AFTER the success of "Feng Shui," "Sukob," and "T2," ABS-CBN's film arm Star Cinema is again up for another suspense-horror film that will surely scare moviegoers.

Starting July 1 (Wednesday), the gate of the abandoned resort "Villa Estrella" will finally open to deliver nightmares and chills to the public as it hits theaters nationwide.

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Starring Jake Cuenca, Shaina Magdayao, Maja Salvador, Geoff Eigenmann, Liza Lorena, John Arcilla, Rubi Rubi, and John Estrada, "Villa Estrella" tells a story of a mysterious resort (owned by the family of Alex, played by Jake Cuenca) haunted by perturbed spirits that killed people who enters the resort in revenge for their gruesome death.

Alex was then tasked by his father, played by John Estrada, to redevelop the villa as a resort or for sale, but in the process he, his girlfriend Ana (Shaina Magdayao), and friend Dennis (Geoff Eigenmann) discover the mysteries surrounding the place.

At the resort, Ana will meet Giselle (Maja Salvador) whose family serves as a caretaker in the resort. Ana recalls Giselle as one of the people who repeatedly appears in her nightmares.

The big question is as they all stepped in to the resort, will there be a chance for them to get out and tell the horror of the villa?

Before the movie comes out on Wednesday, the film's director Rico Ilarde briefed the press on what scenes to expect from the movie.

Direk Rico shared that "Villa Estrella" is not just packed with suspense and horror but with drama also. "I think it is 60-40 horror-drama film. This film has a twist of drama, which will really touch the hearts of viewers."

He added that this film also boasts underwater scenes that he gushed he had a hard time shooting.

"Shaina and Maja underwent underwater training. It was hard because Maja does not know how to swim at all...The training was supervised by one of the most veteran underwater camera persons here in the Philippines, Marissa Florendo. She is actually a director and photographer in her own right..."

Direk Rico revealed that it took them three straight days to train Maja and Shaina, excluding the proper shooting of the scenes.

"It was hard to shoot underwater because you can't tell the artist what to do, all should be hand-signaled ... There were also tricks in shooting underwater which are so hard to execute. With my scene with Shaina, its like from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next day, I was in the water with her because I want to see in actual how the scene would go ... with Shaina, she was pretty fearless ... She's good," he said.

Having two good teen actresses was also a challenge to Direk Rico. But he still managed to have a balanced story between Shaina and Maja. "They have equal footing. In screen time, in terms of the bulk, and the volume Shaina has more, but as to the core of the film it has to do with Maja. So I may say that they have equal appearance throughout the film."

"Villa Estrella" also serves as the launching movie of Jake Cuenca under Star Cinema. Asked what mark could Jake leave to his audience, "His (Jake) overall intensity and his dramatic ability ... we had fight scenes shot in two days between John Estrada and Jake ... his physicality in terms of fight scenes ... (those) are (the things) the audience should see of him," said Direk Rico.

Direk Rico is confident that "Villa Estrella" will elicit thrills and screams just like his past horror films "Dugo ng Birhen" and "Shake Rattle and Roll 2k5."

He said that his team exceeded his expectations from the production design, sounds, and the actors' performance.

"It exceeded all our expectations, in technical, in acting, image, and sounds, everything ... It is something better than it is (and) more expensive than it actually is. I am in full confidence that the patrons that would watch it will be satisfied because it turned out way beyond what we expected," he ended.

"Villa Estrella" is included in the 16th year anniversary offering of Star Cinema. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)