Enter the World of ‘Balaraw’ — Netflix Philippines’ Upcoming Horror Mystery Series
PICTURE 1: Sabine (Janine Gutierrez) is in the middle of the forest, afraid of what’s in front of her. / Photo taken from the official trailer of Balaraw
Filipino folklore and family secrets collide in Netflix Philippines’ upcoming horror mystery series Balaraw, which premieres on October 29.
Created by Rae Red and Jericho Aguado, the series follows Sabina (Janine Gutierrez) and her ongoing four-year search for her missing mother Rebecca (Agot Isidro). Along with her supportive girlfriend Bula (Charlie Dizon) and her godfather Arturo (Ronnie Lazaro), their tireless investigation leads them to Balaraw: a mysterious island where no one can ever leave, except for her mother.
They now have to figure out the mysteries of the island and how it connects to her mother, while navigating the makeshift community that exists there. They also meet Ramon (Nonie Buencamino), one of the people stranded on the island who have found a way to coexist with its natives.
Belief becomes reality
The idea around Balaraw came from Aguado and Red’s interest in local folklore and superstition, and how it affects our worldview and reality. “We’ve always been interested in how yung folklore beliefs natin can really influence our everyday lives,” Red said during the show's media launch. “May maririnig kang kwento na ‘di mo bibilin yung lupa na ‘yan dahil may creature.”
“We were heavily inspired by this account we saw back then [on] how the CIA used the aswangs to kind of make the Hukbalahap surrender,” she said.
“Grabe yung influence ng ganung paniniwala natin, how it can influence our own history.”
A welcome family reunion
Balaraw is a family reunion of sorts, and it’s the reason why Gutierrez was already excited to work on the project before she even read the script. “The first person who messaged me was Bianca Balbuena — she’s our producer — and she said na may project with Rae Red, and I was like ‘Oh my gosh!’” she said.
“Lahat halos ng heads namin dito is the team of Babae at Baril — which we did in 2019 — and it was always my dream to work with them again, kasi [I] super love that project [and] the experience of making it,” she said.
PICTURE 2: Bula (Charlie Dizon) and Arturo (Ronnie Lazaro) are warily walking in the forest. / Photo taken from the official trailer of Balaraw
Gutierrez has many reasons to be proud of Babae at Baril. The film received critical praise for its gripping depiction of misogyny and the cycle of violence from the Marcos era of Martial Law to former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs campaign through the lens of a neo-noir thriller. It won multiple accolades including Best Film at the Gawad Urian Awards 2020, Best Director for Rae Red at QCinema 2019 and Gawad Urian Awards 2020, and Best Actress for Janine Gutierrez at the Gawad Urian Awards 2020 and the 2020 FAMAS Awards.
“Sometimes may mga project [na] it’s lightning in a bottle, once in your lifetime, yun na yun,” Gutierrez said. “Pero when I heard that the team of Balaraw was basically the team of Babae at Baril, kahit ano pa yan game na ko.”
Red shared that she is “nothing without her team,” as they wouldn't be able to pull off the massive scope they are aiming for. “It's safe to say we all came from a very independent background — indie filmmaking — so something so big like this, we really had to do our homework,” she said.
“I am proud to say I am very happy with the results,” she added. “Makikita mo talaga yung work that we put in.”
Tey Clamor and Eero Yves Francisco also won Best Cinematography and Best Production Design for their work on the film at the Gawad Urian Awards 2020, and they are also returning for Balaraw.
Grounding the grandiose
Part of that hard work was spent on making the world of Balaraw feel real.
“We really wanted to minimize the visual effects kasi syempre iba pa rin talaga when you see it on cam[era] and happening in front of you di ba?,” Red said. “So we tried to do as much practical [effects], but of course with the concept like this, with the scale like this I think there’s really no avoiding it.”
“So what was important was to make it feel grounded as much as possible,” she added.
It was also important for Red and Aguado for Balaraw to have an emotional core surrounding the grandiose world they've built.
“Lagi namin napag-uusapan … mga angsts namin sa magulang namin, and isa sa mga discussions namin eh how we never really know our parents,” Red said. “The moment you get to know them magulang na sila, you don’t know the person they were before they had you.”
“Maganda na na-parallel namin siya sa [main] mystery,” she added.
PICTURE 3: Bula (Charlie Dizon) hugs Sabine (Janine Gutierrez) as they sleep together in bed. / Photo taken from Birdsong launch teaser
Filipino storytelling in the global spotlight
Filipino folklore and its depiction in Balaraw is hugely important to the rest of the cast.
“Specifically this particular Filipino folklore got me interested, in fact pabalik-balik ako kanila direk [Rae Red] at sa mga writers, clarifying kung ano yung qualities ng mga aswang dito,” Buencamino said. “It’s kinda unique and quite interesting to watch [and] to look forward to.”
“These are the stories na we hear from a lot of people from the provinces, family natin … passed through the generations,” Dizon said. “Lagi siyang interesting for me… tapos eto kasing Balaraw pinagsama-sama ni direk [Rae Red] … in to that island para ma-represent yung Filipino folklore.”
“We have so many stories to tell the world at ang isa sa mga yan ay ating mga misteryosong mga kababalaghan sa buhay ng Pilipino,” Lazaro said. “Lalo na sa mga islands, yung mga aswang, mga dwarves, yung mga diwatas.”
“Napakagandang pagkakataon maipakita natin ulit sa mundo ang isa sa mga parte ng buhay natin dito sa Pilipinas.”
Gutierrez hopes everyone can engage with the heart of Balaraw beyond the majestic world they’ve built. “It starts talaga as a mother-daughter story which is so sentimental and everybody will be able to relate,” she said.
“I hope everybody is proud to be Filipino when they watch this and hopefully we’re able to share to other [sic] nationalities and all kinds of people all over the world so they can see what Filipino culture and Filipino creativity is all about.”
Balaraw arrives on Netflix worldwide on October 29. The show is written by Rae Red, Jericho Aguado, and Dodo Dayao, and is directed by Red.
