In the midst of his reign as the king of Filipino digital cinema, maverick director Khavn attempted his hand at an experimental, over-the-top misogynistic serial killer effort known originally as “Aswang ng QC.” Filmed in three days with a minimalist cast and taking inspiration from real-life serial killer Vampire of Dusseldorf, the basis for Fritz Lang's “M,” this disturbing arthouse take on the genre tackles plenty of hardcore, controversial topics during it's running time.
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The Pinoy vampire, a bloodthirsty Aswang, stalks the streets of Quezon City in search of fresh victims while attempting to stay one step ahead of a dangerous human predator. Gruesome and grisly murders are our entry point into the psyche of the Aswang of Quezon City. More a meditation on the workings of a disturbed mind than a detective thriller, it nonetheless shows us a cat and mouse mind game. We watch and squirm in terror as the Pinoy vampire strikes again and again.
On the whole, “Vampire of Quezon City” is a pretty challenging watch. As is to be expected in a Khavn film, there's a jarring and discordant visual aesthetic that needs to be taken into account. The black-and-white cinematography and gritty series of locations present, ranging from filth-covered apartments to blood-splattered sacrificial spaces and dark, dank basements, create a sense of otherworldliness that becomes almost hypnotic at times. In conjunction with the ornate Gothic-styled Hammond organ scoring these sections of the film, a sense of the macabre is added to the torturing that's unique and unexpected. It all adds together to form the avant-garde, experimental nature of the film.
As well, there's also the wholly troubling storyline to get through. Since there's almost no dialogue at all in the film beyond the scenes of the detective referencing what's going on, it's nearly impossible to tell what's happening here as the entirety of the film is presented as random scenes of brutal tortures otherwise. Given that there are no real day-to-day lives of the characters shown or even a real idea of what he's doing in the torture scenes, everything here is a complete mystery at the expense of the misogynistic undercurrent of these scenes. Specifically targeting only women for his rampage and dismembering their corpses in revenge for what his mother did to him is a tired, lazy and unmotivated storyline that serves to make the killer's targets seem plausible as women. These all manage to hold the film down.
That being said, where “Vampire of Quezon City” works is in the brutal and somewhat vile torture scenes. Letting the black-and-white visuals take centerstage here manages to bring about the gruesomeness and graphic carnage doled out to each of the victims, a fantastic move in that it becomes that much harder to sit through. Watching victims being forced to eat unimaginable filth, having their face covered in bodily-secreted liquids and having crucifixes rammed into private areas are all tough to get through. That also includes shots of the victim being gutted where a series of intestines are cut out and played with in graphic fashion. The rape scenes as well are also hard to get through on both males and females which just adds to the brutal and uncomfortable atmosphere present throughout here.
Filled with the usual assortment of bizarre visuals and controversial topics, “Vampire of Quezon City” comes off as a typical effort that serves to entertain those who are comfortable with the extreme content on display without much else going for it. Those who are familiar with his career work or appreciate these arthouse-style genre efforts should look into the film while viewers who feel the complete opposite on these topics won't find much to like here.
