Aga Muhlach, Mylene Dizon and Vilma Santos. | CDN Digital photo
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – Following the success of Mallari in 2023, Mentorque Productions is offering another film to the Cebuanos – “Uninvited” – its official entry to the 50th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).
John Bryan Diamante, the film’s executive producer, said they keep coming back to Cebu because they consider the island province as “one of the biggest markets outside of Metro Manila,” having the biggest seats in cinemas.
But since they do not have a local network here, Diamante said, they had to work hard on their local promotions.
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On Sunday, December 8, Mentorque Productions brought the film’s powerhouse casts here for their “Uninvited Gatecrashers Tour Cebu.”
Among those present were Star for All Seasons Vilma Santos, Aga Muhlach, Nadine Lustre, Tirso Cruz III, Mylene Dizon, Ron Angeles, RK Bagatsing, and Cholo Barretto.
Vilma Santos and Nadine Lustre. | CDN Digital photo
‘Uninvited’
The film is about Eva Candelaria (Vilma Santos), who thirst for revenge against billionaire Guilly Vega (Aga Mulach), who murdered her only daughter 10 years ago.
Candelaria pretends to be a socialite as she attends Vega’s birthday party. But as she stalks the people who were responsible for her daughter’s death, she had to make life-or-death choices that will save her life.
Diamante said during their Cebu press conference that ‘Uninvited’ was based on the concept that Santos provided. After having starred in over 200 films, he said that the Star for All Seasons wanted to do something different for this year’s MMFF.
Santos said that playing the role of Candelaria was very challenging.
“I think ‘yong sa preparations., malaking tulong din ang support of my director, direct Dan Villegas. Kasi siya po yong nagmomotivate sa akin paano yong role ni Eva Candelaria. Paano i-aatack ito into every scene that we do,” she said.
‘Uninvited’ is Villegas comeback directorial film after six years. It is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Shift in movie choices
Diamante said that after doing Mallari, a Filipino horror film in the 2023 MMFF, they decided to do a thriller-drama this year. He said that the preference of moviegoers has drastically changed through the years.
In the past, MMFF that opens on Christmas Day is dominated by fantasy movies that are for the families. Recently, moviegoers prefer those that showcase the talents and skills of its actors.
“The Filipinos are changing its taste and standard. Sa 10 films sa MMFF wala nang pambata, fantasy films unlike before,” he said.
