In the third and last episode of the 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival lone horror film entry Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Evil Origins, Richard Gutierrez stars as an unexpected leader of a group of survivors in post-apocalyptic Manila which is overrun by the undead. For his role, Richard put his action star skills to good use but clarifies that he is not the hero in this story.
“Parang hindi naman talaga siya hero eh. Napilitan lang siya na i-lead yung grupo niya o yung mga mahal niya sa buhay sa ligtas na lugar. Parang ano siya, hindi siya yung hero na talagang he’s skilled to be a hero. He’s more on survival. Hindi siya pa-hero, niligtas lang niya yung sarili niya at yung mga mahal niya sa buhay dito sa mundong punong puno ng aswang,” he said.
READ: Richard Gutierrez on working with Ivana Alawi for the first time: 'I’m just super excited’
The film also reunites Richard with director Ian Lorenos, who was also his director on the hit action series Incognito, which ended earlier this year. “It’s an honor to be working with direk Ian again. We did a good run for Incognito. He was one of our directors for Incognito and it’s an honor to be working with him. He’s an actor’s director and he knows what he wants. He really guided us dito sa episode three. When I came on board dun sa project, direk Ian was already here. It’s great to be working with direk Ian and I hope we can do more,” he admitted.
READ: Richard Gutierrez reveals why he considers ‘Incognito’ a ‘legacy project’
In his Shake, Rattle, and Roll episode, Richard also got the chance to work with a younger group of actors, most especially Dustin Yu, who plays his younger brother Riel in the film. The talented actor admitted he enjoyed the chance to be a mentor of sorts for them on the set.
“Ang totoo niyan, halos magkaka-batch lang kami (laughs). I look up to them as well. It’s good kasi also when I was also given the opportunity to start doing movies, making TV shows, I also had my mentors. I also had my kuyas na nag-ga-guide din sa akin and it’s funny na ngayon ako naman yung nagbibigay ng advice or ako naman yung tinatanong nila about anything. But you know it’s cool to be working with these young actors. They give such good energy on the set and working with Dustin and Matt (Lozano) and everyone on the set, talagang nag-enjoy kami sa set. And sometimes I see Dustin come in sa set na walang tulog talaga. Sabi ko, ‘Bro, bata ka pa. Kaya mo pa yan! (laughs)’ That’s part of the game. That’s part of the industry. I’m just happy for him and happy for where he is right now,” he explained.
Richard also shared his hope that more people will come out and watch the MMFFF in cinemas this month, to not just support the festival but the film industry as a whole. “Parang right now, yung film industry natin really needs a boost. Parang ang advocacy namin is to really get people back into the cinemas. You know we’re doing our best here sa Shake, Rattle, and Roll, to get moviegoers back into the cinemas, to get families back into the cinemas this Christmas. And that was really the goal. That was really the vision for this.
"We did everything we could to give a good, quality film and for this film, I think yung moviegoers natin, sulit yung ibabayad nila. It’s like they’re watching three films in one. And then star-studded pa with all the cast members here. I think sulit ang magiging budget ng moviegoers natin sa Shake, Rattle, and Roll. It’s the only horror film ngayong Christmas. And I think we can bring the entire family. I think there’s something for each member of the family dito sa movie. So let’s hope for the best for the entire Metro Manila filmfest. I hope it becomes a successful year for film. And I’m rooting for all the films this Christmas,” he said.
Watch Richard Gutierrez in the 51st Metro Manila Film Festival horror film entry Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Evil Origins which opens in cinemas nationwide starting December 25. The trilogy is directed by Ian Lorenos, Shugo Praido, and Joey de Guzman. It also stars Ivana Alawi, Manilyn Reynes, Janice de Belen, Kaila Estrada, JM Ibarra, Fyang Smith, Dustin Yu, Sassa Gurl, Ashley Ortega, Ysabel Ortega, and Karina Bautista. Produced by Regal Entertainment.