Ang Manananggal (1927)

A young Mary Walter

1927 – Ang Manananggal/“The Vampire” (Malayan Films)  

[Release date unknown]  

Director/Producer Jose Nepomuceno  

Cast Mary Walter 

HORROR  

NOTES: Malayan Films’ Ang Manananggal (1927), a silent picture directed by Jose Nepomuceno, was the first Tagalog horror movie. “Even with the crudest equipment, Nepomuceno was able to conjure camera tricks. In one scene where Mary Walter, in the title role, and her fellow manananggals appeared to be half-bodied before a coffin. Don Jose had a portion of the ground excavated. The actors and actresses who portrayed manananggals, therefore, were filmed buried up to the waistline. Subsequent editing made them appear limbless to terrified moviegoers…” (Jose Quirino, A Movie Album Quizbook by Jessie B. Garcia, quoted on the Video 48 blog)