Vic Silayan in Kisapmata: Terrifying from Start to Finish

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Today, I woke up to a world crippled by CoViD-19 pandemic and to an unexpected news that one of the greatest actors in Philippine cinema is a trending topic on twitter. Vic Silayan. I live!

Usapang #Kisapmata awards trivia tayo.

Vic Silayan, Jay Ilagan, and Charito Solis all won their respective acting categories sa MMFF and Gawad Urian in 1981. All three were also nominated sa FAMAS while wala pang Luna. Consistent odd one out si Charo Santos who was snubbed.

Pampalubag loob: Charo Santos was nominated sa FAMAS Best Actress that same year but for Lino Brocka's Kontrobersyal.

At 26, Charo Santos became one of the producers Kisapmata. She was also part of the cast along with Vic Silayan, Charito Solis and Jay Ilagan. 

But you have to read all about Kisapmata. Ang galing ni Vic Silayan. The restored 1981 film Kisapmata, starring Charo Santos, Jay Ilagan, Vic Silayan, & Charito Solis. Directed by Mike de Leon, it was inspired by Nick Joaquin's "The House on Zapote Street."

I try to keep the "It's the Movie for the Moment" kind of accolades to a minimum, but it's staggering how pointed and relevant this movie still is. And how genuinely chilling! Vic Silayan's performance is probably still one of the most frightening I've ever seen.

I caught the streaming of the restored version of #Kisapmata just before it ended at 11pm last night. Still riveting, Vic Silayan’s such a force, very taut script, and overall, a truly Filipino masterpiece. 

Favorite Mike De Leon classic together with Itim (1976) and Kakabakaba Ka Ba? (1980)!

So I was able to watch this classic again! Indeed, such a masterpiece. Felt the same feeling when I first saw this film—fear from Vic Silayan's character, Tatang. 

De Leon's masterpiece is a terrifying and claustrophobic film from start to finish with Vic Silayan at the center as monster ready to do anything to keep the illusion of power in his little kingdom. 

The restored version is even more terrifying in high-res. I'm relieved I didn't get nightmares.

A friend said the film was more eerie before restoration, but Tatang in HD is a different monster for me. I could clearly see his evil. Also, the resemblance to the authoritative, abusive, and violent father figure of our times is apparent.

I love this film's production design. Pucha! Ang ganda ng architecture layout ng bahay. Sobrang planado ang blockings! Tang ina,  Mike De Leon's best formalist achievement.

It is a brutal, 90-minute anxiety attack featuring Mike de Leon and Vic Silayan at the height of their powers.

Vic Silayan was evil personified! He was so good! I'm glad I didn’t have nightmares from Vic Silayan’s terrifying portrait of a deranged monster from the film. Vic Silayan is a gem. He's terrifying with his understated gestures in the 1st half of the film and horrifying as it progresses. You get irritated at first with him and gets as scared as his family later on.

His laugh still rings in my ears. Ugh, Pinoy male boomer energy na sobrang nakakarindi, to put it mildly.

Was it a deliberate choice to make the Carandangs Ilocanos? Probably an allusion to the one in Malacanang at that time? 

Charo Santos. Whoa~this woman had an impressive filmography before becoming a tv exec. I can see how auteurs love to cast her. She is the character they give her.

Jay Ilagan was also very impressive.

The scoring is as subtle as the acting and comes when needed. The camera work is exact. Does not play with angles and let's the other film elements tell the story. 

It's 80s acting so you can't compare it with the tv/film acting of recent.

Ngayon lang ako nakapanood ng psychological horror na gawa ng Filipino. Ang ganda talaga kapag base sa totoong buhay. They don't make films like this anymore.

The film still suffers from the green of the molds that attacked it but you can still see the beauty of its cinematography. It's dark and maximizes shadows.

Critics have called "Kisapmata" Mike De Leon's finest work. It turns out, they've never seen it as he really intended it to be shown. 

Can you imagine writing a crime report with so much finesse that some people actually turned it into a movie? Only Nick Joaquin.

Alam nyo ba na si Bert Cuevas ang sumulat nung spot news niyan? Banner story!

I answered a Twitter survey before about movies whose setting and theme gave you dread all throughout. I answered Rosemary's Baby.

Nope, I changed my mind. It's this one. 

Since it's true that Vic Silayan is trending, you might want to check out his other "demonyong ama" performance, my favorite local movie (up there with NNLY and Ulan, of course), Karnal.

Now I want to watch "Finding Nemo" where the Daddy is warm & loving. I need to balance my brain before sleeping. Tatang was not good for my mental health right now.

Were you amused of the Miss Manila versus Hipon Girl showdown on Wowowin?

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Miss Universe Philippines 2020 candidate representing Manila, Alexandra Abdon, personally apologized to Kapuso host Willie Revillame after failing to show up in the Monday episode of "Wowowin."  

Willie Revillame castigated Miss Manila for not showing up in Wowowin before.

Willie couldn't help but be disappointed when Miss Manila failed to show up.

Willie to Miss Manila: "Sabi mo, pupunta ka nung Monday, you have to be professional. Pag nag-commit ka... you have to commit." 

But let's see what happens on the show with Willy Revillame together with Herlene aka Hipon.

Watching Tutok to Win, and it's really cringey how they let Miss Manila be that ELITIST and CLASSIST towards Hipon....edi ikaw na classy.

Habang nanonood ako ng Wowowin kanina, nakikita ko kay Miss Manila parang highschooler na papampam, papansin. di ba?

Totoo. Para siyang highschooler habang pinapanood ko. Do you agree? Yun kasi nakikita ko eh.

I cringed so fucking hard watching Miss Manila try to save herself on Wowowin.

She's like "I'm so classy because I wear this pompous dress and act demure, but actually she's not that at all. She's sending out the wrong vibes."

Pilit umarte eh mukhang mas class at makinis pa si Hipon. Miss Manila looks like a social climber. Ang kapal sabihin hindi papasa si Hipon sa pageant eh mas maganda pa si Hipon kaysa kaysa sa kanya.

Are they trying to boost the career of Miss Manila or "Hipon" with that attempt?

Is she actually guesting on other shows? Why are they giving her elitist attitude an audience. It's not funny at all.

Hopefully that's the first and LAST time Miss Manila appears on Wowowin. WTF was that? Being an elitist jerk on national TV is not funny. Regardless if it was an act (poorly delivered) or if that's her real personality (even worse). It is certainly not going to get you any fans.

Watch your words Miss Manila,other people will get offended not just Hipon. You dont have the right to judge people from where they came from or where they started from You never know how much they have struggled to achieve the life they are living now.

Can Miss Manila just shut her mouth up? She’s actually really offending people on all the shows being a guest, being too tactless and all. Not a role model being a pageant candidate. 

Miss Manila is a stupid bitch. I don’t understand why people find her funny. She’s unprofessional, and over-confidently rude. Aside from that, she thinks she can get away from saying shit just because she’s famous. Gigil na ako sa kanya.

Walang nakakaproud sa pagiging ignorante given the platform she has. 

Especially nung interview for Miss Universe Philippines. Sobrang unprofessional. Hindi ko alam ba't natutuwa mga tao don. Kung ako judge, zero (0) ang score nya. Mas madami pang arte kesa sa sagot mismo.

Is it because yong mga tao din na may gusto sa kanya.. tulad din niya nang ugali? Ugaling kanal!?

Miss Manila, you acting like a bitch in front of camera and thinking you're funny with your offensive jokes toward to hipon? Hell no. I lost my respect to you when you criticize Hipon's physical appearance.

Sobrang trashy ng ugali mo. "Classy"? The way you act? Nah!!!. More like toxic. I'm so disappointed. Where's the women empowerment? 

Miss Manila is very cheap. No doubt her attitude is Basura that is why she didn't won. She is just a laughing stock at Miss Universe Philippines. She is such an embarassment to Yorme and Manila. Imagine a self- proclaimed comedian underestimating Hipon? Cheap! Hindi ka maganda, Miss Manila. 

I feel bad for Herlene. She can’t defend herself well because Miss Manila screams sarcasm. Bakit ba naging representative ito ng Manila? Napaka walang substance.

"Sobrang sensitive mo?" No Miss Manila, sobrang insensitive mo. Stop comparing yourself to Hipon because we all know Hipon is prettier than you inside and out okay? Ikaw puro ka lang attitude. Be humble, also you deserve all the hate.

Fyi, Miss Manila. We have different levels of sensitiveness ranging from normal to abnormal. It looks like you’re the one who went aboard lol, being over insensitive.

You should act on your title. Wasn’t it the reason for running in pageants to be a role model? 

And please, consider checking the feelings of people around you first before opening your mouth ‘coz you’re worse

Miss Manila is so disappointing. I know that she's only being true to herself or showing her true sides, but the way she throws a word on Herlene even in a jokingly way is not nice.

She thinks she's beautiful! Even if she wears outfits that can cover your body, it will not help covering your trashy traits.

I feel for Hipon. The irony is mas walang breeding si Miss Manila and she’s not that beautiful.

Now that Willie is saying mas karesperespeto si Miss Manila kaysa kay Hipon just because Hipon is wearing a crop top and Miss Manila is wearing a long sleeved blouse. This is obviously just a scripted episode trying to amuse us.

I actually watched an episode a few weeks back and Willie Shitvillame couldn’t stop comparing her to Miss Manila saying shit like “ay mas maganda siya, mas nakakatawa siya.” And of course, out of respect and politeness na lang siguro, Harlene awkwardly agreed...

Lol and nung sinabi ni Miss Manila na kasama nya boyfriend nya sa Tagaytay, tinatanong pa kung kasama sa kwarto. Like?

Needs, not money should guide fair access to COVID-19 vaccine

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The roll out of COVID-19 vaccines in high-income countries is threatening to disrupt fair access to vaccines for all, Save the Children warned in a statement today. Even as some of the first wave of vaccines are now being reserved for all countries, governments of richer countries should not hoard the limited initial supply of available vaccines -- instead they must ensure a distribution based on needs and not on wealth, the organisation said.

Kathryn Bolles, Global Director for Health and Nutrition at Save the Children said:
“Countries who can afford life-saving vaccines should not have access over countries who cannot – one life is not worth more than another. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to infect hundreds of thousands of people every day, claiming more than 1.6 million lives so far across the globe[1]1].

“That means children are losing their parents, family members, teachers, and health care workers, which is deeply impacting their lives and the lives of their families. The economies they live in are hard hit, pushing them into poverty. It’s unfair that some poorer countries must wait months or possibly longer for the vaccine.

“When this outbreak started, there were global commitments that people in lower and middle income countries should have equal access to any vaccine, but it seems that notion has shifted. Wealthier governments should not choose nationalism but instead uphold the spirit of equitable global access, including by supporting COVAX to urgently provide support to ensure people around the world are vaccinated. As thousands of people continue to die every day from COVID-19, and hundreds of thousands more are infected, time is of the essence.

“Governments must commit to expanding the supply, access and availability of vaccines, and all involved need to support the sharing of COVID-19 data and technology by committing to C-TAP, the COVID-19 technology access pool. Investment and collaboration with vaccine manufacturers in developing countries should also be prioritised to unleash supply to local and regional populations.

“We understand it will be difficult to ensure equal access of the initial supply of vaccines, but governments must do what they can to make sure it’s as fair as possible and not further accelerate the huge global inequities we face today. This pandemic has stressed that our own protection is rooted in the protection of others - no one safe until everyone is safe.”