Is Mallari a True Story? Well, everyone’s wondering if Netflix’s latest Philippine title has some real-life sinister origins and, we can blame no one because we are wondering the same too! The horror movie was equal parts of good story and, stellar performances which is the perfect recipe to soon make it a cult classic.
The movie stars Piolo Pascual in the lead role along with Gloria Diaz, Ge Villamil, Elisse Joson, April Sangco, Vangie Labalan, Erlinda Villalobos, Janella Salvador, JC Santos, Angeli Nicole Sanoy and several others. It was written by Enrico Santos and directed by Roderick Cabrido. With over two hours of runtime, only the original language audio is available for viewing with subtitles in English and other languages. The film is produced by Mentorque Productions and Clever Minds Inc. and, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures along with Star Cinema.
Mallari Trailer
Is Mallari a True Story? Here’s What We Know!
With Agnes becoming the monster haunting the Mallari family and, Johnathan giving that eerie look on the screen and the movie credits roll up, it is natural to wonder where is this story coming from. Is it true? Are there mythical creatures out there becoming vigilantes? The movie might even remind you of Amar Kaushik’s Bhediya and, the take it had on werewolves being the protector of the woods.
Well, although a lot has been dramatized, there are links to the core of the story being true. Johnathan might not be real but, the character of Juan Severino Mallari very well is. Severino Mallari was a Filipino Priest, who served the Catholic church somewhere between the 1700s to 1800s. And, just like in the story, Severino was, in fact, a serial killer the first documented one from the Philippines! While being the parish priest in Magalang, Pampanga, he was documented to have killed 57 people!
Moreover, the part about Doan being cursed also seems to be inspired by Severino starting to believe that his mother has been bewitched after he started his term as the parish priest. He has never been portrayed as a vigilante but, instead this curse he believed was on his mother became his motivation to kill people as it would cure his mother’s health. Mallari’s mental instability also came to notice during this time.
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It took authorities a considerably long time to catch this serial killer as the bodies of the victims were scattered throughout Pampanga, leaving very few threads to tie them together towards a common killer. It was only when Mallari contracted an illness and, had an attending priest by his side, the discovery of his being a murderer came to the surface. He was then arrested and imprisoned. Ultimately, he was hanged for his crimes in 1840.
Tying it all together to what we saw on screen, it is safe to say that the version we see on screen has been dramatized enough to make the horror flick heavy with speculation. As Agnes, Johnathan and, the rest of the characters after 1814 are all fictionalized, nothing can be said more about the ending than what we witness on screen.
You can watch Mallari now on Netflix. Let us know in the comments what you think about this latest release on the OTT platform!