Uninvited (2024 film)
| Uninvited | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Dan Villegas |
| Written by | Dodo Dayao |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Pao Orendain |
| Edited by | Marya Ignacio |
| Music by | Len Calvo |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | Philippines |
| Language | Filipino |
Uninvited is an upcoming Philippine psychological thriller film written by Dodo Dayao and directed by Dan Villegas. It stars Vilma Santos, Aga Muhlach and Nadine Lustre. The film is part of the ten official entries of the 50th Metro Manila Film Festival.[1][2]
Premise
[edit]Uninvited covers an event spanning in just one day; Wealthy businessman Guilly Vega (Aga Muhlach) throws a lavish party at his mansion to celebrate his birthday. However Eva Candelaria (Vilma Santos) gatecrashes his party to avenge her daughter who was killed by Vega a decade prior.
Cast
[edit]- Vilma Santos as Lilia / Eva Candelaria, a woman who poses as a socialite to crash Guilly's party to avenge her deceased daughter's death.[3][4][5][6]
- Aga Muhlach as Guilly Vega, a billionaire who host a lavish party for his own birthday. He murdered Eva's only daughter a decade ago before the start of the film's main story.[5][7]
- Nadine Lustre as Nicole, Guilly's daughter who is involved in a lot of vices and hated her father. Lustre remarked that her role as Nicole is "very extreme" and is largely a "polar opposite" on how she acts in real life.[8] Lustre agreed to work in Uninvited after learning that Santos and Mulach are involved in the film.[9]
Other cast members include Tirso Cruz III, Mylene Dizon, Elijah Canlas, Gabby Padilla, RK Bagatsing, Lotlot de Leon, Ketchup Eusebio, Cholo Barretto, Gio Alvarez, and Ron Angeles[10][6]
Production
[edit]Uninvited with a working title of Project Red[7], was co-produced by Mentorque Productions and Project 8 Projects with Dan Villegas as its director and Dodo Dayao as its writer.[11] While Dayao is credited as Uninvited's writer, co-star Vilma Santos provided significant output for the film's story. Due to Santos' candidacy for Batangas governor in the upcoming 2025 Philippine elections, production of the film was expedited.[12]Uninvited also marks as Villegas' return in film directing since Hintayan ng Langit in 2018.[3][13]
Mentorque has hinted that it has proposed seveal film projects for Santos as early as May 2024. Among these proposals were for a thriller film and Santos expressed interest to star in a type of project which she has never done before.[14] In August 2024, Mentorque announced its collaboration with Project 8 Projects for a "dark" film starring Santos.[15] Santos describes the film as a happening in 24 hours which starts nice but ends as "dilapidated".[16]
Principal photography was already underway for the film as of September 2024. Production for Uninvited needed to be finished by the end of the month to be an eligible entry for the second batch of films for the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival.[17] The title of the film was announced in that month.[18] Uninvited was filmed in several houses with the scenes edited in post-production to make it seem like they were set in one huge mansion.[19]
The production team claims that Uninvited is the first film in the Philippines to be filmed with a pair of custom-built Cooke Optics Anamorphic Full Frame Special Flare lenses fitted in an Arri Alexa 35 digital cinema camera. CMB Film Services procured the equipment with the preferred specifications given by cinematographer Pao Orendain. The cost of the lens alone is said by the studio to be enough to produce another film by itself.[5]
The production team rejected the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board's recommendation to cut out some scenes for a more lenient rating, from R-16 to R-13.[20]
Release
[edit]Uninvited will be released theatrically in December 25, 2024 as one of the entries for the 50th Metro Manila Film Festival[2] by Warner Bros. Pictures.[12] It is also planned to be screened in cinemas outside the Philippines during the film festival's run. The organizers have allowed screenings for the film, provided that it would not be streamed online during the exhibitions' runs.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ Lim, Aubrey Shane (October 22, 2024). "'Uninvited,' 'Hold Me Close,' and more included in MMFF's second batch of entries for 2024". Philstar Life. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ a b "Metro Manila Film Festival announces last 5 official entries for 2024 edition". Rappler. October 22, 2024. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ a b "Mystery and revenge in 'Uninvited'". Malaya Business Insight. November 21, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Severo, Jan Milo (October 28, 2024). "'Uninvited' producer admits Vilma, Aga, Nadine film too pricey but worth it". The Philippine Star. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Cruz, Marinel (November 25, 2024). "MMFF 2024: 'Uninvited' uses cutting-edge cam, lenses". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ a b Manila Bulletin Entertainment (October 23, 2024). "Star-studded #MMFF2024 entry 'Uninvited' drops first-look teaser". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ a b Santos, Rhea Manila (November 24, 2024). "Vilma Santos and Aga Muhlach reunite onscreen after 30 years in 'Uninvited'". ABS-CBN News (in English and Filipino). Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ "Nadine, Vilma aminadong na-challenge sa 'Uninvited': 'Sobrang extreme!'" [Nadine, Vilma admitted being challenged in ‘Uninvited’: ‘Very extreme!’]. Bandera (in Filipino). Philippine Daily Inquirer. November 24, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ "Nadine minura-mura si Aga; agad-agad nag-YES sa 'Uninvited'" [Nadine threw swear words at Aga; immediately said YES in ‘Uninvited’]. Bandera (in Filipino). Philippine Daily Inquirer. November 26, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ "WATCH: Teaser for Vilma Santos' film with Aga Muhlach, Nadine Lustre released". ABS-CBN News. October 23, 2024. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ "'Uninvited' shakes up 50th MMFF with star-studded cast, crew". Malaya Business Insight. October 23, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
- ^ a b "Vilma, Aga, at Nadine sanib-puwersa sa MMFF 2024 movie Uninvited" [Vilma, Aga, and Nadine joined forces in MMFF 2024 movie Uninvited]. PEP.ph (in Filipino). October 24, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
- ^ Cerezo, Anna (September 27, 2024). "Dan Villegas makes film comeback after 6 years with 'Uninvited'". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Requintina, Robert (May 26, 2024). "Mentorque producer Bryan Dy reveals another Vilma Santos-Recto film on the horizon". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
- ^ Tomada, Nathalie (August 28, 2024). "Mentorque and Project 8 Projects to team up anew for Vilma Santos' new film". The Philippine Star. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
- ^ PEP Troika (September 11, 2024). "Cast Reveal: Judy Ann Santos at Lorna Tolentino bida sa Espantaho" [Cast Reveal: Judy Ann Santos and Lorna Tolentino main leads in Espantaho]. PEP.ph (in Filipino). Philippine Entertainment Portal, Inc. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- ^ "Vilma Santos, nagsimula nang mag-shooting ng Uninvited" [Vilma Santos, already started filming for Uninvited]. PEP.ph (in Filipino). Philippine Entertainment Portal, Inc. September 18, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
- ^ Escuadro, Kiko (September 19, 2024). "Vilma Santos, Aga Muhlach, Nadine Lustre to headline upcoming movie 'Uninvited'". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
- ^ "Ketchup Eusebio, umaasa ba ng acting award para sa Uninvited?" [Is Ketchup Eusebio expecting an acting award for Uninvited?]. PEP.ph (in Filipino). Philippine Entertainment Portal, Inc. November 25, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Aguja, Januar Junior (December 9, 2024). "MMFF thriller 'Uninvited' won't compromise, accepts R-16 rating". The Philippine Star. Retrieved December 15, 2024.