‘FranSeth’ steps into the dark and finds growth
While Francine Diaz and Seth Fedelin’s love team was immediately well-received by fans, it wasn’t until their debut film, “My Future You,” last year that they cemented the promise they had always shown and proved that they had what it takes to grow into more serious actors.
In the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), amid a stacked lineup of entries with heavier themes and ensembles of more established actors, “FranSeth” and “My Future You” emerged as a dark horse. Genre-wise, their feel-good, time-traveling outing might have been an outlier. But it wasn’t any less potent as an acting vehicle.
The romance and kilig they were known for were there, but their roles also demanded greater emotional complexity. In the end, Diaz earned positive reviews and a Best Actress nomination, while Fedelin won the Breakthrough Performance award.
This year, the two actors further expanded their acting range with the crime drama series “Sins of the Father,” and now, with “Shake, Rattle & Roll (SRR) Evil Origins”—the 17th installment of the iconic horror franchise and an entry in this year’s MMFF. It’s their second consecutive appearance in the annual event. Though just as thrilled, they understand that their previous movie has raised the bar—and with it comes expectations and pressure.
“After doing ‘My Future You,’ people will now look to see what else we can contribute to other film genres,” Fedelin says at a recent press conference.
From kilig to bedlam
In this new “SRR”—whose traditional three-segment format explores the cycle of evil across different time periods—Diaz and Fedelin star in the second one titled “2025.” The story happens during a modern-day Halloween masquerade, which descends into bedlam when a serial killer crashes the revelry.
Diaz plays Faye, an only child aspiring for a better life, but whose financial struggles have put her college studies on hold and forced her into petty thievery. She sneaks into the ball, if only for a taste of luxury she desires. Fedelin is Sean, a son of a governor whose charismatic exterior belies his loneliness inside. Thirsty for connection, he picks up the tab for everyone’s drinks at the bar.
While they both have dabbled in mystery thrillers, like the 2023 mini-series “Fractured,” “SRR” is Diaz and Fedelin’s first real stab at full-fledged slasher horror. “There were also action scenes. We were chased with axes, knives,” Fedelin says of their segment, which also stars JM Ibarra, Fyang Smith, Sassa Gurl, and Althea Ablan. “This film really put our emotions and acting skills to the test.”
“We learned a lot throughout the process,” Diaz adds. “We’re happy we’re being given room for growth and exploration.”
Paranormal encounters
Luckily, they didn’t have to look far to get themselves into their characters’ fears. They have had their share of paranormal encounters, they reveal.
Diaz claims she used to have an open third eye, which sometimes had her speaking with an entity she thought was her sibling—only to realize it was actually something else. Fedelin, on the other hand, once climbed a tree and fell. Afterward, he suffered a fever and wounds that lasted for days. He didn’t begin to heal, he says, until his lola had tawas performed on the clothes he wore that fateful day.
“Lagi rin kaming nauusog kaya lagi rin kaming pinapatawas ni Mama,” Diaz shares, highlighting how Filipino folk beliefs once played a role in their childhoods.
But while the movie is designed to elicit screams, fans can still expect a smattering of kilig—but this time in ways that make sense within the story. “There are many other ways to show love—through helping, comforting, or rescuing,” Diaz says. “The love they expect to see will be shown more through actions than words.”
Physical toll
The shift from romance to horror was jarring; that much, they anticipated. What the actors didn’t realize, however, was the added physical toll of juggling “SRR” with “Sins,” whose taping overlapped. This meant taping for the TV series, heading to the movie set, then back to the soap—rinse and repeat.
“I went home only to take a bath and get dressed,” Fedelin recalls. “I slept in the car while on the road and on the set when we were on standby.”
It was physically and emotionally draining, they admit. That’s one way to see it, and it’s valid. But you could also view it as simply being so busy with work you barely had time to sleep. “It’s hard, but you know you’re blessed… Pagod, pawis, puyat—but we do what we do with gratitude,” Diaz says, adding that their recent projects have given them a deeper appreciation of the craft and the creative process.
They have also become more hands-on and collaborative on set. “Kami na ang nakakakita ng mga mali namin. We suggest if we can try this or that. We ask questions,” Diaz says.
This is the kind of mindset they hope to cultivate as they continue their showbiz journey. And he still has a long way to go, Fedelin says. Of course, winning an MMFF award brings a sense of validation but it’s also no reason to rest on his laurels.
“Whatever I have achieved was because of hard work. Pero wala pa ako sa kalahati ng kalahati ng kalahati,” he says. “The road ahead is still long.”
