Is the country's longest running and most successful horror movie franchise taking a bow? After ten episodes, Shake, Rattle and Roll continues its annual tradition of scaring the Filipino viewers on Christmas Day. But days before the 34th Metro Manila Film Festival officially opens, talks are abundant that the tenth installment of the popular horror flick would be its last.

Many assumed that the buzz stemmed from the fact that the film production unit reportedly invested a huge amount of money to bankroll Shake, Rattle and Roll's tenth anniversary offering—prompting some to speculate that Regal Entertainment perhaps wants to close out the project with a bang.

In a press conference tendered by Regal Entertainment last December 9 at the Imperial Palace Suites in Tomas Morato, Quezon City, executive producer Roselle Monteverde-Teo neither confirmed nor denied the rumor. It was evident though during the affair that Roselle was proud and excited to present the film's latest sequel. In fact, from now on, Ms. Roselle will now be in charge of operations for Regal.

"This is our biggest Shake, Rattle and Roll so far, not only because of the grand cast but also because of the sophisticated storytelling and effects-befitting of a tenth anniversary offering no less," said Regal matriarch, Mother Lily Monteverde in a statement.

BIGGER SCARE FEST. This year's installment of Shake, Rattle and Roll gathers the biggest names coming from the two rival networks like Marian Rivera, Roxanne Guinoo, JC de Vera, Kim Chiu, Iwa Moto, Gerald Anderson, Mylene Dizon, Wendell Ramos, Jennica Garcia, Jean Garcia, John Lapus, Erich Gonzales, BJ Forbes, IC Mendoza, and Janus del Prado, among others.

Director Mike Tuviera directed two episodes, "Nieves" and "Emergency" while Topel Lee megged "Class Picture." Both Mike and Topel commended Regal Entertainment for painstakingly putting together the project and putting utmost importance to the story all the way to the entire treatment.

"We really wanted to make the film extra special since we are also celebrating the tenth anniversary of Shake, Rattle and Roll," said direk Mike to PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) in an interview during a set visit a few months ago.

The son of TAPE Inc. head honcho, Tony Tuviera, expressed confidence that the viewers would find the stories and plots interesting as the creative team consciously veered away from the clichés commonly seen on local horror films.

"The entire horror landscape is changing and we wanted to incorporate that here to offer something new din siyempre sa viewers natin," explained Direk Mike, who likewise cited the current modernization of vampire characters in the international horror scene as a perfect example of how producers and writers are moving forward.

It doesn't mean though that Shake, Rattle and Roll X departs in incorporating local flavor. "Very Filipino pa din of course," assured Direk Mike. "We still touched on Pinoy folklore because 'yon yung kultura natin, e, and you can never take that away. But again, gusto namin ng fresh na atake to entertain the viewers and to make everything more interesting and we were able to achieve that."

Even Mother Lily acknowledged the legacy of Shake, Rattle and Roll in Pinoy pop culture by stating: "I want everyone to be part of this rich horror tradition in Filipino films. We made Shake, Rattle and Roll X truly special for all of you."

SYNOPSIS. In the episode "Emergency," Kapuso talent JC de Vera and Kapamilya contract star Roxanne Guinoo portray a paramedic and a doctor, respectively. They struggle with other hospital residents to save their lives from the wrath of blood hungry creatures played by Mylene Dizon and Wendell Ramos.


In the episode "Nieves," Marian Rivera plays the title character who is the town's famous and lone Engkanto Slayer. When strange and unexplainable attacks began to strike the whole town, Nieves, teams up with her slayer in trainings: Junie (Robert "Buboy" Villar) and Kaysee (Jennica Garcia) to save the townsfolk from extinction.


In "Class Picture," ten college students spend the weekend at their school to prepare an exhibit in exchange for lifting the suspension of their organization. However, they find themselves haunted by the awakened spirit of a demented nun, Sr. Maria Belonia (Jean Garcia), who has put a curse on a class picture of her section in 1898.


Shake, Rattle, and Roll X will open in cinemas nationwide starting December 25, 2008.