When Demi Moore received her first Oscars Best Actress nomination for 2024 horror movie ‘The Substance’, movie enthusiasts celebrated the rare consideration for thrillers. In fact, before ‘The Substance’ snagged a Best Picture nomination, the last time a horror made it to the magic list was still 7 years ago for ‘Get Out’, one of the only seven horror films to be shortlisted by the Academy - ever.
In Philippine cinema, however, Iza Calzado insists that our local award-giving bodies maybe a little friendlier to the horror genre. In fact, Iza won her first acting award, as Best Supporting Actress in 2004 for the Richard Gutierrez- Angel Locsin supernatural horror film ‘Sigaw’.
“This is partly my main genre; horror and suspense perhaps, and I have been recognized. It was in Sigaw that I received my Urian award for Best Supporting Actress. I haven’t had another one since then. I have done a lot of drama films,” she narrates.
To recall, Calzado also won PMPC Star Awards Movie Actress of the Year in 2017 for the psychological horror film ‘BLISS’. That the same film competed at the Osaka Film Festival where Iza won the Yakushi Pearl for Best Performance.
“It’s really not always about the genre. It is about the story. It is about how you did in that film. It is the timing. It is a lot of things,” she adds. “It really depends on the material.”
This year, Iza opens her acting year via another thriller ‘The Caretakers’. Her character engages in a fierce battle with another mother over property ownership. Equally award-winning Dimples Romana portrays the rival character of Iza’s.
For her part, Dimples seconded Iza’s response on timing. “You just have to maximize the material that you have regardless of the genre. Drama maybe most common in performances that often highlighted pero I think if the timing is right, you can shine in whatever genre,” she responds.
Dimples last won an acting trophy in Metro Manila Film Festival 2022 where she won Best Supporting Actress for gay drama ‘My Father, Myself’. That the same MMFF edition, Nadine Lustre won Best Actress for horror entry ‘The Deleter’ and Ian Veneracion won Best Actor for the erotic thriller ‘Nanahimik Ang Gabi’.
In ‘The Caretakers’, the tale of terror is being elevated to a different level by these two reliable actresses. It is set in the lush and eerie backdrop of rural property in San Miguel, Bulacan where Audrey (Calzado) wants to claim the property owned by her husband but Lydia (Dimples) and fiercely protects the land that her family has occupied for years.
Shugo Praico (Bagman) directs the film for Regal Entertainment and Rein Entertainment. ‘The Caretakers’ will be shown in cinemas nationwide beginning February 26, 2025.
