Nico Locco and Tippy Dos Santos star in ‘The Kapre’ episode of Hulu’s ‘Bite Size Halloween.’ Facebook: Carlo Ledesma
Kapre, the tree-dwelling giant from Philippine mythology, gets the spotlight in an episode of the Hulu horror anthology “Bite Size Halloween.”
Titled “The Kapre,” the short film, which runs for nearly seven minutes, is one of 20 offerings in the third season of “Bite Size Halloween,” which started streaming on October 1.
Directed by Carlo Ledesma, “The Kapre” stars Tippy Dos Santos and Nico Locco as “two unsuspecting Americans [who] awaken a large and legendary creature while camping in an enchanted Philippine forest.”
“As a Filipino filmmaker it’s always been a dream of mine to share our myths and monsters to a global audience,” Ledesma said in a Facebook post, sharing stills from the short.
Ledesma recalled that 20th Digital Studio, the producer of the series, invited him to pitch an episode, and at that point “knew exactly which tree-dwelling, cigar-smoking creature I wanted to feature.”
“And thanks to an amazing dream team cast and crew, we were able to bring our hundred foot giant to life. So world, meet The Kapre. The Philippine version of Bigfoot. He’s nice once ya get to know him,” he wrote.
The “Bite Size Halloween” feature of the kapre is the latest depiction of creatures from Filipino folklore on international streaming platforms.
Previously, the likes of “Trese,” the Netflix animated adaptation of the graphic novel, and HBO Asia’s “Folklore,” which highlighted the mangkukulam in an Erik Matti-helmed episode, gave modern treatment to local mythology.
Still ahead is the upcoming third season of HBO Asia’s “Halfworlds,” which will be set in the Philippines, under the direction of Mikhail Red (“Eerie,” “Block Z”).
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