Fridae

Remington and the Curse of the Zombadings (Zombadings 1: Patayin sa shokot si Remington)
Jade Castro, 2011, Philippines, 96 mins
Tagalog with English subtitles, M18 (Mature Theme)


Featuring a post-screening discussion with director Jade Castro on each screening day.

Remington is content with being a bum along with his fun-loving friends in the sleepy town of Lucban, Quezon. But when the lovely Hannah comes along, Remington suddenly becomes neater, nicer, and more sensitive. Is it because of Hannah? But at the same time, his hips are starting to sway and his heart is beginning to beat for his best buddy Jigs. To find the answer, he must deal with a curse from his past and a serial killer on a rampage against gay men. With the help of Hannah, Jigs, and a cast of colourful folks, Remington sashays into an adventure that will unravel a mystery of murderers, spirits, and gay zombies roaming the streets.

Jade Castro writes, directs, produces, and teaches. His screenwriting credits include D'Anothers, RPG: Metanoia, My Amnesia Girl, and Endo, his directorial debut. He co-founded ufo Pictures and Origin8 Media, both writer-producer collectives responsible for films such as The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, Sarong Banggi, and Zombadings which Castro co-wrote (with Raymond Lee and Michiko Yamamoto) and directed. Castro teaches directing at the Asia Pacific Film Institute.


Director's Notes

The idea seemed like a joke really, told to me one afternoon, and indeed it was delivered like a joke, by Raymond Lee, right after he ran into a little boy who called him names in the quiet town of Lucban, in the province of Quezon. I always tell people when asked that the movie sprung forth from the mad lab in Raymond’s head, and I was only too happy to nurse the mutant infant with him and the rest of our company. A boy who taunts gay men is cursed to be gay himself when he grows up. That was the premise. How cheeky! How provocative! Yet I only fully embraced becoming its director much later, when I saw that the film could also be about my love for a certain kind of cinema.

There are two “mash-ups” going on in the movie. Fans of horror could easily spot a werewolf movie here, a zombie movie there, some ghosts, nightmares, and serial murders. Fewer might see the other genre being mashed up: the Filipino queer movie, of which I have been an ardent follower, even the bad ones. In 2009, when we first began making Zombadings, claims were being made that gay movies had taken over Philippine cinema, and of course, it wasn’t true. In the margins, under-financed, under-distributed, and under-reported by mainstream media, the genre had much to desire, including respect. And so our movie is a collage of its conventions, clichés, and topical issues as well: macho dancers, a best friend-turned-lover, the use of gayspeak, powerful transvestites, homophobia, discrimination, and even elements from pop movies of decades past, the most prominent of which is a swishy stereotype as the lead star who also happens to be an everyman action hero. You laugh at him, with him, but you also cheer for his dignity. The challenge was how to tie it all up together in tone, style, narrative flow so that it becomes one celebration of otherness (of people, culture, as well as cinema), and of emancipation. At the same time somehow make it palatable (or not), an effortless ride for the Filipino audience mainly, and maybe anyone else who might care. I relished the challenge and took to it like the amateur that I was, and surprised even myself, because I’ve never done anything like it before, and it will probably be a while before I do anything quite as tricky or humbling.

Trailer:



Filmmakers & cast talk about the film: