The ’90s brought us Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Eraserheads, Rivermaya, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, AND—Carlo J. Caparas movies. The last on that list is an embarrassment of riches: great acting, rape, murder, massacre, drug addicts, and Kris Aquino—all based on “true to life” stories. Couple that with sensationalist TV programs masquerading as public service, and you got surefire box office hits.
Add to that the softcore sex films of the mid ’90s to early ’00s and you get Tuhog (Larger Than Life, 2001), a drama-softcore-comedy film satire on filmmaking malpractice, starring Ina Raymundo and Klaudia Koronel, playing two versions of the same girl, who was raped by her grandfather. Hmm. That last sentence was long.
The film starts with filmmakers interviewing the victim and her mother (Irma Adlawan), who turned out to be a victim herself, propositioning an offer to turn their story into a movie. They were reluctant at first, but eventually gave in. When asked who she wanted to play her character on-screen, Floring (Raymundo) answered Judy Ann Santos. Well, she’s a fine actress. And this is the closest we’d ever see of Judy Ann Santos in an erotic film, playing a rape victim’s character in a movie within the movie. But the filmmakers and the producer, had another thing in mind. (The producer, by the way, agreed to produce the director’s pitch, with one condition, the movie should contain nudity and sex, lots of it.)
Instead of offering the role to Judy Ann, they gave it to Klaudia Koronel, whose previous movie credits include lurid titles such as Pisil, Kesong Puti, and Anakan Mo Ako. Nothing could prepare Floring and her mother for what’s to come. Though the title, Hayok Sa Laman (Lust For Flesh), should have been a dead giveaway. Coming to the city all the way from their hometown, just to see the finished film supposedly based on their lives, they walked out of it before the end credits roll. It’s an abomination—with great bad acting from both Jaclyn Jose and Dante Rivero, and shockingly nuanced and mostly nude performance from Klaudia Koronel.
That is, Hayok Sa Laman is what you’d get if Carlo J. Caparas and Wenn Deramas (RIP) had a child, who turns out to be a tianak (demon baby). This movie within the movie is so bad—you’d want to scrub yourself afterwards. If Pila Balde is sex comedy-Lino Brocka social drama hybrid, Tuhog is a cross between a Mike de Leon satire and softcore drama comedy. Definitely one of the best films about films in the whole wheat multiverse.
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