Piolo Pascual on top billing Mallari: It’s not to glorify serial killers
Piolo Pascual is making his big-screen project as the titular role in Mallari, a horror-thriller about the Catholic priest Juan Severino Mallari who was the “first documented serial killer in the Philippines.”
Directed by Derick Cabrido from a script from Enrico Santos and produced by Mentorque Productions, the movie is the actor’s first horror project after over two decades in the entertainment business.
“I am a religious person but I actually am a fan of horror films. I love watching horror, the supernatural. But since I got stuck with rom-coms, I had no chance to do any horror films,” he said during a contract-signing with the producers of the film on Monday.
“But seeing the project, reading it, finding out the truthfulness of the character that is based on a true story, I said, there are a lot of films that have been coming out from different countries, because of the streaming platforms you get to watch them, I think we should be proud of what we can do as well.”
Piolo will play three characters in the story set also in three time periods – 1851 (Spanish colonization), 1950 (post-war times) and 2023 (present day).
“I think this is gonna be really hard for me, physically exhausting, emotionally draining to be portraying three roles. But I’m up for the challenge because as an actor, you’re just a contributor, you’re a vessel. And I’m happy to be given this privilege to be acting for this film because it’s quite an interesting story and interesting character.”
Though Piolo has taken on darker, anti-hero roles in the past, like in Flower of Evil, he’s best known for his wholesome image and for being the romantic lead extraordinaire. Mallari perhaps is his darkest yet.
“It’s part of being an actor. It’s very complex for me. But in any character, I always try to find something that is so different from me… At the same time, it’s a big responsibility for me to get out of that image that people know of me. It’s a good challenge,” he said.
“I guess, in the last two decades, I’ve always looked for something that ignites my passion for what I do and this was it. I’m still looking forward to doing something that would test me and my capacity as an actor. As to how I can get there, how I can change, in terms of the roles that I portray, bahala na (ang) director dun.”
Mallari is expected to ruffle some feathers because of its theme and subject, but Piolo stressed, “It’s not to glorify the serial killers, of course, but to have an interpretation of this first and the only documented serial killer in the Philippines… This is that one chance that I didn’t want to pass up on. Basically knowing that we also have this kind of story that we can do in a cinematic way, I wanted to be part of that experience.
He continued, “Since the first time we came out with the poster, it gained traction and all the more I thought that it had to be done and that people would have to know about the story of Mallari.”
As he previously admitted, he’s a religious person, but when it comes to acting, his beliefs are separate from his work. He said he has so much respect for his craft that he doesn’t bring his “compromises” to the set but leaves them at home.
“It’s just a story. You don’t live it once the film wraps up. So, once I read the script, I said, yeah, let’s go! Mahirap i-compromise siya because you’re going to compromise the project, the script, the people. When I committed to this, I just went ahead.
“So, in terms of my religion, beliefs, I believe that you can compartmentalize that in a sense that your personal views are different from your professional job. Even before, whenever I do a project, I ask my pastor in terms of compromises, in terms of limitations, he said, it’s a rolling stone, you don’t necessarily have to believe in it. It’s just a story. It’s just a character.”
Interestingly, Piolo revealed that once upon a time, he wanted to become a priest himself.
“I wanted to be a priest, I think, when I was 18. I attended a seminar at the parish, PREX (Parish Renewal Experience), back in the day. I remember this conversation with a priest, I told him, ‘Gusto ko sana mag-pari nalang para mas madali ang buhay.’ And then he said, you have to be a college graduate, you have to go back to college to study priesthood,” he shared.
“When I became a Christian, I told my pastor the same thing, pwede bang mag-pastor nalang ako, para mas madali ang buhay? He said, no, we need people like you in the business… So, I had two attempts — to enter the priesthood and the pastor community.”
Meanwhile, Mallari was said to be a parish priest of Magalang, Pampanga from 1816 to 1826. When the producers were asked if they had to secure the “approval” from church authorities in the retelling of Mallari’s story, Mentorque president John Bryan Diamante clarified that their film is “basically, inspired (from the real persron), we don’t need to have permission from CBCP,” referring to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
He also hinted at the film being a big cinema event given that its budget is more expensive than all the previous films Mentorque produced combined. In fact, the contract signing already gave press a preview with a “bloody red” mood and set-up heightened up by seemingly Gregorian-inspired sounds. Mallari will also be submitted as an entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival in December.
Director Cabrido also stressed that information about Mallari is already “public domain,” but they, nevertheless, have consulting historians from the National Historical Commission and National Commission for the Culture and the Arts “about what really happened.”
Besides, the director said, it’s not a religious film. “It’s cultural and horror,” he added.
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