Uninvited

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Billionaire Guilly Vega (Aga Muhlach) throws himself a party in his massive mansion to celebrate not just his 55th year on Earth, but also to gloat at fate for outliving his father and grandfather, both of whom died young. His daughter Nicole (Nadine Lustre) hates him with a passion and relies on her boyfriend and their drug use to compensate for her unhappy childhood. Her mother Katrina (Mylene Dizon) differentiates herself from her husband’s crowd, funneling the dirty family money to charitable foundations she herself has organized. An unexpected guest arrives in the person of Eva Candelaria, who is actually Lilia Capistrano (Vilma Santos) pretending to be a socialite, supposedly one of the generous donors of Katrina’s foundation. Armed with nothing more than a plan, Lilia is out for revenge, because all the men responsible for her daughter’s death are attending that night, including the host himself. Will she succeed?

The Kingdom

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Kalayaan is a Southeast Asian country that was never colonized by a foreign power and ruled by a monarchy led by Lakan Makisig Nandula (Vic Sotto), a descendant of historical figure Lakandula. The eldest child and heir to the throne Magat Bagwis (Sid Lucero) is temperamental and is more interested in pleasure than duty. The older daughter Dayang Matimyas (Cristine Reyes) is responsible and reaches out to critics of the royal family wanting to prove them wrong, but is not on good terms with her father because of a mistake she made in the past. The youngest daughter Dayang Lualhati (Sue Ramirez) is the king’s favorite and betrothed to the prince of Thailand for a royal union of the two kingdoms. When Lualhati is kidnapped on her wedding day, she is rescued by lowly farmer Sulo (Piolo Pascual), a Tinatwa or outcast who has an axe to grind with the king for the death of his father. Will he deliver the princess from harm or lean more on revenge?

Green Bones

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Rookie criminology graduate Xavier Gonzaga (Ruru Madrid) is assigned to the penal colony of San Fabian. His sister was murdered when they were young and he is still trying, in vain, to get justice 10 years down the line. His first impression of his new workplace comes as a surprise, seeing murderers and criminals living a rather peaceful life of rehabilitation in a gated community with a gorgeous view of a cliff overlooking the sea. There he meets a deaf/mute inmate everyone calls Crazy Dom (Dennis Trillo). Once notorious for petty street crimes, Domingo Zamora has been in prison for a decade now after being charged with his sister’s murder. He also admits to killing his own niece and claims to have dumped the body in a river, the remains never to be recovered. Xavier’s acquired hate of murderers automatically spills over to Dom, who he discovers later not to be deaf/mute at all and with an escape plan despite his name being on a list of potential parole grants.

Topakk

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Miguel Vergara (Arjo Atayde) used to be part of an elite force of the Armed Forces of the Philippines but has since left the force after suffering from a horrendous loss of his entire battalion while hunting rebels in the dense forests of the south. Watching his best friend Leon (Enchong Dee) almost beheaded and dying in his arms with a lacerated throat, he tries to trace the whereabouts of the deceased’s family long after the tragic episode but they want nothing to do with him when he finally does, blaming him for their misfortune. Weng Diwata (Julia Montes) gets entangled in a web of local drug syndicates when her brother Bogs (Kokoy de Santos) gets in trouble for petty theft. Figuring in a clash between drug lords and police tasked with extrajudicial killings led by Romero (Sid Lucero), the siblings are the sole witnesses of the local government’s involvement and manage to flee to a nearby warehouse whose security personnel happens to be Miguel, who is suffering from PTSD.

Hold Me Close

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Woody (Carlo Aquino) has been globetrotting for a while trying to find a forever home before finally coming to Karatsu, a small city along the coast of Saga on the island of Kyushu. Moving in with his luggage and a globe, he heads out to explore the city. He comes across a stall selling squid which is manned by a trio of siblings. Tantan (Jairus Aquino) and Botbot (Migo Valid) are overprotective of their big sister Lynlyn (Julia Barretto) who, after a freak accident in the woods involving a yokai, has gained the ability of getting flashes that allow her to gauge whether a person will bring her happiness or pain just by touching them. While Woody originally registers as neutral and then positive, a few days of spending time together leads to a negative reading for Lynlyn, who gives her new love interest three chances of regaining his good vibes so they can continue with their budding relationship.

Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital

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A Caucasian couple explores the abandoned Xinglin General Hospital in Tainan which is considered to be the most haunted place in Taiwan. The joking around suddenly takes a turn for the worse when the guy disappears and his partner is later found dead after jumping off an upper floor window. The story goes viral and becomes a marketing idea for a group of Filipino celebrities looking for a new gig. Actors Enrique Gil (Enrique Gil) and Jane de Leon (Jane de Leon) form their own crew which includes fellow actors Rob Gomez (Rob Gomez) and Alexa Miro (Alexa Miro), online content creators Raf Pineda (Raf Pineda) and Zarckaroo (Ryan Azurin), as well as beauty queen MJ Lastimosa (MJ Lastimosa). The job is simple. All seven of them will fly to Taiwan where a local guide will sneak them into the building without a permit, live stream the whole thing, and hit 3,000,000 concurrent live views for a hefty payout. Unbeknownst to them, something supernatural and sinister is awaiting their arrival.

Isang Himala

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The godforsaken town of Cupang is shrouded in darkness in the midst of an eclipse, the superstitious townsfolk immediately attributing the phenomenon to divine forces. Tired at the end of a full day’s work, young lass Elsa (Aicelle Santos) hikes up the hill and sees a bright light shining down upon her, later on claiming that the Virgin Mary has appeared and spoken to her. The parish Priest (Floyd Tena) is dismissive, but the people rally behind Elsa when she “heals” a young boy’s asthma with a mere touch. It doesn’t take long before Cupang becomes a pilgrimage site. Elsa’s childhood friend Chayong (Neomi Gonzales) serves as her de facto girl friday while their once friend turned bitter enemy Nimia (Kakki Teodoro) also benefits from the sudden windfall by putting up a cabaret to cater to the carnal desires of residents and tourists alike. Elsa’s mother Saling (Bituin Escalante) is happy with the blessings, but worried at the same time thinking about the fallout should people find out that the miracles they believe in might not be miracles after all.

The Quiet Ones

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Alvin Estrada has been working in a call center for some time, his first job, when in the midst of boredom from a flurry of repetitive calls daily he discovers that he can create a dummy account and funnel credits from unsuspecting customers there, which he later transfers to a relative’s bank account in California before being forwarded to his account in Manila ready for withdrawal. The ruse starts with small amounts of 10 - 15 dollars for every transaction before it turns into hundreds. Soon, several other members of the team join the scheme and they all experience a sudden windfall which they enjoy as long as they can. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and all scams are eventually discovered. Now on the run from the authorities who have tracked all the paper trail leading to them, Alvin makes a run for it, transferring from hotel to hotel and flying from city to city. Is he shrewd enough to evade legal consequences?

The Buried Giant

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Briton couple Axl and Beatrice lose their memories because of a mysterious mist that has been enveloping their lands. Their neighbors as well as the town council have forbidden them to use candles, without knowing why. The two eventually decide to head out and seek their son, of whom all they remember is that he left long ago and settled in a village two days away from where they reside. As they pass through a Saxon village, they notice that they have arrived at a bad time given how a teenager by the name of Edwin has been abducted by what the townsfolk believe to be ogres. Luckily, a wandering Saxon warrior named Wistan is also spending the night and rescues the boy who now bears an ogre bite that the villagers believe will turn him into an ogre himself. Concerned for the boy’s safety among a rabidly superstitious populace, Wistan opts to tag along with Axl and Beatrice, Edwin in tow, to find him a new home.

Maria

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September 16, 1977. Maria Callas (Angelina Jolie) dies of a heart attack at 53 in her Paris apartment. Flashback a few weeks earlier, Maria intentionally annoys her loyal butler Ferruccio (Pierfrancesco Favino) by asking him to move the piano to a different room every day while she sings to her housemaid Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher) who always tells her that she is magnificent after each impromptu performance. The truth of the matter is that the opera legend has lost her singing voice, which sets her plans in motion to recover it not so she could go back to performing for an audience but rather so she could perform for herself. Her consumption of prescription drug Mandrax results in hallucinations conjuring a young filmmaker also named Mandrax (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who is supposedly filming a documentary about her life. As she struggles with the memories of her glory days, she comes to terms with her life as La Divina accompanied by bittersweet experiences such as her relationship with a Greek magnate who dumped her for Jackie Kennedy.

Going Home to Christmas (Repertory Philippines)

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Passengers of a Liberty Airlines flight headed to Cebu are stranded at the Ninoy International Airport amidst the Christmas rush, all of them frustrated despite the cheers of the holidays. The airport janitor keeps on improvising the lyrics of Christmas in Our Hearts based on his observations while people-watching. Bickering husband and wife Arnie (Lorenz Martinez) and Josie (Neomi Gonzales) might not make it to their cruise, which they hope would be the answer to their marital woes. Father and son JR (Floyd Tena) and JD (Neo Rivera) run into aunt and niece tandem Em (Mayen Bustamante-Cadd) and Raya (Justine Narciso), with whom they both have romantic histories. Ground attendant Pat (Carla Guevara-Laforteza) is lonesome because her pilot husband Richard (Noel Rayos) is working away from home in Dubai and won’t be home for the holidays. Will the Christmas spirit eventually take over or will all of them succumb to misery at one of the world’s worst airports?

The Kite Runner

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Amir and Hassan grow up together in the same household in Kabul: the former, the son of a successful businessman who has a penchant for throwing parties; the latter, the child of the househelp who grew up with the house owner as some form of atonement for a past crime. While a year younger than Amir, Hassan is the more courageous of the two and often defends his friend from their bullies. Despite practically growing up as brothers and moving about in the same world, their roles couldn’t be any less different given their respective ethnic heritage. Their days of innocence and flying kites are disrupted by a personal tragedy as well as the arrival of the Shorawi who takes control of the country. Their lives diverge paths to avert another tragedy, but eventually begin to intertwine again decades later when Amir pays a visit to an old friend in Peshawar and is confronted with a revelation that will change his life forever.

Animal Farm

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Old Major, a white boar respected by many other farm animals living with him at Manor Farm, asks for a special gathering where he shares a vision he had in a dream, that of equality among all animals as well as the overthrow of their cruel human master Mr. Jones. After his death, two pigs by the name of Napoleon and Snowball turn his vision into reality by staging a revolt that successfully drives away the humans of the farm. The animals are now free from human intervention despite the neighboring farms demonizing them in fear of the revolutionary spirit spilling over to their own domains. Administration of the farm now falls in their hands. As new commandments are written and group work is abetted by the new communal spirit, Snowball is expelled and deemed a traitor, blamed for every bad occurrence at the farm, while Napoleon gains sole control of his domain, his behavior and style slowly turning into those of the humans they chased away not so long ago.

Fight Club

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An unnamed narrator is held at gunpoint on one of the upper floors of the city’s tallest skyscraper which is about to explode soon. Counting down the last few minutes of his life, he recalls the first time he met Tyler Durden. On a flight. At the beach. At the first Fight Club that they establish after he moves into his apartment when his own flat is blown to smithereens. Before this, he frequented cancer support groups as an escapist outlet for his insomnia. There he met Marla Singer, who was doing the same thing. Soon enough he sees more of her against his own will when she ends up on Tyler’s bed. As Fight Club gains prominence, Tyler hops on an opportunity to begin organizing an army for Project Mayhem, a social movement aiming to disrupt public order and unshackle men all around the country from the chains of corporate slavery. When Tyler’s plans go a bit too far, the narrator wants out, but discovers something about their bond that will change the way he sees his life and himself forever.

Bored Gay Werewolf

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Brian is bored and kind of in a rut as far as his life is concerned. Leaving the comforts of home meant some sort of liberation from his parents’ rules, but making it on one’s own is always going to be challenging and problematic, even more so when you transform into a werewolf once every full moon. Brian swears that coming out as gay has been way easier for him, even though his parents seem to be okay with him being a werewolf, or at least that’s the message they try to convey despite the obvious fear deep inside. Brian finds a new family in his co-workers Nik and Darby, his colleagues at a restaurant, but they will never understand his struggles. Enter Tyler, a millennial werewolf himself who has a vision and a mission: that of establishing a pack and maximizing their werewolf potential, and he believes Brian can and will be the one to help him in his endeavor.