It’s not a Filipino Halloween without watching Feng Shui or the classic Shake, Rattle & Roll movies!
At this point, who hasn’t had nightmares since watching Feng Shui? Or hasn’t experienced doing a Shake, Rattle & Roll marathon with friends? There’s just something about Filipino horror movies that are so addicting—even if it makes it harder to sleep at night, they’re terrifyingly exciting to watch, and for good reason! Halloweekend is the perfect excuse to sit back, relax, and watch your favorite Filipino horror movie for a good scare.
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Feng Shui
Released in 2004, Feng Shui is one of the most popular horror movies in the Philippines, was named the highest-grossing Filipino film of that year, and is just a classic must-watch Filipino horror film. Kris Aquino’s performance made her the Box-Office Horror Queen with her stellar screams and superb performance in this film.
Directed by Chito S. Roño, Feng Shui follows Kris Aquino’s character Joy, who was gifted a bagua mirror. Unfortunately, the presence of this mirror only brings death and misfortune in Joy’s life, and so she tries to get rid of it for the safety of her and her family. You can never go wrong with Feng Shui for a classic Filipino Halloween! If you want to follow it up with another film, go for its sequel starring Coco Martin.
Shake, Rattle & Roll
While this film series is a classic part of everyone’s Christmas since 1984, there’s no stopping us from enjoying them during Halloween. With 16 films and three stories for every movie, you will never get enough of Philippine mythological creatures and monsters like aswangs, engkantos, tiyanaks; Filipino superstitions, urban legends, and more. Are you up for a binge watch challenge?
Most Shake, Rattle & Roll films were released during the Metro Manila Film Festival, making them among the most anticipated films of the festival. While they were mostly shown in cinemas during the Christmas season, you can’t deny that they’re one of the best films to watch during Halloween weekend. Watch one or two, or maybe even all 16 films!
Haunted Mansion
The 2015 supernational horror film was Janella Salvador’s debut in film, and frighteningly good one at that. Starring alongside Marlo Mortel, Jerome Ponce, Iza Calzado, and Janice de Belen, Haunted Mansion follows a group of high school students in a retreat. While staying in an old mansion and fooling around like the high school students they were, they uncover the house’s dark past and a series of misfortune comes their way.
At some point, most if not all of us have experienced going on a retreat—or at least heard some terrifying stories about students going to retreats. This is the perfect movie to watch with your friends and scare each other!
Seklusyon
Released in 2016 is a supernatural horror movie starring Rhed Bustamante, Neil Ryan Sese, Ronnie Alonte, Lou Veloso, Phoebe Walker, Dominic Roque, Elora Españo, John Vic De Guzman, JR Versales, Jerry O’Hara, Sherry Lara, and Teroy Guzman. Directed by Erik Matti, Seklusyon revolves around Padre Ricardo’s discovery of a miraculous and mysterious child named Anghela Santa Ana who can heal people of their pains. In the process of taking care of Anghela, she reveals the terrifying truth about her identity.
In the 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival, Seklusyon won 9 awards: Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Sound Design, Best Production Design, Best Original Theme Song, Special Jury Prize, and Male Celebrity of the Night. With this many awards and a promising plot, Seklusyon is the movie to watch for a good and spooky time.
Mallari
Released just last year and starring Piolo Pascual, Janella Salvador, JC Santos, Elisse Joson, and Gloria Diaz, this film talks about the three generations of the Mallari family with three intertwining timelines starting with Severino Mallari. In the pursuit of finding a way to save his fiancee from death, Jonathan learns the dark history of his family, including the series of murders by Severino Mallari himself.
Another critically acclaimed film worth your night—which you might’ve heard of—is Mallari, inspired by the story of a priest named Juan Severino Mallari in the 1800s, the first documented serial killer in the Philippines and the first Filipino priest to be executed for his crimes. Like Seklusyon, this film has four accolades in the Metro Manila Film Festival, one award in the Manila International Film Festival, six wins out of 14 nominations in the FAMAS Award, and four awards in the PMPC Star Awards for Movies.
You can watch all five of these Filipino horror movies throughout the long Halloweekend with your friends, family, or by yourself—if you’re brave enough.
Photos: IMDB
