Director Darryl Yap is proud of his latest movie, “Ang Manananggal Na Nahahati ang Puso,” starring Marco Gallo, Aubrey Caraan and the Beks Battalion — Richardson “Chad Kinis” Dela Cruz, Melvin “MC Muah” Enriquez Calaquian, and Reginald “Lassy” Marquez.
The prolific director said that “Manananggal” is “close to [his] heart” and he felt he was really a director while doing the rom-com.
“The movie itself — dapat hindi ako magsasabi ito — pero sana mapanood nyo,” he said at a recent Zoom press con. “This is the best I’ve done so far. Siguro ang best ko basura pa rin sa iilan. Or siguro best ko, basic or mediocre sa nakakarami. Pero this project is close to my heart because I worked hard for it. Ito ‘yung unang film ko na director na director ako kasi sa ‘Revirginized,’ fan na fan ako ni Sharon [Cuneta] dun nung ginawa ko.”
He also reacted to fans who bash the leads of “Manananggal” — newcomers Gallo and Caraan — because there was a news before that the project was originally intended for James Reid and Nadine Lustre.
“Connecting us to ‘Jadine’ is the freedom of the press people to clarify things — and I’m very, very thankful about that,” he cleared, “But let me set the record straight, [because] for me, Aubrey and Marco did very well — if this is the start of their loveteam — as compared to what Nadine James and did before. That is just my personal opinion.
“I think I made the right choice of picking these two because I can never imagine Giniper and being played by any other actors,” he added.
In addition to touting the film’s location, Siquijor and its friendly people, the writer-director also gave credit to the other members of the cast, particularly the members of the Beks Battalion — Lassy, MC Muah and Chad — who have a wide reach on social media and a considerable number of following on YouTube and Facebook.
“Hindi naman sa binubuhat ang bangko ko, but when I was active on YouTube nag tre trending ako, nag nu number 1 ako during my time. Now with 6 million followers sa Vincentiments and with the power of Beks Batallion — MC, Lassy and Chad at ‘yung husay ni Aubrey and Marco, nakakapesta lang na sasabihin na nakiki ride on kami sa ‘Jadine’ when sa palagay ko hindi na sila ganon kaingay ngayon,” he stated.
“We are not riding on any fandom or something like that…,” he reiterated.
Since his first blockbuster movie “Jowable,” up to his most talked-about films like “Paglaki Ko Gusto Kong Maging Pornstar” and “Tililing,” Yap has been non-stop in doing films that easily clicks with the audience. And with its bizarre combination of comedy, love story and “aswang,” “Ang Manananggal Na Nahahati ang Puso” is expected to be another hit on Vivamax when it drops on October 1.
“Ang Manananggal Na Nahahati ang Puso” also stars Johnny Revilla, Teresa Loyzaga and Gina Pareño.
It streams online on Vivamax Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Middle East and Europe.
