“Darkness” seems to be the predominant atmosphere of the 10 entries in the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). Never mind that the festival is set in the middle of a celebration in which the favorite greeting is “Merry Christmas.”

Some of the stories are about murder and mayhem within families. One entry seems to hint at incest between a father and a daughter.

Vilma Santos, Aga Muhlach and Nadine Lustre topbill one of the 10 entries — Uninvited — and at the extravagant  media conference for the film, they happily took turns in announcing that they are all villainous characters in the movie. They are very proud of the film and very impressed by the brilliance of the artistic team and the magnanimity of their producer, Bryan Diamante, who appears to be in his 30s.

In one of the film’s teasers, a scene between Aga and Nadine suggests that Aga lusts for Nadine. In another teaser, Aga aims his gun at Nadine.

The MMFF entry that has murder among family members is GMA Pictures’ Greenbones bannered by Dennis Trillo and Ruru Madrid. Trillo portrays the killer while Madrid plays the guard who schemes prevent Trillo from getting a parole. Madrid seems to know something about Trillo’s character and the chain of circumstances that made Trillo kill his own sister and her child. 

Espantaho, starring Lorna Tolentino and Judy Ann Santos, is publicized as a horror-movie directed by Chito Roño. And so is Erik Matti’s Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital. It is based on the South Korean box office hit Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum. There’s hardly any publicity on Espantaho.

Happily, there are two entries publicized as comedy. One of them is My Future You, a romantic comedy produced by Regal Entertainment. It stars youthful idols Francine Diaz and Seth Fedelin and helmed by Crisanto Aquino.