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Considered the Halloween special for the new generation of Filipino viewers, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’s Gabi ng Lagim has been raising the bar for horror storytelling on Philippine primetime television since it first aired in 2013.
Over the years, the series has innovated by commissioning seasoned film and television directors to depict real-life accounts into KMJS specials.
For Gabi Ng Lagim VIII, the KMJS team took on the challenge of producing the much-awaited Halloween special despite the quarantine restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Resident directors of GMA Public Affairs handled this year’s episode: internationally-acclaimed filmmaker Adolf Alix Jr.; Peabody Award-winning director Aaron Papins Mendoza; acclaimed Filipino filmmaker and cinematographer Topel Lee; and longtime KMJS segment director and producer Natanya Nono, who is the first female director to produce a Gabi Ng Lagim (GNL) film.
Get to know these four stellar directors, who along with the whole GNL crew, put in a lot of work and effort in the midst of a global pandemic to carry on the legacy of this Halloween series that has become an annual tradition for Filipino families.
Topel Lee has become known for making horror films — from his box-office hit “Ouija” in 2007 to “Bloody Crayons” in 2017.
He has been a resident director for GNL, having directed stories such as “Delubyo” in 2014 and “Paupahan” in 2016. But he said this year’s GNL is the most challenging one yet.
For his fourth GNL, Topel will be directing “Pinoy Exorcists,” which he promises will be different from other exorcism stories.
For the first time on Philippine television, the segment will show videos of demonic possessions from the Archdiocese of Ozamis, Office of Exorcism and Deliverance Ministry in Mindanao.
“Excited ako to work with them (KMJS team) again. Ang problema, na-realize ko na exorcism pala ‘yong script which usually ‘pag gumagawa ako ng movie, ‘yon ‘yong tinatanggihan ko na project,” Topel said.
Aside from horror films, Topel is also one of the most in-demand music video directors in the country. An alumnus of University of the Philippines-Diliman and a graduate of the Mowelfund workshops where he trained under cinematographer-turned Hollywood director Yam Laranas, he is also keen to take on other filmmaking challenges.
Given the chance, Topel said he would want to make a film like the 2003 South Korean crime drama movie “Memories of Murder.”
“I’m happy na parang I’m doing good with this genre but as a filmmaker, as a director, gusto ko eventually make my own movie na hindi horror kasi ‘di naman ‘yon ang dream movie ko eh,” he said.
But Topel knows exactly why his biggest hits are in the horror genre.
“To be honest, kaya kasi ako effective na director to some people is because natatakot din ako sa mga eksena. So when I watch mga horror movies, ‘di rin ako masyado tumitingin eh kasi it gets to my mind. When I learned na exorcism, sabi ko ‘Sige na nga.’ I’m excited, at the same time, hirap with dealing with the story,” he said.
Although Topel has yet to encounter an eerie moment in real life, he said he still respects the beliefs of other people when it comes to the paranormal.
“Even if I don’t experience those things, I respect the nature, environment, the entities… I believe na may ganoon at nirerespeto ko sila,” he said.
In 2018, Aaron Papins Mendoza recalled how a Tibetan monk predicted that he would direct a horror film. While he was surprised, Aaron also took it as a challenge.
He has been working behind the camera for KMJS since 2016 and has also directed documentary programs such as “The Atom Araullo Specials,” “Tunay na Buhay,” and “ReelTime,” but he never imagined directing a horror movie.
He called KMJS about possibly directing for GNL, but he did not make the cut — at least at first.
“‘Di niya ako nabigyan noon, na-cut kaagad so OK lang, but noong sinu-shoot na nila, tumawag sila sa akin,” he said. “Ang sabi sa akin ng EP, three stories lang ginagawa pero feel daw nila kulang ‘yon that time so kinilabutan ako noong tinawagan niya ako kasi sinabihan niya na ako na ‘di mabibigyan eh tapos bigla akong nabigyan.”
This year, Aaron directed “Ghost Bride sa Paco Cemetery.” In the 1800s, a cholera outbreak took the lives of many in Manila. Those who died were buried at Paco Cemetery. The segment shows the extraordinary visions that paranormal researcher Ed Caluag saw during a visit into the graveyard.
On his second gig as GNL director, Aaron says it’s a whole different challenge as TV and film shoots have just been gradually getting back into motion with the easing of quarantine restrictions in the country.
For those returning to set, a whole new approach has been put in place, just to be able to abide by the minimum health standards amid the pandemic.
“Siyempre, bawas ‘yong tao mo, so alam mo na kung bawas, mas maraming trabaho ‘yong mapupunta sa mga taong nandoon. So imbis na dumali ‘yong trabaho niyo, mas mapapahirap nang kaunti,” he said.
“We’re talking about the work pa lang na gagawin — puwera pa ‘yong sa new normal na naka-mask ka, naka-face shield ka. Ang hirap noon. Ang hirap sumilip sa camera ng naka-face shield. Ang hirap magbigay ng directions sa mga tao ng naka-face mask ka. ‘Di ka pa makahinga. ‘Di mo naman siya maalis kasi kailangan, kasi delikado.”
Despite the challenges, Aaron said being able to produce projects like GNL will always be an unforgettable experience.
“Being in the News and Public Affairs, bilang isang dokumentarista or journalist, isa sa mga responsibilidad namin ‘yon eh… ‘yong ipakita sa kanila ang nangyayari sa labas eh. Someone has to do it. Kumbaga, isa sa mga sinumpaang tungkulin natin ‘yon eh para sa mga tao, para sa mamamayan.”
Natanya Nono saw the project as her “perfect” shot when she learned about the first story she will be directing for GNL. “Bita: Ang Haunted Manyika” is set in Misamis Occidental, where adults use a doll to scare kids into staying home during the lockdown. But in the midst of an interview, a former owner of the doll was able to record an eerie laugh.
Natanya has always been afraid of haunted dolls because of the horror movies she watched in her childhood. It was only in college when her nightmares about killer dolls left her system.
“‘Yung horror films that I watched when I was still young, 'yung mga creepy toy na napapanood ko, nadadala ko sila sa panaginip ko na hanggang college na ako, napapanaginipan ko,” Natanya said. “Kaya na-excite ako kasi 'yong mga naramdaman ko from my dreams, I can finally put into visuals.”
Natanya saw this project as an opportunity to use her own childhood experience in executing scenes that would elicit fear to her audience.
This may be her first time to direct a film for GNL, but Natanya is more than experienced with the horror special. Working behind the camera for the series since 2015, she started as a segment producer and held the post for four consecutive years before becoming an assistant director in 2019. This year, she is finally spearheading her own story.
When asked how the series has become part of the Halloween tradition of Filipino families, the Kapuso-trained director was firm in saying: “It's really getting the best Halloween stories of the year, there's no other secret than that. Sinusuyod ng programa ang buong Pilipinas para maghanap ng kuwento. Kami ay tagapag-execute na lang nung mga napiling magagandang istorya para ikwento sa mga tao.”
Natanya herself considers working in GNL as a personal Halloween tradition. Each year, her goal is to make the audience feel the chills the same way her sources experienced it.
“You have to interpret it creatively but at the same time you need to stay true to the story,” Natanya said. “Kasi 'yung story totoong nangyari, 'yung mga kinuwento naming kababalaghan, galing mismo sa experience nung mga case study.”
Working with a team face-to-face has become a challenge in the new normal. Adding the element of a living animal in a set with limited manpower is a different level of challenge for filmmakers. Aside from the usual crew during the production, they also needed to include the caretaker of the horse that will be a part of their show and stand-by veterinarians in its manpower list.
For Adolf Alix, Jr., a director dubbed as “one of Philippines’s most adventurous independent filmmakers” by the Toronto International Film Festival, producing “Karo de Kabayo” is just another challenge in bringing a GNL story to life.
“[Siyempre] kung paano alagaan ang talents and kaming lahat sa team, ganoon din dapat sa horse,” Adolf said. “Kailangan din ‘yung mismong caretaker niya ang tutulong sa amin para ma-execute nang maayos ‘yung mga scene na kailangan.”
The film tells the story of a black horse that has been causing terror in Mexico, Pampanga. When people see and hear this creature, it signals that someone in town will die.
Now in his third year as a director for GNL, Adolf remains excited working with the people behind the series. He is also looking forward to the new things that he’s bound to discover while working on a story are the things that he really looks forward to every year.
The experience does not get old for Adolf, who is always inclined to try something “different and exciting” in his journey as a filmmaker.
“May aim ka to provoke the audiences na mag-isip sila and at the same time matakot sila with what you're going to mount. You have to make it to a point na some of the scenes can elicit the kind of reaction [that you want sa horror films].”
Planning ahead helped Adolf and his team cope with the new normal setup in the production of their film. Because of the pandemic, they had to maximize all the available resources.
“In a time of limitation, I think, that's also a great time for content creators to be more imaginative,” he said. “When your audience watches or experiences your work, it should be as if [it was filmed] na walang pandemic, because you planned everything, you work the limitations to your advantage.”
