Altar

In order to better evaluate the contribution by Rico Maria Ilarde to innovation within the Filipino horror film, we are also screening Beneath the Cogon in this programme. Ilarde juxtaposes a craftsman-like approach – he partly learnt the ropes from his father, the TV maker Eddie Ilarde – with a free mix of genres. As a result his films are better made and especially less predictable than the usual genre films from his country.
This film is set in a real haunted house. The protagonist is the former boxer Anton (Zanjoe Marudo) who is still reeling from the fact that his American boxing career ended when he killed his opponent in the ring. He’s less worried about ending his career than suffering from the fact that he took someone’s life. And in a certain sense this past really seems to pursue him.
The haunted house is a lonely villa that he is renovating as an odd-job man with a friend. The house turns out to shelter strange and terrifying secrets. Anton is very serious, but his mate Lope takes life a lot easier and introduces a humorous note to the film. There’s also romance. Angie and Giselle are two maidservants who work near the house and make friends with the men. Anton especially falls for the more serious Angie, who is open to his spiritual distress. And then Anton starts seeing things… (GjZ)

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