This Comic Fantasy film from the philippines is a tale about a man who became a super spiderman albeit with flare and power much less than those of the real "Spiderman" that wo know. The most powerful weapon of Gagamboy is the orange-colored body-fluid secreted from his body. His arch enemy is lpisman, the reincarnation of pure evil, who accquired the superpower by accidently swallowing a mutant cockroach. Gagamboy wages a deadly fight with lpisman to win the love of Lianna, the beauty he adores, and to protect the justice of the world.... In order to make a huge success out of such sub-genre as usually called "Super Hero Genre", it is essential to claim both the "contemporariness" represented by the teen-age culture and a certain "sense" of visual styles unique to B films that would easily cross over different genre boundaries. Seen from the perspective, Gagamboy makes quite a hilarious parody on the Hollywood blockbuster counterpart, Spiderman and the conventions of the superhero genre in general Spiderman stands for. Although Gagamboy keeps to the simple plot structure that is very typical, what makes Gagamboy an unexpectedly entertaining little gem is stable special effects, witty dialogues, and exotic moods that's distinctively tropical. Kudos goes to Eric Mattie, the experienced director who already proved his ability in such intensely dramatic thrillers as Ekis. However, you couldn't miss the mischievous, boyish charm of Vhong Navarro, a.k.a. "Ricky Martin of the Philippines" , who played the role of B-grade action hero, literally throwing his whole body without a stunt body double. Got invitations from the 2004 Udine Far East Film Festival and also from the Hong Kong International Film Festival. (KIM Sang-hoon)