Dan Villegas, Award-Winning Director Noted For Doing Romantic Films, Now Tries His Hand At A Horror Flick, 'Ilawod', And Promises To Scare You Out Of Your Wits

DIRECTOR DAN VILLEGAS has the most enviable track record among young filmmakers today. All his films are acclaimed, from his indie debut in “Mayohan” which gave Lovi Poe a Cinemalaya best actress award. His subsequent mainstream films are all blockbuster hits and some also won awards for him as best director and acting awards for his actors like Jennylyn Mercado (two best actress awards in a row), Derek Ramsay and Jericho Rosales: “English Only, Please”, “Walang Forever”, “BreakUp Playlist”, “Always Be My Maybe” and “How to Be Yours”.

After making nothing but romantic films, he now tries doing a horror movie in Quantum Films’ “Ilawod” which starts showing on January 18. The screenplay is written by Palanca awardee Yvette Uy Tan whose works show water as the common denominator in her past projects like “Sidhi, “ “The Child Abandoned, “Pasig River,” “The Bridge,” “San Juanico" and “Stars” (set in Balicasag Island, Bohol). She now makes use of the element of water in “Ilawod”, which means downstream, the opposite of “ilaya”, which means upstream.



The story shows how the Ilawod elemental messes up the family life of a peaceful couple, Ian Veneracion and Iza Calzado. Ian is Dennis, a reporter who works for an online news publications that covers supernatural stories. Together with his photographer, Epi Quizon as Carlo, they cover a story of possession in the mountains.

Unknown to Ian, when he returns to the city, he brings home the Ilawod with him and it then possesses his wife Iza as Kathy, their daughter Xyriel Manabat as Bea and youngest child Harvey Bautista as Ben. Their family then has to fight the Ilawod to save not just their lives for survival, but more importantly, their souls.

 The trailer of “Ilawod” is now available on the net and it has had more than a million hits so far. Horror fans are excited as they want to see how a competent director like Dan Villegas will do in his first foray into the horror genre. Will he succeed in scaring us and making us jump out of our seats?



“This is definitely a new challenge for me kasi after doing love stories, mananakot naman ako ngayon ng viewers,” says Dan. “When I read the script of Yvette, nakita kong kakaiba ito kaysa sa usual fright stories about ghosts or vampires. The ilawod here is a life force that is more terrifying than ghosts or aswangs and the plot will grip the viewer from start to finish. Ian and Iza are superb and convincing as the terrified and harassed parents. Former child star Xyriel, best known for ‘Agua Bendita’ and ‘100 Days to Heaven’, is now almost a teenager and shows new skills as the possessed daughter. Harvey is the youngest son of Mayor Herbert Bautista who used to be in ‘Goin’ Bulilit’ and he now shows great promise dahil matatakot kayo sa kanya. Kasama rin sa cast si Therese Malvar, who won best actress recently in the Moscow International Filmfest. So if you enjoy having a good scare, don’t miss ‘Ilawod’ when it opens in theatres on January 18.”