Beauty Gonzales admits feeling awkward kissing Derek Ramsay in ‘Kampon’

Check out our live updates to get the latest on the MMFF 2023!

While Beauty Gonzales admitted that it felt awkward to do a bed scene for the horror movie “Kampon” with Derek Ramsay, the husband of her best friend Ellen Adarna, the actress said her own husband, Norman Crisologo, acted really cool about it.

Beauty and Derek play a childless couple in the film by King Palisoc, which is one of the 10 entries in the 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), which will begin on Christmas Day.

“My husband just said, ‘You know what to do. I trust you. You’ve already done a lot of love scenes in the past.’ Norman knows that I do it with respect and a lot of passion for my craft. He also told me, ‘You better make sure to brush your teeth before coming home. I don’t want to taste Derek’s saliva, too,” recalled Beauty, laughing.

“Yes, it was really awkward so we did the scene in a rush, but not before talking about it with our director. We did it and didn’t dwell on it anymore,” Beauty told Inquirer Entertainment during a recent press conference to formally introduce the cast and creators of “Kampon” to the public.

Dark twist

In “Kampon,” Beauty plays Eileen, wife to Derek’s Clark. They remain childless after eight years of marriage. One day, a little girl comes knocking at their door, claiming to be Clark’s child. The story takes a dark twist when, despite the unexpected situation, Eileen accepts the child, who appears to usher in sinister tidings.

How would Beauty have reacted when faced with the same situation? “I’ll accept my husband’s kid, too,” she replied. “I’d do it in a calm and composed manner, of course. Then I’d bring her to a police station to find out if there’s anyone looking for her. After that, I’d bring her to a place that takes care of kids. I honestly don’t know if I can adopt. I haven’t opened my mind to that kind of responsibility just yet. For me, a child is not a pet that you can accept as a gift. Raising a child as if he or she is your own takes a lot of time and effort.”

Beauty then explained why her character seems to accept the child so easily. “She feels frustrated because of all the people pressuring her to have a child. It’s really because of her family and friends, as well as her social media life. They would tell her, ‘Hey! You’re the only one with no child.’ I guess most of us want to have an easy way to get the things we want,” Beauty began.

“Also, she feels alone. Clark, a policeman, is always away working. Then here comes a child who can fill up those empty spaces in her life. Sometimes, we make decisions when we’re sad,” the actress pointed out.

Since “Kampon” is part of the MMFF and all festival entries compete for awards in various categories, Beauty was asked if she was expecting to win, particularly in the best actress category. “Based on what we’ve observed in the past, festival judges don’t look much on performances in horror films. Nakalusot si Nadine (Lustre, who won the award in 2022 for ‘Deleter’). It was the perfect time for her.”

Strong contenders

Beauty continued: “Winning festival awards is really about luck. I don’t expect it for myself. I must admit, we have strong contenders this year—these actresses have already proven themselves with their past projects. But, of course, there’s no harm in aspiring to win. A nomination would be good. It’s a tough battle because there’s 10 of us, but I’m happy with the lineup—they’re all good films.”

“Kampon” was first picked as an MMFF entry in 2019. Beauty’s role was originally meant for Kris Aquino, who took a break from show biz because of health issues. Beauty said it’s hard to compete with Kris who has done quite a number of horror films in the past and had been labeled ‘horror queen’ for a time.

“A lot of things happened along the way in relation to the script. As for me, I tried to own the role by incorporating my style into the material. I guess when I finally win an award for a horror film, I can consider myself a horror queen. If not, I’ll still be OK,” said Beauty, who also starred in horror projects like “Abandoned,” “Hellcome Home” and, most recently, the country’s entry to the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, “In My Mother’s Skin.”

‘Like painting’

“It’s harder to do a film than a TV show. For TV, you already know what to expect. When you see an episode and find yourself lacking, you can always improve in the next. When you do a film, you only have one chance to do it right. Also, especially in horror films, you won’t know the outcome until you see the final product. The only thing you can do is try to own the role and give the project your best,” she said.

Beauty likened her acting style to selling and collecting framed artworks, an interest that she might have developed because of her husband, who is a visual artist and curator. “It’s really hard to describe my style. I’m very natural. I always think of the person I’m portraying as an individual. Horror is very hard to do. You have to be very creative, imaginative. It helps if you trust everybody around you on the set, especially your director. I find it hard to explain my style. It’s like painting. If I tell you what my style is and you are able to understand it, then ang baduy ko na. You won’t be able to sell me anymore, because art doesn’t have to be understood,” she pointed out.

“Kampon,” produced by Quantum Films, also features Zienab Harake, Eria Manansala, Lui Manansala, and Nico Antonio.