Screenshot 2024-11-22 at 10.36.21 AM.png — **Enrique Gil, Alexa Miro, and Rob Gomez, stars of 'Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital' under Reality MM Studios (Facebook)**

"Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital" under Reality MM Studios, the country's first meta-found footage horror movie, is out to terrify viewers during the holiday season.

Based on the South Korean box office hit “Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum," the Philippine adaptation features a group of young actors from the Philippines as they set out to explore and film in one of Taiwan’s most haunted places, Xinglin Hospital.

The local adaptation, which recently landed on the radar of Hollywood media outlet Variety, stars film and television actor Enrique Gil (My Ex and Whys, Seven Sundays) as he leads a group of personalities who are all playing themselves on screen including actress Jane De Leon (Shake, Rattle & Roll Extreme), Alexa Miro and Rob Gomez (A Girl and a Guy), beauty queen MJ Lastimosa (Day Zero) with real-life tarot reader Raf Pineda and content creator Ryan “Zarckaroo” Azurin.

Zackaroo is a local video creator known for filming actual footage in some of the region’s most haunted and offbeat places. Some 1.6 million subscribers follow his YouTube account, while his Facebook page has 1.9 million followers.

The Korean version was a 2018 found footage supernatural horror film directed by Jung Bum-shik. Based on an actual psychiatric hospital located in Gwangju-si, it starred actors Wi Ha-joon (Squid Game), Park Ji-hyun (The Divine Fury), Oh Ah-yeon (Mr. Sunshine), Moon Ye-won (Legal High), Park Sung-hoon (The Glory, Queen of Tears), Yoo Je-yoon (Extreme Job), and Lee Seung-wook (Joseon Fist) in the title roles.

During a press conference in Timog, Quezon City recently, actors Enrique, Alexa, and Rob recalled hair-raising moments while shooting the movie selected as one of the official entries for the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival.

"It has always been my dream to produce a horror movie," said Enrique, who recalled that the idea of producing a horror film came up after he guested in Zackaroo's YouTube show.

"Strange Frequencies" is produced by renowned director and “Master of Horror” Erik Matti with veteran filmmaker Dondon Monteverde and in partnership with Enrique.

Alexa revealed that the stars of the movie were also the camera operators.

"Lahat kami horror fans. Growing up, I was a horror fan. Napanood ko kasi ang original version. And then naisip namin what if kami na rin ang mag-shoot?

"We all had our cameras and other equipment. Wala kaming camera crew members. Kami lang talaga ang pumasok sa hospital to shoot," Alexa said.

"We all had our cameras and other equipment. Wala kaming camera crew members. Kami lang talaga ang pumasok sa hospital to shoot," Alexa said.

Enrique said: "The good thing about it is that it hasn't been done in Philippine cinema. It's the first of its kind. We're super excited for this project."

Rob admitted that he was terrified throughout the entire shoot.

"Ako ang pinaka-takot sa kanilang lahat. Ang Xinglin Hospital ang isa sa pinaka-nakakatakot na hospital sa buong mundo. Hindi talaga ako naniniwala sa strange frequencies pero pinagpawisan talaga ako. Tapos yung mga kasama namin nananakot pa. Masaya naman pero I'm glad na nakauwi na kami," the actor said.

Alexa revealed that she had dreamed of exploring haunted places when she was younger.

"We were excited to explore one of the most haunted places in the world. Meron kaming mga kasama na sensitive sa mga ganun. They would hear or feel the stuff na ganun.

"Personally, I experienced something during the first day of the shoot. Medyo natakot din ako," Alexa said. "Pag-uwi namin from the first day of the shoot, isa lang kasi yung route that we take papunta sa hospital.

"Meron kaming dinadaanan na tunnel. We felt really heavy already. Parang may bumubulong sa akin na huwag kaming dumaan doon sabihin ko raw sa driver. Pero hindi ko na sinabi sa ibang members ng team because they were spooked na rin.

"Pagpasok namin sa tunnel, meron ng kakaibang energy na pumasok sa akin. It was heavy. Paikot sa ibang parts ng body ko na parang may sumasakay sa akin.

"Buti na lang yung mom ni Jane (De Leon) was so maalaga. She was seated at the back, and she would ask, 'Alexa, are you okay?' Hindi na rin ako makahinga. So paglabas namin ng tunnel, parang wala na rin (yung heavy energy). Then everyone prayed for me," Alexa said.

Enrique recalled that Taiwanese team members prayed for the group during the shoot. "Meron din silang mga offerings."

Rob said the team needed to "unload" (magpagpag) before returning to the hotel.

"Ang ending. At 4 a.m., nagdasal kami sa 7-11," said Enrique, who said the team shot the movie in September for almost one month.

Enrique also recalled that several pieces of movie equipment were malfunctioning. "It was something like that. Meron talagang strange frequencies in the area. In one of the scenes, bigla na lang bumagsak yung table."

Alexa added: "We also hear voices na nagpapanggap na kami. So for me, it was like a warning from the spirits to be careful and not disrespectful."

She also said that the team adopted the buddy-buddy system during the shoot. "Kapag pupunta naman sa comfort room, may kasama ka rin."

Enrique said rituals and prayers were performed before the shoot started. "We tell them that we are in the area to shoot and we don't intend to do any harm. So, we both do the Catholic and Taiwanese blessings and rituals."

“Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital” is from the production duo of Erik and Dondon known for hits such as On the Job (2013), Honor Thy Father (2015), Seklusyon (2016), BuyBust (2018), and Kuwaresma (2019). The film opens on Dec. 25 in the Philippines.

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