Rabid, which had been on the online platform Upstream since November 12, is now being labeled by local film observers as the new Shake, Rattle & Roll. And for good reason: 1) It belongs to the horror genre and 2) It is episodic.
But first things first. Before Shake, Rattle & Roll, there was Daigdig ng Sindak at Lagim in 1974. Released in summer of that year, it was a trilogy that featured three different leading ladies: Liza Lorena, Rita Gomez, and Gina Pareño.
The most memorable of the three stories was Akin Ka, Sor Maria. Set during the Spanish period, it cast Gina Pareño as a nun tormented by the devil, played by Ruel Vernal. Daigdig ng Sindak at Lagim was a mild box-office hit.
But admittedly, Shake, Rattle & Roll became the most successful franchise in the history of Philippine cinema. It ran for close to three decades – until Regal Films matriarch Lily Monteverde decided enough was enough and put a stop to it some six years ago.
It was a good decision because the Shake, Rattle & Roll stories eventually got tired, boring and downright silly. And nobody was able to top or even equal the best Shake, Rattle & Roll episode of all - Peque Gallaga’s Manananggal.
Or even Ishmael Bernal’s Pridyider, which is difficult to replicate because it is done camp-style. Only a master like Bernal could elevate camp into an art form.
But now comes Rabid by Erik Matti.
The second year of the pandemic still proved to be awful to most everyone, particularly to those in show business. Erik Matti, however, managed to pull through – and how. His A Girl + a Guy is a huge success on Netflix – even staying in the No. 1 position for a while.
Last October, his BuyBust was voted by the members of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino as one of the best films of the decade.
His latest work, Rabid, may just inspire Regal Films to revive the Shake, Rattle & Roll series. Done episodically, it has four stories – all written by Michiko Yamamoto, whose best work is still Magnifico.
The first episode is titled “Kami Lang Ba Pwede Malasin?” Set in the pandemic season, it is about a family that generously lets in to their home an old woman, who is initially thought to be deaf-mute. But as it turns out, not only can she hear and speak, she also has the power to control the body movements and thinking of the people around her with a mere click-clack of her tongue.
“Kami Lang Ba” is a bit predictable, but is successful at keeping the viewers in suspense. A scene involving a knife, for instance, is so creatively staged, you practically feel the edge of this sharp object cut through your skin while the whole scenario unfolds on the screen.
This episode, however, works primarily due to the performances of the cast members – the characters that makeup the family: Cheska Diaz, Jake Macapagal and Ameera Johara
The most brilliant among them, of course, is Jay Valencia Glorioso. Today’s generation may not know it, but she was a respected name in theater decades back. She also sings – and dances. This explains why her movements are fluid in her dance sequence in the film.
Episode No. 2, sadly, is ho-hum. It is called “Iba Pa Din ang Karne” and there’s not much meat to the story.
No. 3 episode is called “Shit Happens.” In formal journalism, shit is never spelled out – in the same manner that you skip the vowel in the F word. But the S word is part of the title and so shit it is.
“Shit Happens” is really nothing much but a physical exercise between a nurse and an old woman – a mysterious patient in some hospital. Oh, there is shit everywhere – literal shit. Shit, shit and more shit.
Had Rabid been exhibited in commercial theaters where eating is prohibited as part of the safety protocol, marshals posted in cinemas would have no trouble imposing the new set of guidelines inside the movie house because even the heartiest of eaters would lose their appetite – what with shit present in almost every scene. In fact, those on a diet may just want to try watching Rabid to help them lose weight. It will surely work since the image of shit is guaranteed to linger long after they’re done watching the film.
Although not necessarily crap, the first three episodes could be passed over for the one truly gem of an episode in Rabid – the last and the best of all four. Entitled “HM?,” it is the tale of a single mother named Princess (Donna Cariaga) who loses her job with the cancellation of the ABS-CBN franchise. Given the fact that so many companies were shut down during the pandemic, Princess finds it next to impossible to find work that would tide her and her son over during these trying times.
The only alternative left is to sell viands, except that her cooking is so bad, it could send Martha Stewart back to prison because the kitchen guru may just kill her after tasting her food products. Yes, Princess is universally acknowledged for her lack of culinary skill.
But not one to give up, she finds a potion posted on the internet and she tries it with her kare-kare. The result is so delicious, the Ongpaucos may very well just throw away their own kare-kare recipe and close down their Barrio Fiesta chain of restaurants. As to be expected, Princess is swamped with orders from all over.
She makes a killing because she only operates online and this explains why the episode title is “HM?” HM stands for how much, which is what curious buyers usually ask every time they encounter food being advertised on Facebook.
Unfortunately, her potion has side effects that yield deadly results. You’d far be safer popping Ivermectin, especially since the studies about this supposed anti-COVID-19 drug are still inconclusive.
The concept of the HM story is actually so rich, this episode could have been expanded into a full-length movie. It could be turned into a classic horror film complete with zombies. This episode is perfect from every aspect – from the performances of the cast members to the technical elements, particularly the lighting that gives it the horror jibe and mood.
Analyzing the individual message of each Rabid episode would make the viewer realize that this Erik Matti film is not just some Shake, Rattle & Roll revival. Unlike the Shake franchise, which was only after scare tactics in general, Rabid contains sociopolitical elements in each story. The most obvious one is the nurse episode. Sadly, even during the height of the pandemic, when nurses risked their lives, the government still treated them like shit.
But most clever is the inclusion of the ABS-CBN disenfranchisement in the “HM?” episode. To have inserted that into the story is a stroke of genius.
Rabid could also start a trend in cinema: There is a huge chance that horror films from this time on would revolve around pandemic stories since there will be a wealth of materials about this universal health crisis.
This scenario happened after film-making activities resumed at the end of the Pacific War. For more than two decades after World War II, there was a deluge of action pictures about the Japanese Occupation. All lot of those proved to be successful at the tills.
Rabid is not a perfect film, but it is an important one: It sums up all our fears, anxieties and apprehensions during this dark chapter of our lives – no thanks to COVID-19.
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