Why Sylvia-Enchong kissing scenes crucial to ‘Nay’ horror flick

Sylvia Sanchez and Enchong Dee

I did a lot of firsts in this movie, including doing lip-to-lip kissing with Enchong (Dee),” actress Sylvia Sanchez said.

Yet, she didn’t mind her talent fee being relatively lower than usual.

“‘Nay’ is an alternative film and I’m only after the role,” Sylvia explained.

Director Kip Oebanda explained that the scene where Sylvia, Enchong and eventually Jameson Blake would lock lips was a ceremony or a rite of passage of some sort.

“This (kissing scene) is a crucial scene in the film. It drives the plot forward. They had to do several takes, and I had to film it in different camera angles.

“If not done correctly, it will not be believable. It took us several hours to finish,” Kip added.

“Nay” is about a man suffering from a terminal disease who uncovers a dark family secret. The film is Kip’s entry in the 2017
Cinema One Originals Film Festival, which runs from Nov. 13 to 22 in Metro Manila cinemas.

“She (Sylvia) guided me,” Enchong said of how they pulled off the controversial kissing scene. “She put to use all of her 28 years of experience in the biz. We rehearsed it.”

“I kept saying that it helped a lot that I’ve been friends with her (and her children, actors Arjo and Ria Atayde) for a long time. That scene would not have worked well if we weren’t comfortable with each other. We now know what our next project will be—a May-December love affair,” Enchong quipped.

According to him, the goal of “Nay” is to “create the bloodiest film in Philippine history.”

“With that mission, I couldn’t say ‘no’ to it. Yes, there’s violence, but there’s also social commentary,” Enchong told the Inquirer. “It’s a horror project that is related to what is happening to society right now. That makes me feel proud.”

Kip said “Nay” is different from the usual horror flicks in the sense that “I limited myself to the tools available to filmmakers in the ’80s. We don’t usually see films like this anymore. The only thing I can remember is the ‘Pridyider’ episode of the ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’ series.”

The director further explained: “It’s gruesome and doesn’t make use of CGI (computer-generated images). I also tried not to resort to jump scares or panggugulat. I relied more on the tension and visuals.”

Lastly, Kip said that most of his favorite horror films have an undercurrent on politics and commentary on society. “The starting point of ‘Nay’ was a dream that I had. It reflects my own fears—that is the fear of getting desensitized to violence. I feel that because violence is so prevalent these days, my threshold for what I’m offended about and what I don’t like, and what violence I can tolerate is slowly getting eroded. This is reflected in the film.”