For film director Roni S. Benaid, making a horror film isn’t simply about crafting scares, it’s about convincing an audience that has already decided not to be scared… to be, well, scared.
Despite a strong track record, having notched several goosebumps-inducing box-office hits like “Marita” (2023), “Mary Cherry Chua” (2023), and “Nanay, Tatay” (2024), Benaid admittted Filipino audiences remain a particularly tough crowd. Discerning, vocal, and often skeptical, they don’t easily surrender to fear, no matter the genre.
“Mahirap takutin ang mga Pinoy,” he said. “They’ll say, ‘Huh, daya lang ‘yan. Hindi naman totoo.’”
That, for him, is the challenge.
In a genre that depends on immersion, local audiences tend to question what they see before the tension has time to settle. For Benaid, the answer isn’t to push harder, it’s to ask viewers to simply let go.
“When you enter the cinema, just switch that off—even for a while,” he said. “Let yourself be pulled into the story. Hayaan n’yo lang mag-simmer. Hopefully, you bring the fear with you after.”
With his latest horror-epic “Rosario,” Benaid leans into a story rooted in Filipino superstition and ritual. The film centers on a grieving family that forgets a crucial burial tradition: cutting the rosary placed inside the coffin. That single oversight unleashes a curse, one that begins a chain of unexplainable and deadly events.
Singer-actress Aubrey Caraan stars as Beth, who reunites with her estranged sister Ave, played by Yumi Garcia, after their mother’s death. As the family gathers in mourning, tensions rise alongside the growing sense that something has gone terribly wrong. Joining them are Lance Carr, Meg Imperial, Jairus Aquino, Suzette Ranillo, Bernadette Allyson, and Rose Van Ginkel.
Interestingly, some of the younger cast members admitted they don’t personally believe in superstition. However, they said they are more than willing to follow traditions and rituals if it means avoiding harm or respecting the unknown—an attitude that mirrors the film’s delicate balance between belief and skepticism.
For Benaid, that tension is exactly where horror lives.
“Rosario” opens in cinemas nationwide on April 22.
