Sineng Pambansa Horror Plus Film Fesitival 2014

The Film Development Council of the Philippines, in partnership with SM Cinema, will present the Sineng Pambansa Horror plus Film Festival, which opens on October 29, 2014 and will run until November 4 in all SM Cinema branches nationwide. 

The films participating in the festival include “T’yanak” by co-directors Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes, “Hukluban” by director Gil Portes, “Bacao” by director Edgardo Vinarao, and “Sigaw sa Hatinggabi” by director Romy Suzara.

T’yanak is the story of Julie’s (Judy Ann Santos) adopted baby who transforms into a monster and terrorizes their quiet town of Putting Bato with a series of brutal murders, including the wife of townsman (Sid Lucero) who gets wrongly imprisoned for T’yanak’s crime.  Among T’yanak’s targets are Julie’s brother (Tom Rodriquez) and his fiancee (Solenn Heussaff).  Julie, who has suffered miscarriage after miscarriage in her efforts to have her own child, is unwilling to turn over her adopted baby to the authorities despite the many murders it has committed.

Hukluban is a gothic horror romance.  The story was inspired by 1983 drama thriller “Gabi kung sumikat ang araw,” which features a cursed woman who is beautiful woman at night but transforms into a hukluban, an aging old woman, by sunrise.  Immortal, the woman can only hope for true love to break the curse.  “Hukluban” examines the plight of the cursed woman, Mira, over the span of three eras over six generations and her search for true love. She bears a secret curse, romancing three men in different eras in search of true love that may break the spell that binds her. The film stars
Krista Miller and Kiko Matos

Bacao is about the torment of a young wife, Mayet, struggling to become pregnant.  Mayet, played by Michelle Madrigal, is an enchanting and desired young woman from a remote village of Isabela who experiences a sexual awakening upon her marriage to Abel (Arnold Reyes).  As their village is in the midst of a corn bountiful harvest, their sensual partnership also flourishes, though it is paradoxically fruitless.  Mayet’s anxiety and paranoia grows as pregnancy evades her.  To what extent will Mayet go to fulfill her desire of having a child?

 

 Sigaw sa Hatinggabi is about an investigation into possible murder of a battered wife whose husband is well known.  It is not clear whether the woman was murdered or committed suicide. The film is told in a “Big Brother” style, as a documentary TV production crew records the efforts of a paranormal investigation group to find who killed the woman.  With the leadership of a celebrity medium, the group suspects that the murder was committed by the ghost of a serial killer who died more than two decades ago.  As the investigation continues, the celebrity medium keeps a secret that may endanger everyone trying to solve the mystery murder.  The cast includes Regine Angeles, Richard Quan, Afi Africa, Vangie Labalan, Chanel Latorre, David Karell, Alvin Anson, and Paloma.

This year’s entries to the first ever Horror plus Film Festival stretch the limits of horror, just in time for Halloween weekend. The Sineng Pambansa HORROR plus Film Festival will run from October 29 - November 4 at SM Cinema branches nationwide.