‘Direk’ Chris, Celso Ad’s son, passes away

Prior to his untimely demise, Castillo was reportedly in the works for a remake of his father’s horror classic, Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara.

Filmmaker and actor Christopher Ad Castillo, eldest son of the legendary Celso Ad Castillo, passed away Saturday due to cardiac arrest, according to his uncle and fellow director John Ad Castillo. He was 54.

The younger Castillo was rushed to St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City and was in serious condition hours before he expired.

“He just finished shooting his movie when he was rushed there due to a bacterial infection in his blood that brought many complications as he was diabetic,” the older Castillo shared in an earlier Facebook post.

Castillo or Direk Chris, as he is fondly referred to in the industry, died just six years after his revered father also succumbed to a heart attack.

In a 2012 interview with this writer, Direk Chris recalled what it’s like to be the son of the iconic filmmaker dubbed the “Messiah of Philippine movies.”

“Most kids would go home and play with other kids. I got picked up and headed straight to my father’s office in Escolta and he would give me money to watch movies at those old theaters while he finished up his meetings,” he said.

“Sometimes it would be straight to the set and I would play with the actors and watch them work. It was different and not very normal, but all of us kids enjoyed it,” he recalled.

“I remember going to the German Cultural Center with my parents to watch foreign films at a very young age so I was exposed early to a very different aesthetic and feeling of cinema while at the same time watching Godzilla and Jaws. That’s why I love all types of film. My parents made sure I was well-rounded in that regard.”

He eventually started his career as actor Chris Castillo. In 1986, he won the Metro Manila Film Festival Best Supporting Actor award for his role in the action drama Bagets Gang headlined by Robin Padilla and Jinggoy Estrada.

Direk Chris then went to the US to finish his studies, but by 2002 went back to his first love and earned accolades for his first feature film, the psychological thriller The Sky is Falling, which was nominated for The Remy Martin Emerging Filmmaker Award (USA) for writing and directing.

In 2012, he returned to the country and helmed his first indie feature for Cinemalaya, the psychological horror thriller The Diplomat Hotel that was based on that infamous haunted hotel in Baguio City.

I’ll do other things that are maybe even lighter in tone, but I will always go back to horror because fear of the unknown will always be fun to do.

Two years later, he followed this up with another horror feature, In Darkness We Live for the 2014 QCinema film festival.

Although both films were not well-received by critics, The Diplomat Hotel and In Darkness We Live went on to develop a cult following among horror movie fans.

Citing the likes of horror specialists Wes Craven, Clive Barker and Rob Zombie as among his influences, Direk Chris had no problem being identified with horror movies, but did not rule out tackling other genres as well.

“I’ll do other things that are maybe even lighter in tone, but I will always go back to horror because fear of the unknown will always be fun to do. You can’t box in my father because of the vastly different materials he tackled. I’d like to attempt the same,” he shared. “I always aim high on everything I do. My father told me that there really is no point if you don’t go all out. You might as well go home.”

Prior to his untimely demise, Castillo was reportedly in the works for a remake of his father’s horror classic, Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara starring Nathalie Hart, Mariel de Leon and JC de Vera.

Although gone too soon, Castillo’s dreams and aspirations for the big screen will likely live on through his wife, Malaya Roxanne Ad Castillo, who collaborated with him as associate producer for In Darkness We Live.