SILIP: DAUGHTERS OF EVE (1986)
Label: Mondo Macabro
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 125 Minutes
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio: English-dubbed and Tagalog DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English subtitles
Director: Elwood Perez
Cast: Maria Isabel Lopez, Sarsi Emmanuelle, Mark Joseph, Myra Manibog, Pia Zabale
This surreal, softcore Filipino exploitation flick Silip: Daughters of Eve (1986) opens in the remote seaside village of Hocos Norte where the town butcher Simon (Mark Joseph) bludgeons a bull to death with a hammer on a sand dune before slicing it's throat open and slaughtering the beast in front of a group on small children who are horrified by the spectacle, especially a young boy named Tiago (Arwin Rogelio). It's a stomach-jolting sight that brought to mind similar animal killings in Cannibal Holocaust, and as the children protest the cruelty the butcher matter-of-factly explains to them the harsh reality of life and the food chain in their village. As he finishes up his speech a young girl named Pia (Pia Zabale) begins to menstruate down her leg, its a weird opening but it adequately sets the stage for this wild slice of Filipino exploitation, establishing a weird and violent atmosphere that sticks with this one right on through to the end.
We then turn to a young woman named Tonya (former Miss Philippines Ma. Isabel Lopez, Dune Warriors) who has been charged with teaching the village children after a priest has fallen ill. Her teachings are moralistic to the extreme, bordering on insanity, telling the young girls she teaches that men hide the Devil's horn between their legs! Her bizarre teachings have begun to catch the ear of the villagers elders, some of whom disapprove of her twisted religious views, and the village is further shaken up by the arrival of Selda (Sarsi Emmanuelle, Snake Sisters), Tonya's sister, who left for life in the big city five years previously. Selda arrives along her idiotic American boyfriend Ronnie (Daren Craig Johnson), and we learn that her sister harbors quite a bit of resentment against her because she five years ago she slept with the village butcher Simon, whom Tonya had a crush on. Tonya has long harbored a secret lust for the butcher, and while he's a womanizer who flirts with her often, her chaste religious beliefs prevent her from acting on her urges, despite the fact that she clearly has a raging libido. When Tonya gets sexually excited she'll masturbates but then freaks out and literally rubs hot sand and salt onto her burnin' love pussy to extinguish the sinful desires!
Selda's presence also seems to cause the tension within the village, it doesn't help that she hops into bed with the butcher, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend Mona (Myra Manibog, Snake Sisters), whom they tie up and make her watch. When Ronnie catches Selda in the act of cheating he fights the butcher, but after being beaten by him he attempt to mouth rape Tonya to soothe his ego, but she is saved by her virginity-protecting grandmother!
With the forces of sexual repression, adultery and lust tearing the village apart things quickly begin to spiral out of control, the tipping point turns out to be when Tonya punishes Pia over her budding sexuality and attraction for the boy Tiago (Arwin Rogelio), throwing burning hot sand onto the girl's vagina in the process! Eventually this mix of lust, adulatory, religious repression and envy boil over into a village wide orgy of sexual assault and violence the likes of which you will never forget!
While the movie runs over two hours it is never dull, not even for a moment, it's a fascinating exploration of the effects sex sex, violence and religion repression on this tiny seaside village, including the effect is has on young people coming of age who have been exposed to the warped ideas that fester there. The acting seems quite strong to me; I am not being a Tagalog speaker but I found the performances quite compelling, particularly that of out two attractive leads, though a few supporting characters might turn in slightly overwrought performances, but none of it is ruinous. It also has a very interesting setting, the volcanic sandy beaches and dunes of the Philippine location look great on camera, as do the bamboo and thatched roof structures. It feels like a very primitive film, so it was a bit surprising when a tour bus comes rolling through at one point, it was a bit jarring, but it made for intriguing entrance for Selda and her American boyfriend, who like the arrival of the seemingly anachronistic bus, singled a change.
The weird tone of this arthouse bit of sleaze is punctuated by some gruesome violence; we have a number of sexual assaults (including a gang rape), bloody genitalia, animal slaughter, and a blood-spewing beheading - but the real horror show is socio-political politics inside the village and how religion, envy and lust provide fuel for the savage mob violence we see happen in the final leg of the film.
Audio/Video: Silip: Daughters of Eve (1986) arrives on Blu-ray from Mondo Macabro uncut and restored from the film negative in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. I never saw the DVD to compare it to but it's seems obvious that the elements were not exactly stored in optional conditions. There are faint vertical lines and scratches visible throughout, and a weird smudge near center of the screen during a few scenes that looks like a oil smear on the lens, but you can tell MM put some love into the restoration to get it to where it is. It's a pretty grainy looking film with a thick film like appearance, and with healthy skin tones and colors. There's main color scheme seems to be various shades of brown and beige, but at times bit of red and blue clothing shine through and break up the color-monotony.
Audio comes by way of both English-dub and Tagalog DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. The English dub is not great, it's poorly done and the music cues are different, I suggest sticking with the Tagalog audio option which has the best dialogue delivery and score, sounding more natural and organic.
Extras include a brand new commentary with author Andrew Leavold that I quite enjoyed, as I am not familiar with a lot of Filipino exploitation films so I enjoyed his dissection of the various sub-genres of Filipino sexploitation and roughies like the "bomba". He also gets into the political climate of the era at the end of the Marcos regime, government censorship and how filmmakers skirted it, and where this film sits alongside other contemporary Filipino exploitation flicks, as well as some cool tidbits about the making of this film and the cast and director.
We also get some great carry-overs extras from the previous 2-disc DVD edition, these include a 19-minute interview with director Elwood Perez, an 8-minute interview with art director Andrew Leavold, a 14-minute interview with actress Maria Isabel Lopez, and a 46-minute interview with actress Sarsi Emmanuelle, plus a 14-minute Mondo Macabro preview reel. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring a new illustration by Justin Coffee.
Special Features:
- Interview with director Elwood Perez (19 min)
- Interview with art director Andrew Leavold (8 min)
- Interview with actress Maria Isabel Lopez (14 min)
- Interview with actress Sarsi Emmanuelle (46 min)
- Audio Commentary with Andrew Leavold
- New cover artwork from Justin Coffee
- Mondo Macabro Previews (14 min)
Silip: Daughters of Eve lived up to the hype, it's a shocking, unsettling slice of Filipino sexploitation that has a lot happening under the surface, and the terrific Blu-ray from Mondo Macabro is top-notch and recommended for lovers of fucked-up foreign cinema.
Screenshots from the Mondo Macabro Blu-ray:
Extras:
