In “Spirit of the Glass 2, The Haunted” that opens on All Saints Day, she plays a magazine editor who invites her friends to her aunt’s old house which is situated in an area that used to be a cemetery. They then see an old ouija board and they play with it, not knowing that it will lead them to some horrifying experiences. It turns out they have opened a portal that lets in some unwelcomed entities to scare them. How is this different from past horror flicks she has done before, like “Pasiyam”, “Barang”, “Patient X”, “Tumbok” and “Elemento”?
“Marami kami ritong tinakot nung multo,” she says. “Kami ng friends kong sina Maxine Medina, Benjamin Alves, Daniel Matsunaga na siyang kapareha ko, Ash Ortega and Enrico Cuenca. And the special effects here, talagang latest technology ang ginamit to make sure the audiences will really get scared.”
It’s a big cast. How did they bond on the set? “Nagkaroon kami ng workshop before shooting started. Nag-bonding kami agad lahat. Kaming girls, binubully namin yung mga boys. Masaya kami sa buong shoot. Sa film, si Maxine is an instagram superstar at gusto, siya lagi ang bida. Si Ash naman, siyang bitchiest at pinakamaarte. So ako yung nagbabalanse sa kanilang dalawa.”
Aside from this, she’s also doing another movie with Viva Films. “Yes, I’m so happy and thankful dahil maraming movie projects. Lahat yan, blessings. Puede ko ngang i-claim na happy in love na ako, happy pa rin sa career.” It’s good her husband, Ali Kathibi, is not complaining that she no longer has time for their family, especially their daughter Amara. “Busy rin siya since he has also joined showbiz and has acted in films like “Double Barrel” and “Pagsanib kay Leah de la Cruz”. He’s now also in the cast of ABS-CBN’s primetime teleserye, “Luna Sangre”. I’m really glad kasi ang mga director na naka-work niya, lahat sila, sinasabing magaling siya. Okay naman kami pagdating sa time management. Siempre, priority pa rin ang aming family na siya ring dahilan kaya ayoko na magpa-sexy, lalo't may daughter na ako.”
Is it true she’s not allowed to promote “Spirit of the Glass 2” on ABS-CBN since it will be up against Star Cinema’s “Ghost Bride” on November 1. “Kung meron mang ganyang issue, I don’t want to talk about it kasi sila-sila ang nag-uusap tungkol diyan at wala na ako roon. Pero puede naman daw ako mag-promote sa ‘Tonight with Boy Abunda’ at sa ASAP. Basta kaming mga artista, we just do our job. Kunsaan nila sasabihing mag-promote kami, di pupunta kami and do our best.”
There’s a warning before the presscon not to touch on the conflict in their simultaneous playdate but we couldn’t resist asking Direk Joey Reyes about his Facebook post that he felt betrayed. “What I wrote is just a personal statement,” he says. “The personal has really got nothing to do when it comes to our work as professionals. There are lessons learned here and wisdom to be acquired. Sa’kin, let’s just remain positive and work for a very good time for Filipino movies. I’ll be the first to say: on November 1st, we’re going to have a screamfest of two horror movies, ‘The Spirit of the Glass 2’ from OctoArts-TRex Productions and ‘The Ghost Bride’ from Star Cinema, so sana suportahan na lang both movies and let’s all watch them. Ayan nga, o, pino-promote namin ang ‘Ghost Bride’ nila.”
And he points to an extra who is dressed up like a ghost bride with rotting skin who stands by the presidential table during the entire presscon. In “Spirit of the Glass 2”, they really have a ghost bride, Sabrina, played by Janine Gutierrez who plays a movie star in the 60’s. She died mysteriously and the reason for her death was never revealed, until Cristine and her friends played ‘Spirit of the Glass’ on the ouija board and some deep dark secrets are unearthed.
