Las Espadas is a town steeped in local legends and superstitious culture. Its inhabitants are sophisticated and genteel wealthy landowners and the farmers who serve them for many generations. One of its popular folklore is that of the Killer Bride. Many residents have stories of encountering Camila dela Torre, wearing her blood-spattered wedding gown, wandering the town seeking revenge on the persons who framed her for a murder she didn't commit and killed her. Arrested at the murder scene, Camila is tried and convicted in 1999, and is eventually shunned by her own rich, prominent family and fiancé Vito dela Cuesta who testifies against her. Despite her proclamation of innocence, she is sentenced to life imprisonment. After giving birth to a beautiful baby girl in prison, a sudden freak fire encompasses the entire prison facility. Crying, desperate and unable to locate her newborn daughter, her last words exact revenge on every person who falsely accused her, all whilst her body burned in the flames. 18 years pass and urban legend fuses into reality as a group of teenagers headed by Elias Sanchez again tell the story of Camila. Playfully, they claim that on the day of the blood moon eclipse, the ghost of Camila will possess a new body and kickstart her vow for revenge. As if fulfilling the prophecy, a girl from nowhere, Emma Bonaobra moves to the town. Securing a job as the town's mortuary cosmetologist, she is told of the tale of The Killer Bride but disbelieves it. Lo and behold, Emma wakes uppossessed, gatecrashing her family's grand party event claiming that she is the long-dead Camila, The Killer Bride. The entire town begin to question her motives. Is this a haunting chronicle that connects the rival dela Torre vs. dela Cuesta families who battled for land and politics—or is this simply a tale of The Killer Bride destined to curse the town?
Cast and characters
Main
Joshua Garcia as Elias Sanchez
Janella Salvador as Emma Bonaobra/ Emma Sharon Serrano/ Vida dela Cuesta
The Killer Bride premiered on ABS-CBN on August 12, 2019. It aired weeknights at 9:15 PM PST on the network's Primetime Bida evening block and worldwide via TFC. An extended version of the series, The Killer Bride: Killer Cuts, streamed exclusively on iWant and ran concurrently with the series. Killer Cuts showed the primetime series’ unrated and uncensored scenes.
Production
Series lead Maja Salvador was supposed to do another series which would have been the follow up to the wildly successful Wildflower. However, as the series was to tackle marital infidelity, which she has already done in The Legal Wife, she turned down the role to pursue The Killer Bride. Maja Salvador landed the role in May 2019 when, while doing iWant OriginalsHinahanap-hanap Kita with The Killer Bride co-stars Geoff Eigenmann, Pepe Herrera and Pamu Pamorada, she convinced Business Unit Manager, Roda C. Dela Cerna to let her audition for the role. Although there was trepidation on the part of Dela Cerna as she knew Salvador was supposed to do another series, she nevertheless allowed Salvador to audition because the original actress tapped for the role ultimately turned down the part of Camila. The project Salvador turned down was Ang Lihim ni Ligaya, with Ivana Alawi taking over the lead. The show and the cast was first announced by ABS-CBN on June 28, 2019. The project serves as a reunion project for Maja Salvador and leading man Geoff Eignmann, who has just returned from his stint in the GMA Network. The two have previously worked together on the film Villa Estrella and was also set to star in the teleserye Moon River that was shelved and ultimately did not push through after Eigenmann's move to GMA Network. The series would also see many "firsts" for series lead Janella Salvador. The series would mark the first time she would work with real-life aunts, Maja Salvador and Jobelle Salvador. The series would also see her being paired for the first time with Joshua Garcia, who was previously paired with perrenial loveteam partner and ex-girlfriend Julia Barretto.
Reception
The Killer Bride has been well-received by viewers and netizens alike with the show's episodes not only obtaining good ratings but also making for top trending topics. The show has been praised for its writing, its twists in particular being cited for subverting the horror genre. These twists in the story have themselves become top trending topics on their own. The show has likewise been praised for integrating a measure of social commentary on its scenes and its dialogue.
Ratings
From its pilot episode, The Killer Bride proved itself as a hit by recording a high pilot episode rating of 23.1%. In the same month as its debut, the show was pitted against a new rival which it managed to beat in the ratings and also saw the show registering its highest rating, 25.6% for its August 30, 2019 episode. This was notable because its timeslot normally sees a steep decline in ratings. While its finale rating is noticeably smaller as compared to its peak and its pilot rating, its finale rating of 19.3% is still considered a success in comparison to the show it was pitted against as shown by it being the fifth most watched program on the day of its finale.
