''Fly Aswang'' is a 2005 Philippine

adult animated An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and ...

dark fantasy Dark fantasy, also called fantasy horror, is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporates disturbing and frightening themes. The term is ambiguously used to describe stories that combine horror fiction, horror ...

supernatural horror Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defi ...

short film directed by Mark Galvez. It was based on a

Philippine mythology Philippine mythology is rooted in the many indigenous Philippine folk religions. Philippine mythology exhibits influence from Hinduism, Hindu, Islam, Muslim, Buddhism, Buddhist, and Christianity, Christian traditions. Philippine mythology ...

that depicted different kinds of

mythological creatures A legendary creature is a type of extraordinary or supernatural being that is described in folklore (including myths and legends), and may be featured in historical accounts before modernity, but has not been scientifically shown to exist. In t ...

such as the

Tikbalang The Tikbalang (/ˈtikbaˌlaŋ/) (also Tigbalang, Tigbalan, Tikbalan, Tigbolan, or Werehorse) is a creature of Philippine folklore said to lurk in the mountains and rainforests of the Philippines. It is a tall, bony humanoid (half-human and h ...

, Impakto and Nuno, among others.

Premise

The film tells the story about Bessie and her three daughters emigrated in the United States. Bessie and her daughters, however, are actually

Aswang Aswang is an umbrella term for various shape-shifting evil creatures in Filipino folklore, such as vampires, ghouls, witches, viscera suckers, and transforming human-beast hybrids (usually dogs, cats, pigs). The aswang is the subject of a ...

. Against Bessie's wishes not to go to the Philippines, her daughters travel to

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

for their cousin's wedding without warning. Instead, they are trapped in a ritual by mythological creatures, and their family's history of supernatural power will soon be tarnished until Bessie come to save them.

Cast

* Weng Raganit as Bessie, Blanca and Nuno * Charmaine Sagrado as Isabel, Inez, Lisa and Impakto * Jeff Utanes as JD, Bessie's father and Mumbaki * Mark Galvez as Sigbin

Release

''Fly Aswang'' was privately exhibited on film festivals between 2005 and 2008, but not publicly released until

October 31 Events Pre-1600 * 475 – Romulus Augustulus is proclaimed Western Roman Emperor. * 683 – During the Siege of Mecca, the Kaaba catches fire and is burned down. * 802 – Empress Irene is deposed and banished to Lesbos. Consp ...

, 2022 on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

under

Imee Marcos Maria Imelda Josefa Remedios "Imee" Romualdez Marcos-Manotoc (; born November 12, 1955) is a Filipino politician and film producer serving as a Senate of the Philippines, senator since 2019. She previously served as governor of Ilocos Norte ...

's official account.

Awards

''Fly Aswang'' won a "Special Citation" from the Professional Division at the

Animahenasyon Animahenasyon is an annual animation festival and competition held in the Philippines. Organized by the Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc. (ACPI), the festival features the animated works of veteran and novice Filipino animators. Apart fr ...

2008: 2nd Philippine Animation Festival.{{Cite web , date=2012-07-28 , title=Animation Council of the Philippines - Animahenasyon 2008 Winners , url=http://www.animationcouncil.org/news.php?p=120 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421015818/http://www.animationcouncil.org/news.php?p=120 , archive-date=2009-04-21 , access-date=2024-12-15 , website=

References

2005 animated short films 2005 short films Philippine adult animated films Philippine monster movies Philippine supernatural horror films Philippine short films Animated fantasy films Animated horror films 2000s dark fantasy films Films about Filipino Americans