Corazon: Ang Unang Aswang 2012

Corazon, Erich Gonzales, a woman rumored to have been a prostitute during the Second World War, endures harsh social stigma in Magdalena as she and her devoted husband Daniel, Derek Ramsay, grapple with the ache of trying to conceive a child. After seeking guidance from a faith healer, she becomes unexpectedly pregnant, but gives birth to a stillborn baby. That heartbreak shatters her faith and robs her of peace, sparking a brutal nocturnal rampage that targets village children, beginning with the remains of her own child. In the wake of this tragedy, she vanishes into the forest, where she ferociously retreats from humanity and grows stronger in ways that seem almost supernatural.

When Corazon is finally identified and wounded during a failed attack, the village closes in, confronting Daniel and pushing him to locate his wife. Daniel refuses to believe she could be responsible and confides in his friend Naldo, Epy Quizon, that he once witnessed their abusive landlord Matias and his henchmen heading to kill a fellow villager in a manner eerily similar. Corazon then strikes again, attacking Nene, a girl who had befriended her, but she spares the child after Nene reminds her of her past and humanity begins to flicker back.

As the community steels itself to rise against Matias, Corazon is drawn by the desperate cries of Matias’ daughter Lisa and infiltrates his home, where she kills the child. Matias shoots Corazon as she escapes and she staggers into the village carrying her dead child, a sight that cements everyone’s belief in her guilt. In the ensuing chaos, Matias and his men lead the villagers to burn Daniel’s house. In retaliation, Daniel kills Matias and then flees, while a wounded Corazon also vanishes into the night. The two lovers eventually cross paths again in the forest; Corazon urges Daniel to leave, citing her condition, but Daniel proclaims his love and they share a kiss before she disappears once more into the trees.

Naldo confronts Daniel over his decision not to capture Corazon, yet he ultimately allows the pair to pursue whatever fate awaits them in the woods. The final narration reveals that Corazon, now often referred to as an aswang, and Daniel were never seen again, though the townsfolk believe they still linger somewhere nearby. The older lament remains that the couple’s tragedy was born from the cruelty and inhumanity of the times, a cycle of fear that drove them into isolation and into the shadows of the forest.