hucksterism in a depressed village reps a lesser effort from helmer Joel Lamangan.

Deborah Kampmeier was in the midddle of pre-production on her first feature, “Hounddog,” starring Robin Wright Penn, when the film’s funding fell apart — for the fourth time. The writer-director, who ...