My wife Kaye, who’s a former film reviewer, forwarded to me an old picture of veteran character actor Rez Cortez, casually posed with one-time showbiz charmer Ana Roces, which she saw on Facebook. She did it to make me laugh. And it took me just a few seconds to determine that it was not just a random photograph of the two of them smiling, taken in an unnamed barrio.
Though the picture was captioned to inform everyone of the allure of fiestas in the Philippines, it is clear that the punchline is actually a nod to an episode from the horror anthology film Shake Rattle & Roll 2, titled Aswang, which features both film figures opposite the segment’s main star, Manilyn Reynes. In the fear flick, Cortez portrayed the main villain named Tanda, while Roces appeared as Monica, best friend of the girl (played by Reynes), a virgin whom she lures into their town as a human sacrifice.
The picture reminded me of how scared I was after seeing that episode for the first time. I won’t be surprised if there’s a ranking of all the film series entries, and that the third and last segment from the second of seventeen films will be placed on top.
The story, inspired by the legend of Teniente Gimo, centers on Manilyn Reynes’ character Portia as she travels to a remote village for its fiesta at the invitation of her friend Monica. Along the way, a tricycle driver, played by Richard Gomez, warns her that the locals are aswangs. She brushes it off, only to confront a far more literal truth.
Its atmosphere, performances, mounting tension, and brisk pace create a brand of horror that leans into the supernatural while feeling unmistakably Filipino. Monica’s eerie calm as she reveals her town’s dark secret lingers, tightening the sense of dread as Portia searches for a way out.
Reynes had already claimed scream queen status long before Kris Aquino’s turn in Feng Shui. While the latter thrives on jump scares, aswang leaves a deeper imprint. In the 1990s, after a rewatch of the episode, its images—the dim lighting, a boy gnawing meat to the bone, the caged tricycle driver—were so vivid that I turned down a classmate’s invitation to a provincial fiesta.
I even laughed at myself for passing up a promised escape, yet a sliver of fear lingered, a wild thought that I might stumble into a village of shape-shifting strangers. Raised in the metro and suddenly the last one still set to go, I backed out at the last minute.
You bet I didn’t tell my mate my real reason. But the sad part was, I noticed that same classmate drifting away after that summer’s beg-off.
No regrets, though, even if I find it ridiculous not being able to conquer my fear of that film, that bit about aswangs residing and waiting in some secluded area. It was what it was, and I had to make a decision. It was a lesson that good fiction delivered well, or a story properly told, can be effective, and that became my takeaway.
SRR’s Aswang also features actress Vangie Labalan as Monica’s Nanay, whose angry scream at the sight of her dead daughter echoes scarily through the night setting. It also includes Anjo Yllana, Lilia Cuntapay, Malu de Guzman, and Aljon Jimenez, who became Reynes’ husband in real life.
Shake, Rattle & Roll is considered the longest-running film series in the Philippines and even throughout Southeast Asia. The first installment was shown in 1984, with Herbert Bautista winning the Best Actor plum at the 10th Metro Manila Film Festival for his lead role in Manananggal.
The latest installment, SRR Evil Origins, came out last year as an entry to the 51st edition of the notable film fest.
