MANILA, Philippines - Jodi Sta. Maria scared televiewers as avenging ghost Ruth on the small screen version of Patayin Sa Sindak Si Barbara. In Star Cinema’s Cinco, the table has been turned. The movie will hit the theaters on July 14.
“I’m being scared this time around,” Jodi offers what her character named Eliza will go through in the episode Paa.
“It’s my first horror movie,” she relates. “It’s not every day that I get the chance to do horror. I find it challenging because drama is my comfort zone and my orientation. I’m learning the ropes of the genre and getting the feel of it.”
There are five episodes in Cinco and they are intertwined by a unifying factor. In an hour and half, moviegoers are treated to various shorts with different running time and levels of fear.
“Ours is the ultimate fear which appeals to the conscience,” says Jodi compared to another episode Mukha involving psychology and paranoia. “Paa is classic horror. I can’t divulge what my character did. She committed something and had to face its consequences. It’s like karma.”
“Paa will run for good 20 minutes,” adds Jodi. “It’s short but compact. And you will gasp for your breath.”
Like in the real life, Jodi plays a young mother to Ana Dayos played by child star Barbie Sabino. Her love for daughter Ana is “where the predicament of Eliza starts,” as Jodi puts it.
“(I and director Enrico Santos) talked about my character,” Jodi describes the artistic, collaborative work behind Paa. “We sat down together. He was very patient and had beautiful, picturesque shots. He let me approach the character. And I combined that with his ideas.”
“(As an actress,) I’m willing to try everything for as long as I can do it,” Jodi continues. “And it is within my limitations.”
The actress whose last movie was You Are The One starring Toni Gonzaga and Sam Milby has done independent films and is supervising a chicken product business. She and husband Pampi Lacson have no plans yet to give their son Thirdy a baby brother or a baby sister anytime soon.
What does Jodi fear most?
“I’m afraid of spiders,” she replies. “I never had any ghost experience. If children are scared of something, adults should give the right explanation.”