Haunted Mansion (2015 film)
| Haunted Mansion | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpg) One of the theatrical film poster of Haunted Mansion | |
| Directed by | Jun Lana |
| Produced by |
Lily Monteverde Roselle Monteverde |
| Screenplay by |
Jun Lana Elmer Gatchallian |
| Story by |
Jun Lana Renato Custodio Marlon Miguel |
| Starring |
Janella Salvador Marlo Mortel Jerome Ponce Janice de Belen Iza Calzado |
| Music by | Francis Concio |
| Cinematography | Carlo Mendoza |
| Edited by |
Benjamin Tolentino Ilsa Malsi |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Regal Entertainment |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | Philippines |
| Language |
Filipino English |
| Box office | ₱ 140.8 million est. |
Haunted Mansion (formerly Retreat House and originally titled as Rest House) is a 2015 Filipino supernatural, horror film directed and written by Jun Lana, starring Janella Salvador, Marlo Mortel, Jerome Ponce, Janice de Belen and Iza Calzado. This is the debut film of Janella Salvador after their successful stints on television.[1] It is an official entry to the 41st Metro Manila Film Festival. It was release on December 25, 2015.[2][3]
The film follows a group of high school kids who are spending the night in a retreat house.When they learn that the retreat house is haunted, they set out to look for the ghosts just for fun, but find out soon enough that the urban legends are real.[4] The film was a box office success earning ₱140 million in 3 three weeks of showing.The film received generally positive reviews from film critics praising its cinematography,visual effects ,production design and musical score. The film's cast was also praised for its good performances.
Plot
A young girl named Ella came from a middle class family and studies inn a Catholic school. She gets bullied from some of her classmates due to her supernatural experience and abilities. Her whole class was assigned to join on a retreat at an abandoned mansion that was converted into a retreat house in a province away from Manila. While they're staying at the retreat house, Ella experiences many paranormal occurrences that reveal the secrets of her past and the truth behind the buried secrets of the mansion.
Cast
- Janella Salvador as Ella
- Marlo Mortel as Adrian
- Jerome Ponce as Jacob
- Janice de Belen as Miss Gonzales
- Iza Calzado as Donya Amara Lobregat
- Dominic Ochoa as Father Anthony
- LJ Reyes as Veronica Lobregat
- Joem Bascon as Jaime
- Sharlene San Pedro as Faye
- Ingrid dela Paz as Megan Fabregas
- Devon Seron as Allison
- Eliza Pineda as Jessie
- Phytos Ramirez as Jack
- Paolo Gumabao as Steve
- Lilet as Ella's mother
- Allan Paule as Ella's father
- Vangie Labalan as Manang Selya
- Sue Prado as Miss Taas
- Archie Adamos as Mang Anding
- Anthony Falcon as Amara's Ghost
- Mara Lopez as Teacher
Production
Pre-production
The script for the film, originally entitled Rest House, took five years to perfect.[5]
Budget
According to Lily Monteverde, Regal Entertainment decided to enter the film for the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival instead of another installment of the Shake, Rattle and Roll series. The budget that would have been allotted for a Shake, Rattle and Roll film was allotted for Haunted Mansion instead. All request of director Jun Lana was granted by Regal and the production design was deemed very expensive by Monteverde. Monteverde said that the film has the biggest budget among the horror entries at the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival.[6]
Filming
Shooting for the film began as early as April 2015. Director Jun Lana, said that the film is not rushed so it may be improved. The film was shot in Cabuyao, Laguna in a mansion owned by the Marcoses.[5][6]
The house was made to look older for the film while the venue was made to look brand-new for the flashback scenes set in the 1950s. A hole as big as a swimming pool was dug for a two-minute scene.[6] Additional shooting days were made for the final touch ups.[5]
Creepy experiences on the set
Paolo Gumabao, who plays the character Steve in the movie, shared during the press conference that he, his stylist, and his personal assistant (PA) were "ghost hunting" on the second floor of the mansion on a break from filming. He and his stylist went into a room, only to have the door close behind them –there was no wind and his PA was at the opposite end of the hallway outside. [4]
Actress Ingrid dela Paz said she, Sharlene San Pedro, and Eliza Pineda, all heard a little boy talking on the second floor too. Meanwhile, after the press conference, Janella told reporters that her mother and brother were inside a tent when they heard an old man moaning . [4]
Post production
Some minor edits were made during the post-production process.[5]
Release
The film was released on Christmas Day, December 25, 2015 under Regal Entertainment as an official entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival. The film had an special screening at Greenhills Theatre Mall on December 18.[7]
Marketing
On October 25, 2015 Regal Films released the first teaser trailer of the film.[8] It was followed by the first official trailer of the film which was released on November 26.[9] Another trailer was released by Regal Films on December 14 to promote the film.[10]
Rating
The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) gave the film a rating of PG.
Reception
Box office
The film opened in more than 40 cinemas and earned ₱10 million in its first day of showing.The film landed on 3rd spot on its opening day.[11]
On December 27, 2015 according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) the film is at the 4th spot from the box office with ₱29 million.[12] And again, it landed on the 3rd Spot and ended up being the 3rd most watched film this year's MMFF it earned more than ₱ 140.8 million in less than 3 weeks.
Critical reception
Special screening
Haunted Mansion received positive reviews during its special screening at Greenhills Theatre Mall on December 18, 2015.[7][13]
A review from jobonsol.net that "I had to close my eyes because it is really scary".[14]
Official release
Haunted Mansion received generally positive reviews from film critics. The film was praised for its cinematography and special effects, Lana's direction was given praises too.The cast was praised for its good performances in the film as well.
A film critic from Ely's Planet gave a rating of 7/10 saying,"DESPITE SOME WEAK points, Haunted Mansion is a breath of fresh air to Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) as it takes the audience to various shocking surprises in the course of around two hours."[15]
Starmometer also gave a positive review stating that, "The film succeeds in building up tension and keeping the story from being predictable. The technical aspects are very strong from sounds to cinematography, and from make-up to production design. The lighting and the location itself create a pretty decent horror experience. The main cast, on the other hand, is all right. The standout in the cast, however, is Iza Calzado who established a scary presence in the second half of the film." Starmometer gave a rating 8.5/10.
On top of it, this horror film has outstanding cinematography, an excellent musical scoring and a fairly commendable production design.
- Pablo Tariman from PHILSTAR[16]
Oggs Cruz from rappler says that in spite of the familiarity of the premise and title, 'Haunted Mansion' is something else.[17]He even added that " Carlo Mendoza’s cinematography is wonderfully precise, lending credibility to the atmosphere that Lana seeks to create. Mendoza knows how to use both light and shadows to evoke a certain sense of unease. The film’s maturely constructed imagery is assisted by a sound design that does not rely on noise and glaring orchestrations to scare. [18] While Lana still employs shock tactics to keep the film’s audience at the edge of their seats, the film is nevertheless deliberate in its pacing. It creeps meaningfully, initially concentrating on the banal concerns of its characters before thrusting its purpose of betraying innocent beliefs with a climax that haphazardly has the lives of all the characters, whether they are good or bad, endangered with explicit savagery." [19]
Accolades
| Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41st Metro Manila Film Festival[20] | Best Supporting Actress | Iza Calzado | Nominated |
| Best Production Design | Jerann Ordinario | Nominated | |
| Best Visual Effects | Imaginary Friends | Nominated | |
| 32nd PMPC Star Awards for Movies | New Movie Actress of the Year | Janella Salvador | Won |
| New Movie Actor of the Year | Marlo Mortel | Won | |
References
- ↑ "MarNella talks about Haunted Mansion". push.abs-cbn.com news. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
- ↑ "MMDA announces revised list of MMFF 2015 movies". Philippines: GMA News. 13 September 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
- ↑ "METRO MANILA FILM FESTIVAL (MMFF) 2015 COMPLETE LIST OF ENTRIES". Philippines: The List PH. 22 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- 1 2 3 "MMFF 2015 Things to know about "Haunted Mansion"". rappler.
- 1 2 3 4 Abando, Paulyn (4 December 2015). "Jun Lana to bring on the chills this Christmas" (in English and Filipino). Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
- 1 2 3 Bautista, Mario (5 December 2015). "Janella recalls emotional reunion with her father" (in English and Filipino). The Philippine Star. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
- 1 2 "HM Special Screening". Regal Entertainment. December 18, 2015.
- ↑ "Haunted Mansion (2015) TEASER- Metro Manila Film Festival 2015 Official Entry". YouTube. December 14, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
- ↑ "Haunted Mansion (2015) Trailer - Metro Manila Film Festival 2015 Official Entry". YouTube. November 26, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
- ↑ "Haunted Mansion (2015) Trailer 2- Metro Manila Film Festival 2015 Official Entry". YouTube. December 14, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
- ↑ "MMFF, taun-taon na lang may kontrobersiya!". Philippine Star. December 27, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
- ↑ "2015 MMFF December 25-27 Box Office". PEP. December 28, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
- ↑ "Cinema Bravo HM Review". Cinema Bravo. December 18, 2015.
- ↑ "jobonsol.net Haunted Mansion Review". jobonsol.net. December 18, 2015.
- ↑ "Haunted Mansion "Ely's Planet Review". Ely's Planet. December 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Haunted Mansion PHILSTAR REVIEW". PHILSTAR. December 28, 2015.
- ↑ "'Haunted Mansion' review:Teenagers in torment". rappler. December 30, 2015.
- ↑ "'Haunted Mansion' review:Teenagers in torment". rappler. December 30, 2015.
- ↑ "'Haunted Mansion' review:Teenagers in torment". rappler. December 30, 2015.
- ↑ Smith, Chuck. "Winners: 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival awards night". Philippine Star. Retrieved 28 December 2015.