Earlier this year, actor Enrique Gil made a much awaited return to the big screen in the comedy I Am Not Big Bird, which was also the first film he produced under his new company Immerse Entertainment after a three-year hiatus from acting. The 32-year-old actor then followed it up with his first Metro Manila Film Festival horror film entry Strange Frequencies which he also produced and starred in as himself.
“It’s part of growing up. You have to constantly reinvent yourself in this industry and to be able to produce at the same time. Ang sarap pala ng feeling na mag-create ka ng different stories and concepts. More than just acting the part, it just really excites me right now. I don’t see myself stopping any time soon on producing more content and coming up with better stories for Filipinos,” he shared during the 50th MMFF Gabi ng Parangal event last December 27.
Prior to making his official comeback and signing an exclusive contract with ABS-CBN last year, Quen's last acting project was in the 2019 romantic drama film Alone/Together with former love team partner Liza Soberano. They were supposed to star in the teleserye project Make it With You in 2020, but the show was cancelled due to shooting constraints abroad during the pandemic.
Quen admitted he is thankful for all the positive feedback about his film, which is also considered the first full-length commercial movie filmed in found footage format. “I’m very happy. We really weren’t expecting much. We just thought of a cool concept, I mean, compared to the other entries na talagang acting pieces, grand, grand cast and everything. I’m just really happy to be part of the entry and I’m a huge horror fan, so sana magustuhan ng mga manunuod ‘yung type of horror na ginawa namin. It’s never really been seen before in Philippine cinema. Ang sarap din ng feeling pala, kasi the whole film was shot by the actors lang. Wala kaming cameramen, so ang sarap ng feeling while watching the film tapos makikita mo na shot mo ‘yun. ‘Uy, shot ko ‘yan! Nasama ‘yung shot ko? Ang ganda ng shot ko ah!’ Parang ganun. So kakaiba siya. It’s really something different,” he explained.
The one and a half hour film is based on the 2018 South Korean film Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum. According to some netizens, they actually preferred the local version to the original, which Quen is surprised to hear. “Ay talaga? Wow. Siyempre iba pa rin yung original pero we just really wanted to have our own Filipino adaptation take on it and I’m really happy na nag-click sa mga fellow Filipinos natin. So I’m so happy na na-enjoy nila. Hopefully we get to make more films in the future,” he added.
Apart from working on acting and co-producing more film projects in 2025, Quen will also be busy with a new TV series in the Kapamilya network as well.
Watch Enrique Gil in Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital, which is one of the ten entries in the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival now showing in cinemas nationwide until January 7, 2025. It also stars Jane de Leon, Alexa Miro, Rob Gomez, MJ Lastimosa, Raf Pineda, and Ryan "Zarckaroo" Azurin, and is directed by Kerwin Go.