CHITO ROÑO HELMS QUANTUM FILMS' 20TH-YEAR OFFERING 'ESPANTAHO'

MASTER HORROR STORYTELLER CHITO RONO initially didn't want to Venture into horror again, but there's a compelling reason why he's returning to the genre with the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2024 entry "Espantaho," produced by Quantum Films.

- By NATHALIE M. TOMADA

Direk Chito, whose last horror film was "Ang mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan," admitted that he's been getting script offers, including for submission to this year's 50th MMFF, and "lahat sila gusto horror ang gawin ko."

He said that he's been Vocal about wanting to do drama. "Nakalimutan na nila na meron akong 'Private Show,' 'Olongapo,' 'Dekada 70,' 'Yamashita,' 'Bata, Bata.. Paano ka Ginawa?' lahat yan. Ang naalala nila 'Feng Shui' (lau ghs ), " he said, referring to his now-iconic horror movie, during an intimate media interview, including The STAR.

When asked what type of film he would prefer to do instead of horror, he said, "Gusto ko musical, charingl Pero nagawa ko na rin yan ('Emir'). I really want to do drama. Or horror comedy, but more of a comedy. Natatakot ka, sisigaw ka pero matatawa ang mga tao."

However, he couldn't turn down the opportunity to direct Espantaho, primarily because it was his own brainchild.

"Idea ko yung project," he shared.

"Gusto ko naman siya, wala naman pumilit sa akin."

Based on the synopsis, "Espantaho" tells the story of Monet (Judy Ann Santos) and her mother Rosa (Lorna Tolentino) who are mourning over the death of the family patriarch Pabling (Emil Sandoval). The harvest from Pabling's rice land helped them survive all these years, but when a drought came, Monet had to put up a small business, buying and selling antiques.