Malas is a game based on a qualitative assessment of antagonists in the Filipino horror genre. The long, matted hair and white dresses donned by the love-scorned ghosts known as “White Ladies” are produced by more than just the film industry’s desire to give a good scare. They are inspired by tropes long ingrained into Filipino history, the most significant that we have found during our research are listed below.
Both Spanish and American forces weaponized our own folklore in their colonization of the Philippines, degrading various deities and spirits into what we now know as evil creatures called the Aswang, a notable portion of which are represented as female, or typically have female victims.
Filipino women have been depicted as sensitive to supernatural themes. Albularyos and espiritistas act as equivalents of the honored Babaylan elders of our pre colonial people. Unfortunately, It has become a staple in the genre to label these women as the "Baliw" or the insanem and thus vulnerable to possessions and other such ghostly tragedies.
Women continue to be perceived as the softer, kinder sex. Creatives within the industry utilize this perception to create creatures, monsters, and ghosts that one would find unnatural and unfamiliar. veiling distant female figures in mystery before an explosion of violent and vengeful anger.
Viewing all this through the lens of Van Zoonen’s Theory of representation. It’s important to realize that fictional monsters are reflections of reality. Oversaturation of tropes surrounding female monsters is not only ineffective to engaging audiences of horror, but also harmful towards their perceptions of real women.
Not to mention the significant lack of female directors, and thus a lack of female perspective in the local horror industry at large.
The reclamation of local female monsters as symbols of the experiences of Filipino women rather than a method of oppressing them, is an ongoing trend that we hope shall grow to become a staple. Malas, as a game, seeks to encourage players to embody the monsters that they play as, and inspire complex narratives involving female monsters as engaging characters.
Click the button below, and experience the game for yourself. Cut through the thick forests of Sta. Anna and lift the curse of Malas from their gloomy town.