WRITER/director Yam Laranas and actress Yam Concepcion team up for the first time in “Night Shift,” Viva Films’ first horror presentation in cooperation with Alliud Entertainment for 2020.
Set in a hospital morgue, the movie revolves around a pathologist’s assistant named Jessie (Concepcion) who’s working on a straight shift one stormy night. She doesn’t believe in the afterlife, but she is suddenly creeped out by the strange sounds that seem to be coming from the cadavers. She cannot shake off the feeling that they seem to be coming back to life. As her fear intensifies, Jessie begins to ponder on the idea of the Final Judgment. And if indeed the day has come that people rise from the dead, she is tormented about meeting her own end.
In an interview conducted by thewrap.com on how to make a horror movie, Laranas said, “I want to see what’s real out there and I translate them into (a) real scary (story) because that has a connection to a lot of people... It becomes relatable. And when you translate that into something horrifying, it touches people’s fears, nightmares and skeletons in their closet.”
He also added that “location is another character in a horror film. It is where fear and paranoia are created.”
The director also points out the importance of music in elevating the fear and enhancing the mood of the horror movie. That’s why he has teamed up once again with award-winning gentlemen Oscar Fogelström and Albert Michael Idioma that created the music and sound for “Aurora.”
“I am impressed how efficient every single one is in the team,” wrote Yam Concepcion in one of her Instagram posts that shows her in the set of their movie. This is Yam’s first lead role in a horror movie. “So lucky to be part of this movie project and to be working with all of you.”
“Night Shift” opens in cinemas on Jan. 22. (PR)