Erik Matti's favorite horror films
MANILA, Philippines - Direk Erik Matti’s films include the upcoming Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles,and Pa-siyam, one of the best Filipino horror films of the aughts. But he’s wary of listing his favorite horror flicks.
Erik explains, “These are questions that filmmakers are really careful to answer or else you’ll come off as really pretentious or wala ka namang ka kwenta-kwentang filmmaker pag sinabi mong ‘Gusto ko yung Takbo Manilyn, Takbo,’ pa-cool naman masyado yung sagot. So I’m really careful about picking mga top five horror movies.”
But Erik is the kind of filmmaker one respects because he knows what he’s talking about, and Supreme forced an answer out of him. So here’s Direk Erik on his eight favorite horror films, just in time for the Halloween season.
‘The Innocents’ (Jack Clayton, 1961)
“(It’s a) black and white film and it’s almost like a ghost story but grounded on an insane person so hindi mo maintindihan kung what you’re looking at is really happening or not. It’s about this girl who’s asked to be a nanny in this big mansion pero early on, you knew already na parang type nya yung nag-hire sa kanya na lalake, but the guy’s not always there, so she’s just taking care of the two kids. Then every night, she starts hearing things. Maganda sya. It’s a very slow movie.”
‘Rosemary’s Baby’ (Roman Polanski, 1968)
“I love stories na parang hindi mo alam kung ano yung nangyayari. That really nice couple? Para sa akin, that really made the movie. For me, yung The Innocents and Rosemary’s Baby are movies na hindi sya out and out horror. There’s a strong feeling of dread. Right now, I’m doing a short film. It’s a commissioned work on YouTube for You Offended Me, You Offended My Family by Justin Lin, Ryan Higa, and Kevin Wu. They commissioned six filmmakers to do a silent horror film na six minutes. So that’s what I’m attempting, yung dreadful. Wala akong ghost or supernatural, it’s just a journey into somebody else’s mind who’s gone crazy.”
‘In The Mouths of Madness’ (John Carpenter, 1994)
“Another horror na gusto ko yung In The Mouths of Madness. I don’t know if I’m gonna like it now, I saw it straight out of college yata. Takot na takot talaga ako dun. That scene na madilim na madilim sa road tapos may biglang umappear na mukha. Gustong-gusto ko sya.”
‘The Exorcist’ (William Friedkin, 1973)
The Exorcist syempre. Who could not like The Exorcist? I’ve seen it several times. Even just this year I saw it again on Blu Ray kasi tinignan ko yung kaibahan.
‘Shake Rattle and Roll’ (1984 and 1990)
“Syempre who could forget Herbert Bautista in a Shake Rattle and Roll short (Manananggal, Peque Gallaga; 1984)? That and the Richard Gomez and Manilyn Reynes (Aswang, Lore Reyes and Peque Gallaga; 1990), the one where Manilyn and Anna Roces are friends dinala sila town fiesta nila yun pala kakakainin si Manilyn.”
‘Karunungang Itim’ (Romy Suzara, 1976)
“This is another one. It’s set in Baguio. Sina Da Boy (Rudy Fernandez) and Lorna Tolentino. May Satanas.”
‘Mang Kepweng and Son’ (Mike Relon, 1983)
“Another one na takot na takot ako yung si Ian Veneracion, may ulo sa likod niya. Sobrang nakakatakot yun. Kunyari naguusap sila tapos sumasagot yung ulo sa likod. As in galit ha! Tinatakpan sya ng parang belo pero minsan lumalabas sya para magsalita.”
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Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles opens on Wednesday, Oct. 17. It stars Dingdong Dantes, Lovi Poe, Ramon Bautista, Janice de Belen, and Joey Marquez.
