Vlad Bunoan

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Jude Cartalaba

<p>When &quot;Shake, Rattle &amp; Roll&quot; (SRR) debuted in 1984 under the masterful hands of Emmanuel Borlaza, Ishmael Bernal, and Peque Gallaga, it set the gold standard for Filipino horror. </p><p>Four decades later, with all three film legends now gone, Regal Entertainment is keeping their legacy alive with the 17th installment of the franchise — premiering this December 25 at the 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival.”</p><p>In a time when horror remains one of the most enduring genres for Filipino audiences, how did this latest chapter of &quot;SRR&quot; take shape?</p><p>“Regal Entertainment has been planning for the follow-up to &#x27;SRR Xtreme&#x27; even before I joined the company in 2024,&quot; JP Abellera, head of creative content, shared. &quot;When I was hired, Ms. Roselle (Monteverde) told me one thing -- she wanted &#x27;SRR&#x27; to be included again in the MMFF. So, we asked ourselves, ‘How can we make the 17th installment of the franchise interesting for the MMFF selection committee and the audience?’ I gathered a group of brainstormers – Trish Delez, Carmel Jacomille, Dip Mariposque, and Tyron Santos – and we developed possible stories for &#x27;SRR.&#x27;</p><p>“Ms. Roselle and Keith liked the idea of setting the chapters in the past, present, and the future. Additionally, they appreciated the concept of a single, malevolent entity as the source of all the deaths and destruction throughout the three chapters. That led us to think, what if the stories are separate, but you eventually realize they are all connected?</p><p>“Now, that got us really excited! We formed a team of writers to flesh out the stories -- Alex Castor, Onay Sales-Camero, and Gina Marissa Tagasa. It was really fun working with them because they were all horror aficionados. Noreen Capili, who is also the project&#x27;s creative manager, and I guided them in the writing and rewriting of the screenplay.”</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:633px;display:block"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17642864331672.jpg" style="width:633px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Regal Entertainment"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Regal Entertainment</span></span></span></div><p>After gathering all the brilliant minds to work on the stories to be told, the creatives explained how they came up with each episode.</p><p>“Horror, just like drama, has always been a part of the Pinoy entertainment table. For one, we are naturally superstitious and deeply connected to our folklore,&quot; Tagasa, the writer behind episode three, stressed.</p><p>“In mainstream drama, the more heart-wrenching it is, the more it appeals to us. In horror, the scarier, the more we love it. Pinoys still believe that the supernaturals can be defeated by the cross, which represents faith in God.”</p><p>Sales-Camero agreed with Tagasa. “Horror is already part of our culture at makikita nga ito sa superstitions at folklore natin,&quot; she said.</p><p>“Even sa school, lumaki akong habang tinuturo sa class kung sino ang mga bayani at presidente natin, outside class time, ang interesting at engaging na kwentuhan during recess with classmates ay tungkol sa mga multo, white ladies, aswang, pati ano&#x27;ng ibig sabihin ng photos kung saan walang ulo ang isang tao, etc. Ito ‘yong mga kwentong talagang tumatatak sa utak at ipapasa mo pa sa iba. Parang earliest horror stories na narinig ko talaga ay from childhood friends,&quot; she continued.</p><p>“I guess that’s how fascinated we really are with scary stories. Even sa mga recollection and retreat that is meant for reflection and contemplation, hindi nawawala ang mga kwentong katatakutan. Siguro rin it’s because naturally, we are drawn to the dark and the unknown. We want to understand kung ano ba talaga ang nasa dilim, gusto natin buksan at ma-solve ang mga misteryo. Maybe at the back of our minds, we believe we’d be less scared if only we know and understand more. At kung mas may alam tayo, mas kakayanin natin malabanan ang kadiliman at kasamaan —vano mang porma nito sa buhay natin?”</p><p>Capili added: “We, Filipinos, have always loved the supernatural. It&#x27;s part of our culture: aswang, kapre, tikbalang, manananggal, white ladies, mangkukulam. These are part of our memories, our childhoods, our stories.</p><p>“Who could forget the 1990s, during Manila’s endless brownouts, when tabloid headlines screamed about a manananggal flying over tin roofs? And we believed it — or at least wanted to. From the ’70s to the ’80s, horror anthologies dominated TV and radio. We grew up with fear as entertainment, as a ritual, as a means of bonding.</p><p>“Also, horror is never meant to be watched alone. It’s communal. You watch it with barkada, with family, with someone whose hand you can grab during jump scares. It becomes a shared panic, shared laughter, shared release.”</p><p>As part of the creative team, Abellera shared how they approached the daunting task of reinventing the franchise. “I urged our writers to watch as many horror films as they could,” he said. “We pushed ourselves to deliver something new, so we had to study what was already out there. Then we dove into mythologies from different cultures because we wanted the evil entity in &#x27;SRR: Evil Origins&#x27; to feel global (in nature) — something that could plausibly come from an ancient civilization.”</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:633px;display:block"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17642864749465.jpg" style="width:633px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Regal Entertainment"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Regal Entertainment</em><br/><br/></span></span></span></div><p>Asked what audiences can take away from this latest SRR installment, Capili explained: “For the 1775 episode, one of the strongest messages is the value of courage. When faith and religion are no longer enough, you’re forced to find strength within yourself. It’s also deeply about sisterhood — how women lean on one another to survive and fight the demons around them.&quot;</p><p>“From a feminist perspective, the episode highlights a woman’s power to stand her ground in a male-dominated system. It reminds us that sometimes, the bravest thing a woman can do is to reclaim her voice, her faith, and her own strength,” she added. </p><p>Sales-Camero described the second episode as one that appears, on the surface, to be about teenagers simply having fun at a party — noisy, chaotic, carefree.</p><p>“Mukhang maiingay at magugulo lang sila at mukhang walang ibang inisip but to have a good time. Kung nasa labas ka, hindi mo alam kung anong kaguluhan ang nilalabanan at kinakaharap nila sa loob. I guess this is reflective of the youth today,&quot; Sales-Camero said.</p><p>“Hindi nga lang siguro youth, kung &#x27;di everyone. We always post about good things and our successes on social media, but people rarely know what’s behind the smiles, what really troubles us inside, what we battle with every day, the internal struggles we go through.</p><p>“But what’s important is, from the inside, kailangan may realization na lahat tayo may kanya-kanyang kalakasan, kakayahan at kakayanan. Iba-iba man tayo ng strengths, magagamit natin ‘yon para labanan ‘yong mga madidilim at magugulong parts ng buhay natin.”</p><p>Tagasa added: “In the third episode, I believe it&#x27;s still family, each member with a strong faith in God that would defeat any form of evil.</p><p>“Also, since 2050 sees the Philippines as a devastated nation overrun by the new breed of aswangs -- &#x27;di ito zombies ha; hybrid siya -- relatable ito sa Pinoys this 2025, overrun by the corrupt leaders!”</p><p><strong></strong><em><strong></strong></em>Asked what Filipino moviegoers could pick up from each episode, <em></em><em></em>Abellera highlighted that in each episode, the characters are forced to confront evil and find the hero within themselves.</p><p>“In this period when we are betrayed by changes in people – corruption, political maneuverings, racism – we realize that evil is not defeated by running away from it; it is defeated by confronting it,&quot; he said.</p><p>“The characters in all episodes are ordinary human beings, but they are forced to do extraordinary things because they have to survive. I hope that faith in ourselves to do what is good comes out after watching the movie.”</p><p>&quot;Shake, Rattle &amp; Roll: Evil Origins&quot; stars (in alphabetical order): Althea Ablan, Ivana Alawi, Loisa Andalio, Shecko Apostol, Karina Bautista, Alex Calleja, Celyn David, Francine Diaz, Sarah Edwards, Seth Fedelin, Sassa Gurl, Richard Gutierrez, JM Ibarra, Arkin Lagman, Angelica Lao, Monina Lawrence, Matt Lozano, Ara Mina, Arlene Muhlach, Ashley Ortega, Ysabel Ortega, Raven Rigor, Fyang Smith, Dustin Yu, and Dylan Yturralde with Carla Abellana, Manilyn Reynes, and Janice de Belen.</p><p>Each episode is directed by Joey De Guzman, Ian Loreños, and Shugo Praico.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8-s_nHFkVGE?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/97w3RcCF9P8?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Four decades after the first ‘Shake, Rattle &amp; Roll’ film, Regal Entertainment is keeping its legacy alive with the 17th installment of the franchise — premiering this December 25 at the 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival.</p>

Four decades after the first ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll’ film, Regal Entertainment is keeping its legacy alive with the 17th installment of the franchise — premiering this December 25 at the 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival.

Reviving a horror icon: The story behind the MMFF return of ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll’

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Reviving a horror icon: The story behind the MMFF return of ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll’

Jude Cartalaba

Published November 28, 2025 01:00 PM PHT

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