Its lead actress, Angel Aquino, realized as much when she reported for work on her first day of filming. Although this movie marked her first foray into the horror genre, she didn’t expect to be challenged by her role as Rosa. Rosa is the mother of two boys named Amiel and Rommel (played by Martin del Rosario and Enrique Gil, respectively), and since she is also a mother in real life, Angel thought it would be easy to bring Rosa to life onscreen.
“I thought it would be natural for me, pero nung nandun ako ang hirap, lalo na when we were filming a particularly emotional scene. Muntik ko nang hindi kayanin. I even tried to convince our writers to change the scene pero in the end I managed to do it naman. Dahil sa Amorosa: The Revenge, I realized mas challenging pala umarte when your character is similar to who you are off-cam,” she says.
Amorosa: The Revenge director Topel Lee, who helmed many successful horror movies, says he signed on to sit in the director’s chair because he was attracted to the script. “Actually, nung nabasa ko yung script nito, natuwa ako kasi sa dramatic part nung story, although siyempre I also liked the horror. Yung drama dito sa Amorosa: The Revenge is yung character ni Angel will be forced to make a difficult choice that will have devastating consequences on her family. It’s the mixture of drama and horror that makes it different.”
Direk Topel promises that despite the drama, horror movie junkies will still find plenty to enjoy about Amorosa: The Revenge because he made an effort to present the horror elements in a new and exciting way. “As a viewer, siyempre pag napanood niyo ito, you will get pulled in because of the drama, pero iniba ko rin yung horror. Personally, wala pa akong nakikitang movie na may ganitong klaseng twists.”
Enrico Santos of Skylight Films reveals he and his team began working on Amorosa: The Revenge as early as two years ago. They wanted to be sure it presented a fresh approach to the horror genre. “Amorosa: The Revenge was made with the intention of coming up with a horror movie na may halong family drama, pero mas intimate,” he explains. “Kasi yung mga horror movies ng Star Cinema, mas large-scale at mas naka-focus sa mga big moments.”
He adds that their other goal was to come up with a horror movie that is uniquely Filipino. “Hindi Asian, hindi Japanese, basta yung intimate na masasabi namin na tunay na ganito manakot ang Pinoy. Interesting when you watch it and see all the elements that we used to achieve that kind of effect,” Enrico promises.
Now that Amorosa: The Revenge has begun its reign of terror, head to the nearest theater so you can see for yourself if Enrico and his team were successful in ushering in a new era for Filipino horror movies.
Also starring in Amorosa: The Revenge are Empress, Carlo Aquino, Ejay Falcon and introducing Jane Oineza. Franco Daza, Nico Antonio, Jairus Aquino, Mosang, Richard Quan, with the special participation of child star Xyriel Manabat, round out the cast of the movie.
