Trese
Directors : Jay Olivia, Tim Divar, David Hartman, Mel Zwyer
Author : Budjette Tan
Reviewer : Franz - Grade 11
Rate : 4/5
Trese is a horror and crime animated series about Filipino folklore. The original comic for Trese by Budjette Tan was first published in 2008, then it was chosen to be turned into an animated series. It is also the very first Filipino animated series to be streamed on Netflix.
We follow the main character, Alexandra Trese, who is a detective for the supernatural crimes that occur in her homeland, the Philippines, and she is also the guardian for the supernatural world and the human world. During the show, she is accompanied by her trusted sidekick twins, Basilio and Crispin. Every episode, Alexandra and the twins deal with different types of Filipino supernatural beings and myths. Such as, tikbalang, aswang, manananggal, duwende, tyanak, etc. Her main goal is to keep the balance and the separation between Terra Mundo (main universe/human world) and the underworld (for the supernatural). There are, of course, supernatural beings that live in the human world, which is why she has to make sure that they don’t make a scene that would cause the humans to find out about them.
I’m Filipino myself, and watching this show honestly brought back the nightmares I had as a child. I was told a lot about Filipino monsters and their myths growing up, and I’m quite impressed with how specific and on point Trese is. Considering that it is animated, the scary scenes were not too terrifying. However, it still has disturbing scenes, which is why I would not recommend parents to let their children watch this series. I would still recommend it to teenagers and above because it’s a very good show, and it might be interesting to watch and learn about another culture’s beliefs and myths.