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Timeline

Mallari (2023) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2023 · 130 mins · Tagalog
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Directed by
Derick Cabrido
Starring
Lao Rodriguez, Angie Castrence, Raffy Tejada, Bart Guingona, Piolo Pascual, Vangie Labalan
Budget
$1.4M

During the Spanish colonial era, Father Severino Mallari, a priest in Pampanga, finds himself spiraling into madness. His disturbing life and work are revealed, centered around the shocking claim that he murdered 57 people in an attempt to heal his ailing mother. The events explore the darkness within a man of faith and the lengths to which he will go to protect a loved one.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (15)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like Mallari
  6. 6 Every angle
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15 events in order · contains spoilers

Mallari Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Mallari (2023) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Arrival of Juan Severino

    Juan Severino arrives in Magalang with his mother, Doña Facunda, to take on the role of the town's priest. Their journey marks the beginning of the tragic events that will unfold around their family and the town.

    Where
    Magalang
  2. Facunda's Transformation

    While Juan is away, Doña Facunda becomes a manananggal, a mythical creature, due to the sinister rituals led by Maria Capac. She is unwittingly lured into these dark practices by deceitful church servants.

    Where
    Magalang
  3. Juan's Moral Dilemma

    Juan discovers his mother's transformation and learns that she can only be cured by consuming human flesh. Faced with a choice between saving his mother and losing his soul, he becomes a murderer under the urging of his sinister alter ego.

    Where
    Magalang
  4. The First Murders

    In a bid to feed Facunda, Juan commits his first murders, killing a corrupt landlord and two prostitutes. His actions lead to a series of violent events that cause fear among Magalang's residents, forcing them to flee the town.

    Where
    Magalang
  5. Confrontation with Fate

    A man resembling Juan appears to Facunda, claiming to be a future descendant. He warns both Juan and Facunda of the legacy of violence and reveals their disturbing truths before Juan is arrested by the Guardia Civil.

    Where
    Magalang
  6. Johnrey's Documentary

    Years later, during the Hukbalahap Rebellion, Johnrey arrives in Magalang to create a documentary. He witnesses the aftermath of an aswang attack and begins to suspect a connection with the dark history of his ancestor Juan Severino.

    Where
    Magalang
  7. A Journey Through Time

    Johnrey dreams of traveling back to 1812 and meeting Juan Severino and Doña Facunda, as well as Jonathan, a boy claiming to be his grandnephew. This visionary experience connects him to his family's dark legacy.

  8. Meeting the Ancestors

    While in 1812, Johnrey films Juan and his mother, creating historical reels meant for Jonathan. He uses this unique opportunity to document their experiences and the ghostly presence of the past victims.

  9. The Ultimatum

    Back in his time, Johnrey confronts an aged Maria Capac and her granddaughter Conching, who hold his wife Felicity hostage. They demand he becomes a vigilante to transfer Facunda's powers to Felicity, leading to an impossible choice.

  10. The Sacrificial Act

    In a desperate attempt to end the cycle of violence, Johnrey swallows a black chick residing inside Facunda as she disintegrates into ashes. This act transforms him into a werewolf, forcing him to confront his family's dark nature.

  11. The Curse's Continuation

    Jonathan, the grandson, arrives in Magalang, haunted by premonitions of danger to his fiancée Agnes. Suspecting cruel fates tied to his ancestors' actions, he seeks to unravel the past to protect her.

    Where
    Magalang
  12. Lucas' True Identity Revealed

    As Jonathan investigates, he finds that Lucas, an acquaintance, is linked to the dark arts due to his descent from Maria Capac. This revelation comes too late as Jonathan witnesses Lucas's transformation into a dangerous figure.

  13. The Final Showdown

    In a last-ditch effort, Jonathan travels back to confront Severino, who denies any wrongdoing. Shortly after, he faces Lucas, who wishes to recruit him into the murderous traditions of the Alarcon family.

  14. Breaking the Cycle

    After defeating Lucas, Jonathan makes a drastic choice to revive Johnrey's curse by transferring the black chick to Agnes. This act serves as a stark reminder that the cycle of horror continues through generations.

  15. A Haunting Legacy

    Finally, Jonathan, Agnes, and Amal settle into the Mallari residence, with Agnes displaying her monstrous hunger. Their ominous discussion signifies the unending cycle of violence and darkness that defines their family...

    Where
    Mallari residence

Last updated: September 28, 2026 at 10:55

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Timeline questions answered

Mallari Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of Mallari (2023): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why did Juan Severino kill people in Mallari?

Juan Severino committed murder to feed his mother, Doña Facunda, who had been turned into a manananggal by Maria Capac's occult rituals. Because Facunda's terminal illness could supposedly only be cured by consuming human flesh, Juan began killing townspeople, starting with a corrupt landlord and two women, to save her life.

  • juan severino
  • murders
  • facunda
  • manananggal
  • cannibalism
Q2

How did Doña Facunda become a manananggal?

While Juan Severino was away performing his priestly duties, Maria Capac, a church servant, lured Facunda into a secretive occult ritual. Facunda was unknowingly transformed into a manananggal, a creature that can only be cured by consuming human entrails, which led Juan down his murderous path.

  • doña facunda
  • manananggal
  • maria capac
  • occult ritual
  • transformation
Q3

What is the black chick in Mallari and how does the curse pass through generations?

The black chick is a parasitic entity lodged inside Facunda that carries the manananggal curse. When Johnrey swallowed the chick to save Felicity, the curse transferred to him, turning him into a werewolf. The chick was then passed down through the family, ultimately ending up inside Agnes after Jonathan decapitated Johnrey, ensuring the curse would haunt a new generation.

  • black chick
  • curse
  • manananggal
  • werewolf
  • parasite
Q4

Who was the man who confronted Juan Severino and claimed to be his descendant?

The man who confronted Juan was a future descendant who had traveled back in time, foreshadowing the family's ability for astral projection and time travel. He warned Juan that his descendants would carry the label of a killer and urged him to confess his crimes before the Guardia Civil arrived and took Juan into custody.

  • future descendant
  • time travel
  • confrontation
  • guardia civil
Q5

How does Johnrey travel back in time to 1812?

Johnrey's time travel is triggered through vivid dreams induced by the family's shared ability for astral projection. In these dreams, he meets Juan Severino, Doña Facunda, and even a boy named Jonathan from the future. He used this connection to film the lives of his ancestors and create reels addressed to Jonathan.

  • johnrey
  • time travel
  • astral projection
  • dreams
  • 1812
Q6

Why did Johnrey swallow the black chick inside Facunda?

Johnrey swallowed the black chick in a desperate act to stop Maria Capac and Conching from forcing the manananggal curse onto his wife Felicity. By absorbing the parasite himself, he saved Felicity from transformation, but the act triggered his own metamorphosis into a werewolf and led to his eventual burial to contain the curse.

  • johnrey
  • black chick
  • facunda
  • felicity
  • sacrifice
Q7

Why did Johnrey ask Felicity to bury him alive?

After swallowing the black chick and transforming into a werewolf, Johnrey realized he could not control the monstrous urges the curse inflicted on him. He instructed Felicity to bury him alive as the only way to contain the werewolf curse and prevent him from killing more innocent people.

  • johnrey
  • bury alive
  • werewolf
  • felicity
  • curse containment
Q8

Why did Lucas kill Agnes in Mallari?

Lucas attacked Agnes because he descended from the Alarcon family, whose lineage was tied back to Maria Capac, the original orchestrator of the Mallari curse. Believing the dark traditions must continue, Lucas attempted to convert Jonathan into a vigilante killer and stabbed Agnes to push the family's murderous legacy forward.

  • lucas
  • alarcon family
  • maria capac
  • agnes
  • stabbing
Q9

What is the connection between Lucas and Maria Capac?

Lucas is a descendant of the Alarcon family, which traces its occult lineage directly back to Maria Capac. Lucas is the son of a family servant of the Mallaris, and his devotion to the dark practices inherited from Maria is what drove him to embrace the murderous vigilante rituals and target Jonathan.

  • lucas
  • maria capac
  • alarcon family
  • occult
  • lineage
Q10

Why did Jonathan decapitate Johnrey and transfer the chick to Agnes?

After defeating Lucas and watching Agnes die from her stab wounds, Jonathan exhumed Johnrey's grave despite warnings from spirits not to revive the curse. He decapitated Johnrey to extract the black chick and implant it into Agnes, reviving her as a manananggal so he would not lose her, knowingly condemning her to a life of monstrous hunger.

  • jonathan
  • johnrey
  • decapitation
  • black chick
  • agnes
Q11

Is Jonathan the one dressed as a priest committing the murders?

No, Jonathan is not the priest-costumed murderer. The killer turned out to be Lucas, whose obsession with the Mallari legacy led him to dress as a priest and carry out the killings as part of the Alarcon family's dark traditions. Jonathan was a suspect only because the crimes mirrored his ancestors' deeds.

  • jonathan
  • lucas
  • priest murderer
  • alarcon
  • suspicion
Q12

What does Jonathan's final stare at the camera mean in Mallari?

Jonathan's unsettling gaze at the camera in the final scene implies that the Mallari curse has not ended but evolved. Having transferred the manananggal parasite to Agnes, he has become the new orchestrator of the family's monstrous legacy, suggesting the horror will continue under his watch, mirroring the pattern that began with Juan Severino centuries earlier.

  • jonathan
  • ending
  • camera
  • curse cycle
  • mallari legacy
Q13

Why does the Mallari film jump between three different timelines?

The nonlinear structure follows Juan Severino in 1812, Johnrey during the Hukbalahap Rebellion, and Jonathan in the present to show how the manananggal curse passes through generations. Each timeline reveals a different stage of the family's dark inheritance, with time travel and astral projection linking the three eras and showing how the sins of the ancestors shape the descendants.

  • three timelines
  • nonlinear narrative
  • generational curse
  • 1812
  • hukbalahap

Movie threads

More Movies Like Mallari, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Mallari tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Movies like Mallari: Horror Stories of Generational Curses

Family bloodlines haunted by inherited evil that refuses to die. Discover horror films like Mallari that follow cursed bloodlines across decades, blending supernatural dread with inherited family trauma. If you liked Mallari's nonlinear storytelling and multi-generational body horror, these movies deliver haunting legacies that refuse to end, perfect for fans seeking the same disturbing atmosphere.

  • generational curse
  • family trauma
  • nonlinear
  • folk horror
  • atmospheric dread
  • body horror
  • Tone: dark, foreboding, bleak
  • Pacing: variable, nonlinear timelines
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Films in this thread typically weave together multiple time periods to reveal how a single curse, deal, or trauma echoes through a family. Present-day characters inherit the sins or bargains of their ancestors and must confront a terrible price, often through nonlinear storytelling that intercuts past and present. The pacing is variable, mixing slow atmospheric investigation with shocking bursts of violence, transformation, or revelation. Endings tend to be bleak or ambiguous, with the curse either continuing forward or leaving permanent scars on every surviving family member.

Why they belong together: These films share a deep dread rooted in the idea that some horrors cannot be escaped, only inherited. They lean on folk horror, family trauma, and nonlinear timelines to create a layered, atmospheric experience where the curse itself becomes a character shaping identities and forcing impossible choices. Together they form a thread of horror where love and violence become entangled across generations.

Movies like Mallari: When Priests and Holy Men Lose Their Way

Devout believers unravel into the very darkness they once condemned. If you liked Mallari's disturbing portrayal of a priest descending into serial murder and madness, explore horror films like it that follow religious figures consumed by darkness, obsession, and unspeakable acts. These haunting stories blend supernatural terror with the collapse of faith, perfect for fans of extreme body horror.

  • religious horror
  • corrupted faith
  • priest
  • possession
  • descent into madness
  • obsessive love
  • Tone: dark, haunting, bleak
  • Pacing: variable, slow psychological descent
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Narratives in this thread usually follow a man of faith whose devotion cracks under pressure from grief, possession, or an obsessive desire to protect someone he loves. He turns to increasingly violent, heretical, or supernatural means to fulfill a vow, often crossing lines that destroy his soul and harm the innocent. The descent is gradual and psychological, punctuated by horrifying transformations or revelations that make his sacred role unrecognizable. Endings are almost always bleak, leaving the viewer with a portrait of corrupted faith and inherited suffering.

Why they belong together: These films share a fascination with the fragility of faith and the dangerous extremes of devotion. They explore how religious authority can mask obsession and how love for family can be weaponized into monstrous acts. The priest or holy figure becomes a vehicle for inherited trauma, possession, and supernatural contamination, while body horror amplifies the corruption of the flesh. Together they form a thread of horror where the sanctuary itself becomes a source of dread.

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Movies Like Mallari

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Every angle

Mallari (2023) Explained: Plot, Ending, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Mallari in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning, the ending explained and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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