Mentorque Productions makes history through its Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2023 entry as the first Filipino movie distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Being distributed by an American film production and distribution company is already a feat for a Filipino production like Mallari.
That’s something to be proud of (not just for the film industry) as a nation.
Lifted and loosely based on the story of Mallari, a parish priest in the 1800s who killed 57 people before being caught, thereby becoming the first and only recorded Filipino serial killer ever, antedating Jack The Ripper by more than 60 years.
Philippines’ ultimate heartthrob, Piolo Pascual is Fr. Severino Mallari. But wait, he has two other characters here. He’s John Rey Mallari (1948) and Jonathan Mallari De Dios (2023). Taking on these characters proved his versatility as an actor. He provided distinct nuances to differentiate the three personas from each other.
Screenwriter Enrico Santos did a great job by weaving Pascual’s three personas to have an encounter in one place via astral projection. That was a brilliant device to bring together the three Mallaris. That take on–tying the three made sense to establish further the bond and the reason for them to interact for one reason–to realize one unfinished business.
According to Santos, there were insufficient documents to support the killer priest’s story–the decision to fictionalize some of its narratives was a good move to make the connection of the three Mallaris more exciting and thrilling.
However, for someone who has seen a lot of horror films, some of the supposedly horrific scenes in the movie didn’t terrify me at all. Yes, there were jump scares. That scene when John Rey came out from the secret room and saw the dead people in his ancestor’s house–reminded me of a scene from a recent Joshua Garcia-starrer film, Ang mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan (2023), which also featured the veteran and late actress Angie Ferro.
Derick Cabrido made my heartbeat skip a bit, particularly in that scene where John Rey and the young boy Jonathan were hiding from Fr. Mallari behind a door of another room. The fight scenes between the two Mallaris and that between Jonathan and Lucas (JC Santos) were breathtaking.
The integration of supernatural creatures into the story helped justify the murders committed by Fr. Mallari, but I had misgivings about the choice of creature assigned to the character of Fr. Mallari’s mother. Yet, after careful thought–it was but fitting to have it–even if it was a bit cringy. The decision to have a shadow animation was a brave attempt, but they could have pushed the envelope further by creating a flawless and believable execution. If they could have at least achieved that kind of scare of the goat demon in Nun 2–the transformation could have been frightening and astounding.
Establishing the semblance of Saint Bartholomew, to whom Fr. Mallari’s mom is a devotee–it also reminded me of the reference to the historical Roman Christian martyr from the fourth century–the legend of Saint Lucy‘s eyes and their mythical status in the Nun 2 movie. Again, the reference of Saint Bartholomew with Fr. Mallari is entirely fictitious.
Overall, Pascual’s acting is enough to earn him a nomination for Best Actor. He succeeded in giving life to the three personas he has in the movie. But JC Santos as Lucas is the most impressive in this Santos-Cabrido collaboration–he could potentially snag the Best Supporting Actor award. Gloria Diaz is also a shoo-in to have a Best Supporting Actress nomination, too.
And all props to the entire production team of Mentorque in cooperation with Clever Minds Inc. for coming up with this movie that took the attention of Warner Bros. Pictures to distribute it. Moviegoers must not miss the opening scene. It sets something foreboding.
