Japanese actress Maria Ozawa may have found initial fame as a superstar in the AV world, but she's been making solid inroads into mainstream cinema both at home and across Asia with appearances in such projects as the Indonesian comedy Finding Miyabi, Taiwanese horror Invitation Only and J-Horrors including Tokyo Species and Erotibot. But her latest project, Nilalang, really gets our attention. According to director Pedrinz Lopez, the film is a supernatural action thriller with Ozawa playing a scantily clad Yakuza princess who aligns herself with a Manila detective played by Filipino actor Cesar Montano, when a series of gory and supernatural killings wreak havoc across the Manila underworld.
In the film, Montano plays a decorated special crime unit officer who begins to question himself and his sanity when a series of murders identical to a high profile serial killer case, which he closed a few years earlier, leaves a trail of mutilated bodies all over Manila. Montano and his partner (Meg Imperial) are forced to seek the assistance of the eldest daughter (Maria Ozawa) of a Japanese crime boss, who he believes may be somehow able to help with the investigation.
The film made its debut at the Metro Manila Film Festival in December 2015 and took home awards for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Editing. Early word on the film is very good, with critics claiming the film raises the bar for Filipino films, showcasing Manila at its most beautiful... as almost a character itself, Montano is his normal self, the Alpha-male detective with whom various ladies (including his girlfriend and partner) seem besotted. Ozawa looks stunning with good use being made of her exotic looks, her characters extensive body-art and some very figure-hugging outfits. There's also an impressive musical score making use of a variety of genres from Pinoy Rap music to original songs and score for the film that enhance the mood for both the action and drama (and which helped the movie take home two other awards for Best Festival Sound and Best Musical Score).
The film features stunt-work and fight choreography by veteran stuntman and action director Sonny Sisson (who just worked with Mark Dacascos on Showdown in Manila), and the film looks set to raise the bar for Filipino film-making... and help the industry break out internationally... much as The Raid and Ong Bak helped bring Indonesian and Thai action cinema to a wider audience.
We'll be talking to Sonny about his work on this and Showdown in Manila and other projects, and reviewing the film shortly, in the meantime, here's the trailer...
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