Mother Lily’s horror secret

MANILA, Philippines - Regal Films’ Mother Lily Monteverde (photo) has always found success in producing horror films.

Most recently, Pagpag, her co-production with Star Cinema, scored big at the Metro Manila Film Festival and merited good reviews from the Young Critics Circle.

As far as Mother Lily is concerned, there is no big secret in producing a thrilling box-office success.

“I produce movies that the entire family can enjoy,” she said modestly.

Regal has built a solid and extensive library of hit movies — quite a number belong to the horror genre.

“I am proud of Regal’s horror catalogue — especially the Shake, Rattle & Roll series. Those directed by Peque Gallaga and Ishmael Bernal are timeless classics,” Mother Lily said. “These films are Regal’s masterpieces.”

Regal produces another thrilling crowd pleaser in Aloy Adlawan’s Third Eye, which opens in theaters nationwide today.

Mother Lily has always had soft spot for thrillers.

“I have no third eye,” she said. “But once, while vacationing in Baguio, I had an eerie encounter with a spirit. I was scared.”

Until now, Mother Lily still gets the chills whenever she’s alone. “I can’t go to the toilet on my own. I can’t sleep unless the lights are turned on.”

With Third Eye, she hopes to give viewers a good scare.

She gave Aloy, who wrote Shake, Rattle & Roll 12, among other thrillers, the chance to direct Third Eye.

“I am always on the look out for promising young directors,” she said.

The entire cast of Third Eye has nothing but praises for direk Aloy.

Carla Abellana described direk Aloy as “meticulous but quick.”

“He’s easy to work with. The shoot went smoothly. He is an expert when it comes to horror,” said Carla.

Denise Laurel agreed: “He’s chill. Always calm on the set. If you ask him a question, he will give you the right answer.”

Camille Prats explained: “Since he also wrote the script, he knows his material very well. That’s also the same reason why our shoot went without a hitch. He knows the story’s flow by heart.”

Ejay Falcon pointed out: “It’s my first time to work with a director who doesn’t know how to get mad. He doesn’t scream or curse on the set. That’s why I am not afraid to approach him whenever I have a question.”

Alex Medina related: “The entire team, led by direk Aloy, was very efficient. Direk Aloy knows what he wants. He knows what he’s doing.”