I honestly had no idea that Anak ng Dilim existed until now! Apparently, it's an unofficial Filipino adaptation of the horror classic Carrie, and to think that this movie is almost 30 years old (I was literally born around the same time, LOL). 😭

What surprised me the most was how similar some of the scenes were to the original Carrie. I was watching clips and comparisons, and OMG, some of the scenes looked almost identical! From the camera angles to the way certain sequences were executed, it genuinely felt like they copied them shot for shot. I couldn't help but laugh because I never knew we had our own version of Carrie here in the Philippines! HAHAHA.

Now I'm wondering how many other Filipino movies were actually unofficial adaptations, heavily inspired by, or straight-up ripoffs of foreign films. Especially back in the '80s, '90s, and early 2000s, when it wasn't as easy to compare movies because we didn't have the internet and social media like we do today.

I know there are a few more examples, like The Lake House and Moments in Time, but I'm pretty sure there are a LOT more that I haven't discovered yet.

And just to clarify, I'm not necessarily saying that every adaptation or remake is bad! I actually find it fascinating how filmmakers take inspiration from existing movies and try to recreate them for Filipino audiences. Sometimes they even add their own twists or cultural elements that make the story feel different. But I'm especially interested in those movies where the similarities are so obvious that you can't help but wonder how they got away with it. 😂

Do you guys know any other Filipino movies that were unofficial adaptations or obvious copies of foreign films? Bonus points if the scenes were practically recreated shot for shot, just like what I noticed with Anak ng Dilim and Carrie.

I'd love to make a watchlist and actually watch the Filipino versions alongside their foreign counterparts just to compare them. I'm particularly interested in horror, thriller, suspense, and psychological movies, but honestly, any genre will do!

Kung meron kayong alam, please drop the movie titles and their original foreign counterparts! I'd love to discover more of these forgotten Filipino films, especially the obscure ones that people rarely talk about anymore.

I'm genuinely curious kung gaano karami ang ganitong pelikula sa Philippine cinema history. This might actually become my next movie rabbit hole! HAHAHA.

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday said that the cases presented during her impeachment trial are already failing, noting that the pieces of evidence against her are all fabricated.

Duterte made this statement when she was asked to make an assessment of her ongoing impeachment trial.

“Bumabagsak na yung kaso nila. Kaya binibilisan, kasi wala na, wala na sila masabi,” Duterte told reporters on the sidelines of the kick-off celebration of the 91st anniversary of the Office of the Vice President.

(Their cases are failing. That’s why they’re fasttracking [the trial] because they do not have anything to say anymore.)

“Sa simula pa lang, yung impeachment complaint mo, walang annexes, walang attached pieces of evidence. Tapos gumawa ka, nag-iinvent ka ng ebidensya,” she added.

(From the start, their impeachment complaint has no annexes, attached pieces of evidence. Then they made up evidence.)

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2322134/sara-duterte-impeachment-cases-already-failing-all-evidence-fabricated

The Portuguese somewhat revealed that Luzon in Precolonial times was able to project its power throughout South East Asia through commerce and militaristic pursuits. The main sources for the records regarding the Luções/Luzones can be found in three written historical journals of the Portuguese: Decadas de Asia by Joao de Barros, Peregrinação by Fernão Mended Pinto and Sums Oriental by Tom Pires.

Far from the urban legends stating that the Philippines was kinda insulated from the South East Asian cultural orbit, these accounts suggest otherwise. These chronicles suggest that Luzon, the chief island of the archipelago, was sought after and were valued as merchants and mercenaries across South East Asia.

According to the Portuguese, Malacca was the base of the mercantile operations of the Luções, and they were esteemed merchants at that part of South East Asia. In fact, Tom Pires stated that there was an entire village in the Sultanate of Malacca that was entirely populated by Luções merchants, and the place was called Minjam/Manjani. According to modern archeological research, they said that the current location of Minjam is somewhere in Perak State. When the Portuguese conquered Malacca in 1511, it was stated in these chronicles that a Luções was assigned by the Portuguese as administrator of Malacca and was awarded the title Temenggung or Chief. The name of the Luções was Regimo Diraja.

The Portuguese also stated that the Luções were valued for their military skills and were often employed by various South East Asian kingdoms and principalities as mercenaries in the wars fought in the region. The most notable example of the militaristic pursuits of the Luções was the Burmese-Siamese War of 1547, wherein both the Burmese and Siamese war camps have Luções allies and belligerents fighting for both camps. According to Mendes Pinto's Peregrinação, there was a powerful military Luzones warlord that goes by the name Sepetu Diraja, who was hired by the Sultan of Aceh as a mercenary, and he supplied the Sultan of Aceh with 200 highly skilled Luções bodyguards. Sepetu Diraja also led campaigns at the Battle of Aru in North Sumatra in 1539-1540, wherein he was one of the main commanders of the said battle.

Another account states that there was an influential and wealthy Luções merchant chieftain that goes by the name Surya Diraja, and he regularly exports 175 tons of black pepper to China. Because of his wealth, he was able to pay 9,000 cruzados of gold to the Portuguese Colonial Government in Malacca after the Sultanate fell in Portuguese hands, and he was able to retain his estate and plantations in Malacca.

It's high time that we update our History Textbooks and include the glorious history of the Luções in Maritime South East Asia, according to Portuguese Historical Accounts.