The magic and horror of Peque and Lore Written by Kathleen A. Llemit Wednesday, 29 October 2014 If you ask collaborators Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes, an effective horror film appeals to the heart and mind. While most horror films elicit that required edge-of-the-seat moments and the effective what if plot device, for them, theres another element that must be dealt with. Foregoing the mindlessness of just making their viewers scream, Gallaga and Reyes opt to give a human face to their “monsters.” Just like popular “horrific” characters Freddy Krueger of the movie series A Nightmare on Elm Street and Sadako in the Japanese cult favorite Ringu series, their “monsters” have their whys and hows. Take a look back at their Shake, Rattle and Roll (SRR) films. Before the franchise became somewhat less of thrill fest and more of a comical fare in recent years, the filmmakers were behind some of the most memorable episodes of the popular horror series. In SRR III (1991), which contains the franchises popular format of three-in-one episode and which they both wrote and directed all three, Gallaga and Reyes introduced the undin, a sea creature that haunts college dormmates Manilyn Reynes and Ai Ai de las Alas in the Nanay episode. Initially terrifying the dormmates, later these characters will find out that the undin has its reasons for wreaking havoc in their otherwise mundane college life. The next year, they followed it up with another unforgettable mythological creature, the witawit in the Kapitbahay episode of SRR IV, which they also wrote and directed. Just like the undin, the witawit made the village neighorhood of Janice de Belen and little cute Aiza Seguerra afraid of the old tree located in the childrens park after rumors spread that it was the supposed residence of the creature that took the children who were playing there. And who could ever forget perhaps their most popular work, Tiyanak (1988), starring Janice de Belen and Lotlot de Leon? Because of that movie, Janice became a household name because of its tagline Anak ni Janice. In the movie, Janices character adopts a baby who turns out to be a tiyanak, which, according to Gallaga, is a uniquely Filipino mythological creature said to be vampiric in nature. An ideal horror for me is when the viewer is able to emphatize with the protagonist. But the most ideal would be if the viewer is able to emphatize with the monster, shares Reyes. Both directors are aiming for that in the upcoming Sineng Pambansa Horror plus Film Festival. The second edition of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) initiated film fest is in partnership with SM Cinema. It opens on Oct. 29 and will run until Nov. 4 at SM Cinemas nationwide and select WalterMart cinemas. For the reboot of Tiyanak, Gallaga and Reyes tapped actress Judy Ann Santos to play the lead role similar to that of Janice de Belens character. Joining the cast of Tyanak are Solenn Heussaff, Tom Rodriguez, Miles Kanapi and Sid Lucero. Besides the commendable performance of lead actress Santos, who earned high praises from her first-time directors, who described her as hayop sa galing or wildly talented, the directors again used another trademark — the all-knowing guru, an artistic device in the person of Telang Bayawak played by Miles Kanapi, originally played by Zorayda Sanchez in the 1988 version. Gallaga and Reyes likens Telang Bayawak as the Filipino version of The Lord of the Rings Gandalf and as their one-woman personification of the Greek chorus, an artistic device used in ancient Greek theater featuring a group of masked performers who dance and sing in unison often proferring a summary or background information about the play. The use of Telang Bayawak is a favorite of the duo as the guru Telang Bayawak also appeared in another notable work, the fantasy adventure 1996 film Magic Temple. The magic of Gallaga and Reyes films lie on their relatability and accessibility as evidenced by the number of films that people still know about even after years of hiatus, especially in the horror genre, 15 years in abscence, as Gallaga counts. Gallaga, who is a self-confessed former burgis or in todays lingua more identified as conyo, credits it to Ishmael Bernal. I started out as an indie film maker. I made a lot of films that nobody watched. Thats the essence of movie, thats why the screen is big. And then I worked as production designer of Ishmael Bernal. He thought me things. He was the one who said that I should stop being pilosopo with the press because the press is part of my movie. He said that I thought I knew all the answers and the press just wants a story. He said, No, they are a part of your movie. Part of what I noticed is that Ishmael is a snob. Hes 200 times more intelligent and more educated than me. But the top and basic quality of the film that hes looking for is that if the ordinary people like the taxi driver or the sari-sari store vendor is able to understand the film. He said, Who are you making movies for? Ang utak ko, alam mo burgis ako. ‘Yung utak ko made a 180 degrees switch, explains Gallaga. Other films to be screened at the film fest include Gil M. Portes Hukluban, Romy V. Suzaras Sigaw Sa Hatinggabi, and Edgardo Boy Vinaraos Bacao. Visit fdcp.ph and the FDCP Facebook page for more details.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 05:53:18 +0000
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