Anti-tiktik kitchen essentials: Rock salt, garlic, and an extra-long stingray tail
Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles, directed by Erik Matti
1. We were expecting the old reliable manananggal model with the flying torso, leathery wings and big hair. Here the monsters look like groupies of a death metal band who failed the auditions for Mad Max 3 extras by day, and man-size emaciated hell dogs by night.
“Totoo na puede silang maging aso o baboy (Yes, they can take the form of pigs or dogs),” said Andresa, our expert on tiktik, wakwak, aswang, mangkukulam and other supernatural nasties. “Yung sa pelikula, kalahati totoo, kalahati pang-commercial purposes ba. Ay! Hunk si Roi Vinzon!”
2. Roi Vinzon is disturbingly hot for an action movie kontrabida of the 80s. For comparison, look at the action movie stars of the 80s and 90s (except Robin Padilla).
Roi Vinzon, masarap ang paksiw, Croque Madame, ostrich burgers, scallops at brick oven pizza ni Andresa, FYI.
P.S. from Andresa: “Ang bilis namang nawala ni Kirby, di ko man lang natingnan.”
3. The vaunted green screen shots make everything look hyper-real yet fake. Horror movies rely on atmosphere; it’s hard to feel scared when you know those critters lurking in those trees don’t exist. Often we felt like we were watching an expensive feature-length ad.
Tiktik is a scare-free horror movie but an enjoyable action-comedy.
4. First time in years that we’ve noticed a mainstream Filipino movie using Pinoy metal in the soundtrack. Is that Wolfgang singing Jeproks?
5. Joey Marquez is hilarious. The scene where he’s crazed with rage and terror takes the movie in a new direction. For 90 seconds, but that’s still something.
6. LJ Reyes playing one of the tiktik has a compelling screen presence—give her a starring role.
7. There are some great moments—the gravity-challenged tiktik, the pig who is not Babe, and a fight scene that reminds us of this sketch from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
8. There should be a limit on the amount of slow motion filmmakers can use in a single movie. Drawing out a scene with slowmo can ratchet up the intensity; too much and it looks like the filmmakers just ran out of ideas. What was supposed to be the most nerve-racking scene in the movie was so stretched out the guy behind us yawned, “Ang tagal naman mahulog niyan.”
We propose a 20 percent cap on slowmo usage (Slow motion should not constitute more than one-fifth of the total running time). If Tiktik had proceeded at normal speed it would be an hour long.
9. Noel’s favorite aswang movies:
# 4: Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles
# 3: That episode in Shake, Rattle and Roll by Peque Gallaga where Manilyn Reynes is invited to a fiesta by Ana Roces, not knowing she’s intended for the aswangs’ main course.
# 2: Aswang, also directed by Gallaga, in which Alma Moreno is the aswang who doesn’t say a word.
# 1: The Manananggal episode in the first Shake, Rattle and Roll by Gallaga, where Herbert Bautista is being chased by manananggal Irma Alegre. The pursuit is genuinely scary, but the really hair-raising scene was when the future Mayor Bistek was passing through the woods on Good Friday and he met some flagellants who told him to go home because evil was walking the earth. Aaaaaaaaaa.
10. Finally we see what the fans see in Dingdong Dantes. In Tiktik he plays an asshole forced by circumstance to become a hero, which he accomplishes without losing sight of the fact that he is an asshole. Good work, Dantes.
Heroes don’t have to be saints; it’s the protagonist’s most obnoxious qualities that make him capable of facing down the monsters. So Tiktik is a movie about confronting your true self. Nice work, Matti.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
October 29th, 2012 at 13:07
The refrigerator episode in the first Shake Rattle and Roll was also very scary.
October 29th, 2012 at 14:36
I’ve actually been waiting since “Tiktik” opened almost two weeks ago if you would watch and review it. :)
Since you got me on a roll, let me share my top aswang movies. I wish it were 10 but I couldn’t think of a tenth as of the moment.
—
9. Patient X. I was actually somewhat disappointed by this, mainly because I’m such a fan of Yam Laranas’ “Sigaw” and probably had my hopes up too high. Also, Richard Gutierrez was hilariously hysterical. However, the premise was quite interesting, atmosphere was good, and overall execution was well-done.
8. Punerarya, Shake Rattle & Roll 12 (2010). In general, SRR movies have not been any good since the 2000s. However, there are in my opinion four exceptions in the new millennium, two of which are aswang-themed*. This is one of those two. The twist ending – well, I can’t believe I didn’t see that coming, I really should have, but I guess that means it wasn’t telegraphed like other such movies, which is good.
7. Aswang (1992). This Alma Moreno classic did scare me a lot, although I disliked the part towards the end where the criminals were being offed one by one by the snake/aswang. It was too… common in Filipino films (horror or not). My best friends and I routinely (to this day) recite, “Maganda… Pangit… Maganda… Pangit!”
6. Lihim ng San Joaquin, SRR 2K5. This is the other 2000s SRR episode that’s an exception to the suckiness of SRR movies of late. It’s a revision of the Aswang episode of SRR 2, with a couple deciding to settle in a town that turns out to be a town of aswangs. What makes this good are the production value and aesthetics. Instead of relying on expensive and fake-looking special effects, it relied on basic costuming, lighting, mood, and atmosphere. The transformation scene was frightening. It was pretty scary, especially Elizabeth Oropesa.
—
(MINOR SPOILERS FOR TIKTIK)
5. Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles.
Yes, it was more of an action movie with humor spread out. There was still some horror, such as the early depictions of the aswangs. Pacing could’ve been tighter in a few places, but overall it was good because it was mostly an uncomplicated story just banking on the basic aswang archetypes and myths.
I agree that LJ Reyes had a compelling screen presence, and I wish she’d done more. I also thought RJ Salvador, the pig-boy, was good (it turns out he’s Phillip Salvador’s nephew), and the Zombadings fan in me wishes Kirby could’ve been given more exposure.
The sore spots for me were Lovi Poe, who I’ve never liked and still did not like here, and that kid joining the climactic fray because it annoys me when kids join climactic frays and become action stars in horror movies. Tinalo nya ang hot sauce ni IC Mendoza sa SRR 4.
—
4. Manananggal, SRR 1. It was indeed one of the truly scary features in Pinoy film, and the choice of setting it during Holy Week gave it an even more spine-tingling atmosphere. Using tracks from “Jesus Christ Superstar” gave it a strange… “flavor” (in a good way), and the siege of the bahay kubo is one of the most gripping things I’ve seen. Ever.
3. Pamana: The Inheritance. Strictly speaking, this is not “just” an aswang (manananggal) movie but also other Pinoy creatures. However, the main crux revolves around the manananggal and its history with the family. Being a Fil-Canadian production, it doesn’t get as much “name” recognition here, but make no mistake about it: it’s a Filipino film – subject matter, location, and most of its cast (Nonie Buencamino, Phoemela Barranda, Susan Africa, Tirso Cruz III, Jaclyn Jose, etc.). It is genuinely creepy, and like most of the movies I prefer, it relied on mood and story buildup (with a great twist) as opposed to SFX.
2. Yanggaw. This Cinema One original is one of the best I’ve seen in the last few years, horror or not. What makes it compelling, however, is not so much the aswang per se but the story it tells. It is not so much a monster horror movie as it is a family horror movie. Ronnie Lazaro and Tetchie Agbayani are superb, and the choice to use the local dialect instead of Tagalog gives it an even more realistic flavour.
1. Aswang, SRR 2. This tops my list to date simply because it gave me nightmares for weeks on end after watching it when I was just 13 years old. Watching it agan recently hasn’t changed my mind: it survives the test of time in being genuinely scary. Who will not be scared at the mere idea of being trapped in a townful of aswangs with no feasible way out? Manilyn Reynes was effective here, and Vangie Labalan and Rez Cortez were also stars.
—
Worst Aswang movies
1. Aswang (2011). This Lovi Poe / Paulo Avelino flick had initial promise but immediately spiralled downwards. The climax was a non-climax. There was nothing scary here.
2. Emergency, SRR X (2008). This preceded Patient X by about a year and had a very similar premise. However, and perhaps because of the format (1/3 of an anthology), it suffered. It had moments but in general was not well-made.
3. Madre, SRR 4. Another one that showed initial promise, and with a twist of a male manananggal at the end. However, I really hated the whole hot sauce / IC Mendoza ending.
—
* the other two 2000s SRR eps I think were good were “LRT” (despite a stilted ending), and “Nieves the Engkanto Slayer” (deliberately funny and a take on Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
October 29th, 2012 at 18:40
Aha! So I’m not the only person who (secretly) found Roi Vinzon attractive! Though I will always refer to him as Award Winning Best Supporting Actor Roi Vinzon, no thanks to Apoy sa Dibdib ng Samar.
I was torn about seeing this after watching Argo and Looper two weeks ago, but if I miss it again I’m going to get this on DVD.
October 29th, 2012 at 20:10
Loved it! From the soundtrack to the ‘spaghetti’ to the sumpit! Ramon Bautista alone more than made up for Lovi Poe’s bland performance.
Room for improvement: A character or sari-sari store should’ve been called Toyang or Paraluman.
(Spoiler-ish comments)
– Oh, Jiggs! From zombies to aswangs, what’s next? We will be there for you, Jiggs! Always! Always!
– I want a T-shirt that says “Sinong sasaksak kay Bart?”
Also:
Somebody really has to do a Pinoy Expendables and cast Roi Vinzon as the surprise baddie.
November 1st, 2012 at 08:18
I’ve found my #10 aswang movie: Impaktita. Jean Garcia was horrifying. :) I’d probably put this at #7 ahead of the other three.
The sumpit was a nice idea (as was the asin machine of Joey). The problem with the sumpit was that it was attached to an annoying boy. That, and product placement. Haha.
We’ve been trying to figure out where Tiktik is supposed to be set, and I’ve concluded it’s somewhere in the Ilocos region. “Palapundan” probably is a stand-in for Pagudpod, where I’ve been to and where I had an aswang encounter in December 2006.
1. The trees look like they are for a more northern climate.
2. “Palapundan” – “Pagudpod?”
3. True story: on the bus going to Pagudpod, my friends and I passed through several towns with sari-sari stores that had “Asin For Sale” and “Asin Laban sa Aswang” signs. (We laughed all the way to the resort in Pagudpod. Then we learned our lesson because inaswang kami.) Said stores were rather similar to Rina Reyes’ sari-sari store cum “anti-aswang” negosyo.
4. The asinan and the beach reminded me of northern beaches on the way to Pagudpod with the asinans.
5. To be completely honest, the CGI aswang reminded me of the aswang we encountered.
It does make me wonder if the writer/s or producer/s of this film had an aswang encounter up north similar to ours.
November 1st, 2012 at 12:30
You can’t mention details and not tell the whole story. Send Inaswang Sa Pagudpod story.
November 5th, 2012 at 06:59
Howdy.
Sorry, I’d been busy over the holiday weekend so I wasn’t able to respond – although your question about my full “Inaswang sa Pagudpod” story is timely because I was actually including it in my blog on a series of articles about aswang (including my review of “Tiktik”).
It’s a rather lengthy story, so it might be too much to post here, so you can read the in the 3rd part of my blog which I’d just published today. The personal story starts somewhere in the middle of this article:
http://www.allancarreon.com/2012/11/05/aswangan-part-3-dont-tick-off-the-tiktiks/
Of course, you’re free to read the rest of the article as well as parts 1 and 2 also. :) Part 4, the last part – I’m still working on it, basically an expansion of my comments here around my Top 10 aswang movies (and the worst ones, to boot).