All about Pinoy fantasy films

All about Pinoy fantasy films
By: Rianne Hill Soriano

Making films that challenges the power of technology of this time and age is becoming a global trend. From art house films to crappy ones, from independent pictures to mainstream celluloid babies, fantasy and horror/suspense concepts have been sprouting like crazy. Here in the Philippines, the urge to come up with such expensively-made genres usually comes during festival season. And this is proved by the last Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) as three of the entries are of fantasy themes, not to mention a couple of horror/suspense film submissions as well.

Exodus, Mulawin and Enteng Kabisote 2 keep up to the trend. Taking these three movies into consideration, how far can the Philippine film industry really go in terms of quality in making such films?

Making a fantasy film definitely requires a bigger budget. It needs a greater number of talents as production work demands outstanding skills in creative and production planning (script, characterization, pegs, designs, management and logistics, feasibility checks), shooting (the imaginative staging of fantasy scenes and various stunts with the director collaborating with special effects experts, cinematographer, production designer and art department staff, production and technical staff) and post-production (editing, miniatures, animation, CGIs, scenic shots, paintings, 3-D models, compositing, colorgrading, sound design, scoring, mixing, etc.). A fantasy film usually boasts of ambitious shots, costumes, sets and props, and of course, special effects. But should it stop from there? In terms of quality, a good concept should be hand in hand with the big budget requirement of making a ‘really ambitious fantasy film.’

Upon watching the three MMFF fantasy entries, there are clear similarities on the storylines:


The utilizing of the four elements (earth, air, fire and water) in the characters of Encantadia, the elementals backing up Exodus (who tends to represent the final element of the Spirit or Ether), and the realms of Inna Magenta, Inna Verde and Inna Azul.

A hero/heroine saves the annihilation of a race from the dark forces: the ‘sugos’ defend their fellow Mulawins and the ‘Puno ng Mulawin’ from the hands of the Ravenas; Exodus ends Bagulbol’s rule over the world and return the humans’ freedom to live, and Enteng and the Engkantadas save the fairy and human realms under the hands of Satana.

The using of the ‘Gintong Binhi’ of Encantadia to revive the departed ones from death, the fusing of the 4 powers of the elementals to become one with Exodus in the quest to destroy Bagulbol and revive the glory of nature, and the combining of the four pieces of the amulet of Encantasia to restore and reunite all of Encantasia.

The oppressed protagonists’ arch-enemies are their own flesh and blood and/or from the same race. Aguiluz’ evil father Ravenum, Exodus’ adversary from Bagulbol, and Satana is revealed to be the fourth sister of the three queen fairies of Encantasia. There is nothing wrong with making storylines based from the glory of the four elements and heroic figures. But with the concepts considered for production in our country now, it’s nothing but the same adobo with the chicken just coming from different markets. In this competitive times, only something really creative can stand out. If there’s only a tight and conservative budget, a good way to make an exceptional film is to let it fit a brilliant concept with a character-driven story. A minimalist approach can work. Simple and yet superb. And most likely, it’s not going to be a fantasy film… Filmmaking both as an art and an entertainment medium should always strive for excellence. It should always begin with a brilliant if not a good concept, a well-developed storyline, characterization and script. In making fantasy films, don’t just consider the special effects and the technical side of filmmaking. And don’t force a rather ambitious concept if time, budget and skills don’t permit it.

Better concepts and new storylines please...