MANILA, Philippines—Following months of sneak peeks to her much-anticipated return to the big screen, Nadine Lustre‘s comeback film, with disclosed title, Greed, looks closer to release on Filipino streaming platform Vivamax.
The Internet, on Wednesday, was blessed with a gripping inside look into the dark, intriguing setting of Greed as known Filipino filmmaker, Yam Laranas, dropped a fiery (quite literally) teaser that sets the mood to the upcoming suspense-thriller—with a puzzle of images of lottery tickets, makeshift homes in the thick of an unknown forest location, and a bloody, devilish laugh at the end.
Since the initial announcement of a new project that bridges the three-year gap since she last graced the screens, President Nadine’s army of supporters are anticipating her first foray into a lead role in the suspense genre, with no less than a well-received horror/suspense auteur like Laranas, who brought some of the intelligently-creepy, and most intricately- and appetizingly-photographed films in modern Filipino cinema (that’s the fanboy in me talking).
In the past, the filmmaker has brought us acclaimed masterpieces like Sigaw (2004) that gave birth to a Hollywood remake with the English title The Echo, still directed by Laranas himself, the serial-killer mind-fuck The Road (2011), and the tragedy-meets-Hitchcock-inspired Metro Manila Film Festival entry Aurora (2018). Most recently, he has had a number of Vivamax releases including Nightshift (2020) and Death of a Girlfriend (2021).
Screen grab from Facebook: Yam Laranas Film
Lustre’s acting wonder bloomed in her no-nonsense portrayal in Never Not Love You in 2018 that earned her Best Actress trophies in Gawad Urian and FAMAS. Since then, she last appeared in the 2019 Viva Films dance flick Indak.
Greed comes after a long, widely-publicized rift between the multimedia superstar against her management Viva, with her announcing that she would be “self-managed” to free herself from the alleged “predatory, oppressive, and abusive” management. It was in June 2021 when the courts ruled for her to full obligations in her contract signed in 2014.
In the midst of this turmoil and in her absence from acting for television or movies, Lustre has given due focus on her music career with Careless Music. She has since seen titanic success with the release of her critically-acclaimed full visual album “Wildest Dreams” and a widely-successful virtual concert “Absolute Madness.”
Not much has been shared or divulged about the new film—and for good reason. In November, Vivamax wrote on a First Look release, “Walang sikreto ang hindi nabubunyag.” The video brings us to fast-cuts of scenes that lead to what appears to be a horrific ending with cast members including Diego Loyzaga and Epy Quizon.
In his post, Laranas notes that Greed is a collaboration with Viva Films and Mesh Lab. In an interview with CNN Philippines, Lustre describes the film, “It’s very nerve-wracking. It’s the kind of film that lives rent-free in your head.”
Trust, though, that with this teaser, it’s high anticipation for the film from here on out.
Screen grab from Facebook: Yam Laranas Film
If you haven’t already, watch the teaser below: