ERIN ESPIRITU is a child actress who joined Mini Miss U and became a part of Coco Martin’s “Batang Quiapo”.
She has also done two movies: “Biyak” by Direk Joel Lamangan where she played an orphan girl, and “Papa Mascot” where she played the daughter of Ken Chan.
She now plays her most important role to date as Jade, the mysterious girl who suddenly shows up at the doorstep of Derek Ramsay and Beauty Gonzalez one stormy night and turns out to be Derek’s biological daughter.
Derek is thought to be infertile in the movie, so it comes as a big surprise that he has sired a child with a waitress in Marinduque after they had a one night stand.
At first, he would not believe it, but a DNA test proves that he is really the father of Jade.
Erin is 7 years old and the youngest of two kids.
She is at the top of her grade one class.
She speaks English fluently and she says she is always chosen to represent their school in inter-school competitions for math and spelling bee contests where, she adds proudly, she always wins.
How did she find shooting “Kampon” with Derek Ramsay, Beauty Gonzalez and Zeinab Harake as her co-stars?
“Okay naman po,” she says. “Mababait po silang lahat sa akin.
"Hindi naman po ako nahirapan kasi they make sure na comfortable ako, pati doon sa scene na itinali ako at kunwari nakalutang ako sa kisame.
"Maingat po sila, lalo si Direk King Palisoc. At saka meron po akong acting coach at may psychologist din sa set para tulungan ako.”
At the movie’s premiere night at SM Megamall, the theater people initially wouldn’t allow her to enter the moviehouse as “Kampon” is rated R-13 due to some violent scenes.
But Quantum Films producer Atty. Joji V. Alonso explained to them that she will just greet the press and the people who attended the premiere night, then go out again of the theatre.
So she was allowed to get into the theatre and she joined the cast in front of the screen to greet the guests.
Then before the movie starts, she is escorted out of the theatre again. Well, it’s a pity that Erin won’t be able to see the movie as she really delivered a superb performance.
Actually, she is the film’s title roler, the “Kampon”, which is translated in the film’s credit titles as “surrogate” (which means substitute) when “kampon” in Tagalog really means a follower or disciple of the devil or darkness.
The movie starts with Zeinab, dying but an albularyo brings back her to life through some nefarious means.
Then, after a fatal accident, her daughter Jade appears to Beauty and Derek, saying her mom cannot return (hindi makabalik) and it turns out Jade and Zeinab’s brother, Nico Antonio, want to steal Beauty’s body so Zeinab can possess it. But will they succeed?
The ending seems nebulous, so be very observant when you watch the film’s climax so you won’t miss some details.
The story’s basic premise about body snatching seems promising, but so many elements are injected into the storytelling and yet are not adequately explained, so they do not really coalesce into one cohesive whole.
We won’t list them down here as it may spoil your viewing pleasure.
Maybe the film’s writer and director intentionally want to leave them hanging in the air and just make the viewer to draw their own conclusions.
But knowing most "segurista" Pinoy viewers, they don’t want things to be left “bitin”.
But one thing that we wish were explained more satisfyingly is: WHY is the girl so powerful? She’s really scary as she cannot only predict the future and someone’s death, but also revive dead people, levitate, cling on the ceiling like Spiderman, and even explode people’s head into pieces in an instant.
But where exactly did she get such extraordinary skills and powers?
There are no answers.
Derek and Beauty are both splendid in their roles as the beleaguered couple, even Zeinab Harake in a non-speaking role, but it’s truly Erin Espiritu who runs away with the film as the girl whose very dark origins must have surely come from hell.
The success or failure of the movie hangs on her ability to unnerve the viewer and we must say she really nails every beat.
She does deliver as the seemingly angelic girl who turns out to be the devil’s descendant.
