Why Manananggal is the Best Shake, Rattle and Role Segment Ever

Back in 1984, Regal Films released the first of the Shake, Rattle & Roll anthology series. The segment Manananggal not only became the most popular segment in the franchise, but also catapulted Peque Gallaga & Lore Reyes to the forefront of horror – establishing their ability to find human moments and sensuality in the grotesque. They approached the segment with an artistic logic that brought the absurd into the realms of possibility.

“They cut in half which I imagine, artistically, must be really really painful. How big do the wings need to be to carry the body of a woman?” ~ Peque Gallaga

In Manananggal, Douglas (played by Herbert Bautista) is a teenager in a faraway province where a manananggal has been eating villagers. His grandmother tasks him to kill this creature by locating the lower half and preventing it from re-attaching. He must now survive the night to protect his family and stop the vicious attacks. Here is the famous scene from the film.

“They cut in half and I thought, I’d like to see the lower half. I think I’m the first in the Philippines to show the lower half with the intestines bubbling.” ~ Peque Gallaga

To me, this is still the best interpretation of the manananggal ever seen on film. Sure some of the effects are rough, but it was cutting edge for the budget and time it was released. The music and soundscape have an eerie primal voice underscoring it – SUPER c-r-e-e-p-y! Peque & Lore’s artistic sensibility and their ability to connect on a human level has never quite been matched in the SRR franchise. Plus, Irma Alegre’s performance was enough to have little boys running through banana fields searching for “the lower half” – I won’t go into more detail, but if I’m ever attacked by a manananggal, please let it be Irma Alegre.

 

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jordan Clark is a Canadian documentary director/producer at High Banks Entertainment Ltd. He made the 2011 feature length documentary The Aswang Phenomenon - an exploration of the aswang myth and its effects on Philippine society. Currently he is in production for The Aswang Project web-series, which will feature 8 mysteries and myths from the Philippines.

What Lies Beyond the Paths

Recently, I saw the 2011 film Chinese film The Sorcerer and the White Snake. At first, it seemed to have the usual good versus evil theme. But, the movie ended up to be a depiction of my very thoughts regarding taking the left- or right-hand path.

 

Based on a Chinese legend, the film essentially started with Xu Xian, a physician, falling deep into a lake. All along, the White Snake and the Green Snake had been watching nearby in female human form. The White Snake decided to jump in and save Xu Xian with a kiss which allowed vital essence to flow from her to him. Xu Xian woke up to his friends reviving him, but distinctly remembering the kiss and even looking for the woman whom he didn't find.

 

During a lantern festival, the snakes, who are sisters, came in human form to watch the festivities. The White Snake was also eager to get another glimpse of Xu Xian and asked the Green Snake to find and bring him to her, which she did by pushing Xu Xian's boat to where the White Snake was with Xu Xian in it, scared and helpless.

 

Upon meeting, the White Snake revealed herself to Xu Xian by pushing him into the lake and kissing him anew after jumping in as Xu Xian said he could not recall the face of the woman who rescued him previously. As it turned out, Xu Xian had been longing to meet his rescuer again. The two decided to live together in Xu Xian's abode far from the city.

 

The city, meanwhile, became beset by a bat demon king and his cohorts by spreading insanity, illness, and death among humans as they feed off bodily energies. Xu Xian came up with a medicine, not knowing that the White Snake breathed into them to make them work as she was determined to make things easier for Xu Xian.

 

Fahai, a demon hunter monk, recognized what was contained in the medicine and left Xu Xian a spirit blade. Fahai then met the White Snake on the street and warned her to leave Xu Xian or not be spared. By this time, Fahai's assistant, Neng Ren, had been bitten by the bat demon, turning into a bat demon himself.

 

Fahai and his monks then follow Xu Xian to his house to confront the White Snake who opted to stay. Turning into a snake, they battle. Xu Xian comes into the room, finds the snake and Fahai, sees the spirit blade, and mortally wounds the snake with it, not knowing who the snake really is. The snake shed a tear before Xu Xian and escaped into the water. Fahai told Xu Xian what the woman really is.

 

Seeing Xu Xian deeply saddened, one of the White Snake's friend, a mouse, advised Xu Xian to save the White Snake with a spirit herb—the only one of its kind—which can be found in a pagoda, guarding demons trapped inside. Xu Xian retrieves the herb, but not without releasing the now unguarded demons which proceeded to possess him.

 

Hearing the pagoda's bell which heralded that the demons had been released, Fahai comes and brings Xu Xian to his temple to release him from the demons. The snake sisters came to the temple, flooded it by means of controlling the lake, and took Xu Xian. Xu Xian could not recognize the White Snake though as the spell to release him had not been completed following the snake sisters' arrival.

 

Fahai then comes and battles with the sisters again. He then sees Neng Ren flying around to save the monks who are drwoning in the flood. Next, he manages to imprison the White Snake in the pagoda. Inside, the White Snake begged the Buddha to let her see Xu Xian one last time. As mercy would have it, the Buddha allowed Fahai to let the White Snake out. Another kiss allowed Xu Xian to remember everything. But, an instant after recognition, the White Snake was sucked back into the pagoda as a fulfillment of her plea to see Xu Xian one last time. The White Snake's imprisonment told us that no matter what kind of being we are, we are still subject to the laws of the universe.

 

Fahai is clearly on the extreme right-hand path, serving Buddha and the light by banishing demons. The White Snake, on the other hand, was called a demon, but was capable of good deeds by virtue of her love for Xu Xian. Even Neng Ren had the heart to save the monks.

 

The film saw righteousness repeatedly changing sides—and colors—if you will. Fahai was against the deception of humans and the union of beings not of the same kind. The White Snake saw Fahai as evil for keeping her and Xu Xian apart. The bat demon Neng Ren opted to stay by the demon hunter's side in the end. The bat demon king and his cohorts showed a great deal of malevolence. But, what if, in their perspective, they were only in need of sustenance? Good versus evil might not be as black or as white as we were conditioned to believe it is.

 

Here, we see characters in different paths. But, all were driven by love: Fahai and Neng Ren by their love for humans and the White Snake by her love for Xu Xian. Why, even the mouse exhibited love for the White Snake by wanting to keep her alive! We see here how love, in different forms, can be found in any being regardless of his path. Even the film's alternate title is It's Love. And last time I checked, love is a far cry from evil.

 

So, does it matter which path we are on? It could truly just be a matter of perspective. What is important is that we choose a path and follow it righteously to where it leads. After all, I have an inkling that no matter how diverse our paths appear to be, we will all come upon the same destination after traversing all the necessary dimensions because we are all One with specific and different lessons to learn.

 

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

Venus Cruz or Venus BC is a magazine writer and editor. Other than her magazine career, she also takes writing projects for various NGOs. She belongs to a non-sectarian group that believes in giving, at least, a tenth of one’s resources, time, or abilities to helping others each day.

Insidious Chapter 3 - A Must Watched Horror Film

Quinn Brenner believes that her mother is trying to connect with her from the other side. Trying to invoke her spirit, she accidentally called out the malevolent ghost of a man who started inflicting misery on her and her family. 

 

The film shows that some spirits could not get out of the dark because they are trapped in there and they do not know how to take themselves out; while there are spirits who are still there because they do not want to leave and would rather take people to join them in "The Further".

 

Insidious Chapter 3 is a horror film but there are certain scenes that made me find myself teary-eyed on my seat:

 

Seeing how hard a family is trying to cope up with the loss of a loved one; how a psychic is torn between her desire to use her ability in helping other people or keep the peace of not having to brush off shoulders with evil entities anymore; and how some souls are tormented and forced to commit harmful measures because they know nobody who can help them deal with what they are experiencing.

 

If you are looking toward watching a horror movie that will not only scare you; but will also touch your heart, do not hesitate to watch Insidious Chapter 3. For someone who does not get easily impressed, I should say that this film did not fail to impress me. It is well crafted, well-researched, fast-paced and it tackled a lot of topics that most supernatural and paranormal scholars believe in.

It did not showcase a lot of bloodsheds and screaming scenes, which I highly appreciated as a viewer because I am no fan of overly violent films; but still, it is effectively scary. As a movie reviewer, I give it 5 stars.
 

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

Jade Martin is the founder of Center for Paranormal Studiesand Profilers of the Unknown. She is also a Businesswoman, Certified Life and Business Coach, Author, Filmmaker, Public Speaker, Ghost Tour Guide, Paranormal Investigator and Tarot Reader.

Insidious Chapter 3: In the Face of the Man Who Couldn't Breathe

Insidious - something that inflicts harm in a subtle or stealthy manner.

The warning continues in Insidious 3, a prequel to the first and second parts. In this installment, the character of psychic Elise Rainier returns to use her ability to save the life (and soul!) of a teenage girl named Quinn Brenner.

Expected of a recently bereaved daughter, Quinn wanted to make contact with her mom and even made attempts to do so by calling out and talking whenever she feels a presence. So, when she started seeing apparitions and feeling strange when alone, she rejoiced at the thought of still having her mother around her.

What Quinn didn't know (and what most wouldn't know when the dead supposedly tries to make contact) is that it's not her mom at all, but an emphysematous yet powerful entity bent on dragging her to her death and taking her soul as booty. The game plan was to keep making her believe it was her mom until she is vulnerable, left with all her fences down. Insidious, huh?

Sadly yet expectedly for most of us, this game plan always scores. The movie is not saying it's impossible for the dead to make contact with the living. Yes, under certain circumstances, they can. What it is saying is that when the dead tries to make contact, it might not always be who we think it is. The solution is to keep our hearts pure and strong enough to be able to discern. Even a gifted psychic like Elise can fall prey when the guard is let down.

The movie also shows how fear can work against anyone. It can make us panic, cloud our judgment, and hand us defeat. There's no better antidote than to know who or what we are dealing with so as to best plan how to equip ourselves when faced with an entity that is trying to kill us or someone we know.

Watching the movie didn't feel like a joke because the depictions were generally realistic. There wasn't any of that fanfare associated with séance scenes. There were no lousy special effects. The storyline wasn't a duh. And there were no ham actors in sight.

Moreover, certain maxims of the supernatural were taken up such as travelling to the other side, communicating with the dead, and vanquishing our weaknesses whenever entities try to capitalize on these.

Insidious 3 wasn't a disappointment for a third installment. It made us jump off our seats, hyperventilate, and munch mindlessly with popping eyes on every popped kernel we could get our hands on.
 

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Venus Cruz or Venus BC is a magazine writer and editor. Other than her magazine career, she also takes writing projects for various NGOs. She belongs to a non-sectarian group that believes in giving, at least, a tenth of one’s resources, time, or abilities to helping others each day.