Piolo Pascual admitted he had second thoughts relating his latest film, “Mallari.”
It is his first foray into horror and he was reticent. He has never done something like it and for the first time in years he was uneasy.
He asked himself, “Kaya ko ba?”
In asking that question, he got his answer: He should do it.
“I’ve done a lot of films, drama, romcoms, but never horror. It posed a challenge for me as an actor and I love to be challenged. As an actor, that is what I was looking for. Not knowing what to expect.”
That Hollywood giant Warner Bros. is distributing the film across the country with Mentorque Productions, cemented Piolo’s belief in the effort.
“It’s a privilege to be able to be part of something this big and to be tapped by Warner Bros. kasi siyempre international brand yan eh. It will definitely open doors for us. It’s not just a welcome change, but it’s something that we should celebrate as Filipinos.”
But forging a partnership with an established, international brand wasn’t easy.
John Bryan Diamante, president of Mentorque Productions, described the process as “difficult but worth it.”
This, even if their budget actually went up to 80 million pesos.
John said, “Ang Warner is very particular about their standard, and they have rules. So para makamit namin yun, somehow, we have to spend more.”
All that said, why should people watch “Mallari?”
Said director Derick Cabrido, “It’s not your usual horror film. It has a lot of layers – social, political and cultural. It says something about our evolution as a people, as a country, our beliefs. Very interesting siya.”
The film introduces moviegoers to a priest from a bygone era: Severino Mallari. He is believed to be the country’s first documented serial killer.
But is he really the killer he is said to be?
Derick intoned, “We did tons of research and yes, meron talagang person na Severino Mallari, a priest from Pampanga na binitay after being accused of killing people. But the thing is, very scant yung documents about his crimes. Halos wala nga. Pero for me, that made his story more interesting. Ano ba talaga ang nangyari? Bakit ito nangyari? So andun yung mystery, andun yung question, and that, I think, it makes ‘Mallari’ more appealing.”
