White Lady (film)
White Lady is a 2006 Filipino supernatural horror-drama film directed by Jeff Tan.
| White Lady | |
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| Directed by | Jeff Tan |
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| Starring | Pauleen Luna JC De Vera Boots Anson-Roa Jason Abalos Iwa Moto Gian Carlos Franzen Fajardo Ketchup Eusebio Glaiza de Castro Katarina Perez Angelica Panganiban |
| Music by | Von De Guzman |
| Cinematography | Tim Jimenez |
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Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | Philippines |
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Plot
Two best friends from the province of Iloilo, Pearl (Pauleen Luna) and Jonathan (Gian Carlos), arrive in Manila to study in an Arts Academy. Jonathan himself secretly harbors romantic feelings for Pearl, who is known for her brilliance and wisdom. Upon enrollment, a clique of students led by Mimi (Iwa Moto) and her right-hand person Eva (Katarina Perez), takes interest in them. Mimi is a pretty, rich and popular girl who gets her way through bullying others. The clique also consist of basketball jock Joshua (Jason Abalos), film and photography major Jowee (Glaiza de Castro), and delinquent band frontman Hector (Ketchup Eusebio).
Mimi takes Pearl and Jonathan into her fold, befriending them in exchange for academic favors from the smart and studious Pearl. However, Pearl rebuffs the clique after realizing their deceptions while Jonathan joins a prominent fraternity. Soon after, Pearl and Jonathan's close friendship becomes estranged.
One night, Pearl experiences strange paranormal occurrences in the campus and has visions of a woman in white, referred to as the white lady, singing a folk lullaby. She and Jonathan learn from others of the story of a white lady which has been rumored to have frequented the school grounds. A carpenter reveals to Jonathan about a storage shed that burnt down and a vision of the said woman at the same spot. Pearl meets and befriends Tasya, a kindhearted Guimaras-born elderly woman residing in a house situated on the Academy's vast campus. Tasya tells the story of her granddaughter Christina (Angelica Panganiban), a simple girl also hailing from Iloilo and Guimaras who was reportedly driven into hiding by Mimi’s pompousness. Pearl immediately feels an affinity towards Christina since both girls have been on the receiving end of Mimi’s dirty actions.
The haunting worsens when Pearl lands the highly coveted lead role in the school play, which also earns her the brunt of Mimi’s ire since the latter had wanted the role for herself. In another circumstance, a burgeoning relationship begins to kindle between Pearl and Robbie (JC de Vera), the rich, athletic and most popular guy in school, whom Mimi also desires.
Flashbacks show the story of Christina. Robbie befriends her after rescuing her from bullies and Mimi's gang. The two begin a relationship which his father opposed and forced them to separate and have Robbie choose Mimi. Soon thereafter, Mimi's friends begin to torment her frequently. Christina shuns Robbie after being having her way by his and the gang's actions. After the gang imprison her in a storage shed, Mimi drugs a janitor to silence him and Robbie, under her influence, murders Christina by setting the shed on fire.
In a series of intense ghostly appearances, the white lady manifests herself to the clique, letting them experience her wrath one by one: Each member of the clique is either killed or left incapacitated out of trauma from the encounter.
During a Halloween feast, Pearl receives news that her mother is suffering from leukemia and reveals to Robbie that she is returning to Iloilo. Robbie grows overzealous and disoriented after seeing Christina's vision in his cellphone. Pearl escapes to a gypsy tent wherein she is drawn to a vision that relives the final moments of Christina. It is from here that she learns of Robbie's crime and she shuns Robbie.
While on the run, Pearl is captured by Robbie and dragged to the storage shed. Jonathan witnesses this and intervenes only to be subdued by Robbie. In an attempt to silence them, Robbie sets the shed on fire and flees the scene on a motorcycle. The white lady, now revealed to be Christina, appears and causes his motorcycle to crash. He flees to a carillon wherein bells play the lullaby and Christina causes Robbie to fall to his death. It is then revealed that Pearl and Jonathan manage to survive and escape the shed fire unharmed due to Christina's soul diverting the flames. Later on, Christina walks to a light in a field, presumably the gate of Heaven.
Later on, Pearl returns to the province and visits Tasya wherein she reveals that her mother has died of the ailment. As Tasya reveals that she sees Christina's soul departing for the afterlife, Pearl states that they vow to take care of each other despite their losses. As they comfort each other, Christina's voice sings her lullaby as she gazes down from Heaven with God on the two in the form of wind and sunlight.
Cast
Main characters
- Boots Anson-Roa as Lola Tasya, Christina's grandmother, who hails from Guimaras. Tasya is a kind and loving woman who cares about her granddaughter. She has visions of Christina in scenes involving her.
- Angelica Panganiban as Christina, a kind and intelligent girl from Western Visayas who becomes the titular character following her murder in the hands of a clique as she seeks revenge on her tormentors.
- Pauleen Luna as Pearl, a good-natured and intelligent girl from Iloilo who parallels Christina
- JC de Vera as Robbie, a popular student who becomes Pearl's boyfriend. He is also revealed to be the former boyfriend of Christina and later her murderer.
- Gian Carlos as Jonathan, a close friend of Pearl who also hails from Iloilo
The Clique
- Iwa Moto as Mimi, the leader of the clique who is notorious for bullying others. She is killed by shattered mirror shards in a dressing room during a concert's premiere.
- Ketchup Eusebio as Hector, a member of the clique who is a known band frontman. He is the first member to be killed following his fall to a pit wherein he is suffocated by rats he encounters the titular character dissolving to rodents
- Jason Abalos as Joshua, another member of the clique. He falls from Mimi's bedroom window and becomes amputated after a possessed doll chases him but it is unknown if he was killed or he survived.
- Katarina Perez as Eva, Mimi's right hand person and the second-in-command of the clique. She is killed after the entity severs her arm with broken glass.
- Glaiza de Castro as Jowee, a photography major student and another member of the clique. She becomes hyperventilated after the titular character appears in a darkroom and blinds her with flashes but survives.
Other characters
- Franzen Fajardo as Kuya Pepo
- Nanding Josef as Mang Jani
- Malou Crisologo as Professor Barredo
- Ricci Chan as Professor Alfredo
- Emil Sandoval as Robert, Sr.
- Minnie Aguilar as Ate Teri
Production
Principal photography of the film was done within the University of the Philippines Los Baños campus.