RHEN ESCANO’S last horror movie, “Rooftop”, saw her as a student being terrorized by a ghost in their school.
Now, in Viva’s new fright flick, “Marita”, she plays the title role of the ghost herself, who haunts the students in a school where she used to be the top theatre actress.
“Mahirap palang manakot,” says Rhen at the “Marita” presscon at Viva Cafe.
“Yung character ko, si Marita, puno ng poot at paghihiganti dahil feeling niya, naapi siya nung nabubuhay pa siya.
"Kaya ngayon, nagsasabog siya ng lagim sa mga estudyanteng tine-terrorize niya. Lahat ng scenes ko, nakakapagod.”
Her suicide scene where she hanged herself in front of the audience in their school’s theatre was difficult to shoot.
“Noong first take, I felt hindi convincing ang pagkakakuha kasi maluwag yung lubid sa leeg ko. Hindi ako happy so I asked for a second take.”
Their director, Roni Benaid, told her there is no need for a take two since the first one seems okay.
“Sabi niya sa akin, kaya mo pa ba? Kasi alam niyang natetensiyon na rin ako.
"I said yes and ako mismo ang naglagay ng lubid sa leeg ko at hinigpitan ko. Nang tumalon na ako, parang masasakal talaga ako.
"Buti na lang nag-cut na si Direk and they helped me get the rope off my neck.”
The role is also difficult since she has to put on heavy prosthetic make up as the menacing ghost of Marita.
“Makapal siya, makati. May isang buong araw na naka-prosthetic make up ako at ang hirap.
"When the make up was finally taken off, nagka-rashes talaga ang balat ko.”
But she says it’s all worth it.
“I really want to watch the movie sa loob ng sinehan to see if the audience would be screaming. If they do, then that means nagtagumpay kami in our goal to give them a good scare.”
They shot the film in an old school that looks haunted and during their shoot, she really felt something spooky on the set.
"I love watching horror films kasi hindi ako matatakutin. Then while shooting a scene in the dark theatre, dalawa kami on stage waiting for a take.
"Walang masyadong ilaw except for the camera. Nakatayo kami sa stage, may biglang dumaan sa ibaba, naka-white.
"Sabi ko, ano yun? Nakita rin pala nung katabi ko. So that means dalawa kami who have seen the apparition.
"Hindi ako namalikmata lang. It's so weird! Well, I just hope it's a sign na marami ngang manonood ng movie na ito and it'll be a big hit."
She is glad that she is taking a rest from the sexy films she did recently that required a lot of baring.
“Hindi rin madali gumawa ng sexy films like the ones I did: ‘Untrue’, ‘Adan’, ‘Lulu’, ‘The Other Wife’, ‘Paraluman’ and ‘Secrets of a Nympho’.
"Mahirap kaya maghubad. So doing a horror film like this is a welcome break for me, also the serious drama series I did with Viva One, ‘Kung Hindi Lang Tayo Sumuko.’”
She is just thankful that Viva gives her the opportunity to cross over between Viva One and Viva Max and she also makes movies shown on the big screen occasionally, like “Marita”, which will be showing in theaters nationwide starting November 22.
