Will the horror genre bring the audiences back to theaters?
The directors of horror films “Pasahero” and “Nanay, Tatay” — Roman Perez Jr. and Roni S. Benaid, respectively — believed so with Sine Sindak: Ang Ika-5 Yugto, a horror film festival exclusively screened at SM Cinemas from Oct. 30 to Nov. 5. For only P150 per screening, moviegoers can watch a film and for only P300, they can get an all-day access to all the entries participating in the film event.
Direk Roman’s “Pasahero” is about seven train passengers who witness a horrific crime on board but fail to help and speak up about it. They will soon be haunted by their guilt and face misfortunes connected to the incident on the train. The suspense-horror flick stars Louise delos Reyes, Yumi Garcia, Katya Santos, Mark Anthony Fernandez, Keann Johnson, Andre Yllana, Rafa Siguion-Reyna, Dani Zee and Bea Binene. It is presented by Viva Films and JPHLiX Films, produced by Studio Viva in cooperation with BLVCK Films and Pelikula Indiopendent.
During the presscon, the director said he is elated that his film is part of the film festival and can be watched by many at a lower ticket price. “Yun naman ang lagi nating nakikita na mga reactions even sa study ng FDCP (Film Development Council of the Philippines). The study revealed that the middle class and upper middle class are the ones watching films (nowadays).
“But now, (through this film festival), pwedeng manood ang masa because of the cheaper cinema ticket price. We are thankful for this collaboration… We also expect that the audiences, especially the masses, will go back to cinemas.”
The Sine Sindak: Ang Ika-5 Yugto is also a great opportunity to enjoy the Halloween season, he added. “The students are on vacation. Manonood ang mga kabarkada, tapos na ng klase. The timing is perfect and the slots that were given to us as well. It is always an advantage for the local films to be included in the film festival.”
“I believe the reason why we make films is for the audiences. This is a nice opportunity for us to reach a wider audience. Those who no longer watch in cinemas and have lost hope in Philippine cinema, this will encourage them to see films in theaters again and for them to be entertained by Filipino films,” direk Roni concurred.
The filmmaker’s Sine Sindak entry “Nanay, Tatay” is a chilling family horror that stars Aubrey Caraan, Andrea Del Rosario, Heart Ryan, Elia Ilano, Jeffrey Hidalgo, Billy Vileta and Xia Vigor. It is produced by Viva Films and Happy Infinite Productions Inc., and Studio Viva production.
The Sine Sindak: Ang Ika-5 Yugto is “very advantageous” for the industry because the horror stories are in during the Halloween season and the cheaper movie ticket price will make the viewers come back to theaters, direk Roni continued. “We know that movie tickets are pricey (these days). But because of Sine Sindak, for only P150 they can already watch one entry and P300 for an all-day pass. So it’s a great effort to make the people go back to cinemas and we hope that this can help (the film industry).”
CrystalSky Entertainment president and chief executive officer (CEO) Richard Suarez echoed, “The difference of Sine Sindak is to encourage the people to go back to the cinema. At the same time, yung hindi po nanonood ng sine, yung sanay sa piracy, mababalik sa cinema. It’s a different feeling when you attend the Sine Sindak, not only the movie itself but also the feeling of the festivities of the event.”
Apart from “Pasahero” and “Nanay, Tatay,” Viva Films will also feature two foreign films in Sine Sindak, the Indonesian film “The Thorn: One Sacred Night” and the Japanese film “House of Sayuri.”
The other films that will be shown are “My Mother’s Eyes,” “VHS/Beyond,” “Mads” and “Tenement.”