DIRECTOR Bobby Bonifacio is happy to get so many congratulatory greetings after the press screening of “Tahan” last Friday. Press people who saw it think it’s well acted by the whole cast and technical credits are also above average.

He is given a big break by 3:16 Entertainment, Mentorque Productions and Vivamax in the psycho-thriller,”Tahan”, which stars Jaclyn Jose, JC Santos and Cloe Barreto. He’s better known for directing horror films like “Numbalik Diwa”, “Hospicio” and “Hellcome Home”. His last work is a Boys Love film, “My Lockdown Romance”.

So how was it to direct Jaclyn Jose no less in “Tahan”?

“Siempre, nasindak ako kay Miss Jane, best actress ‘yan sa Cannes, e,” he says. “But in fairness to her, ambait niya. Nagkuwentuhan kami sa set, she told me her ideas about the movie. Nakagaanan ko agad siya ng loob.”

Jaclyn was also helpful in helping her co-actors.

“Yes, andami niyang natulungan sa set. Unang-una na ang bida na si Cloe Barreto. She was able to share with Cloe her wisdom about acting. She made our job easier because of her generous help.”

How about Cloe? Did she deliver?

“Sa reading pa lang, napansin ko, kinakabahan siya so I was asking myself, kaya ba nito i-deliver ang hinihingi ng character. Mahirap kasi talaga ang role niya of a young woman forced into prostitution by her own mother, played by Miss Jane, who’d later on turn into a killer who murders the men in her life.

“But in fairness to her, she was able to do well. Tinulungan din siya ng leading man niya, si JC Santos na sobrang gaan katrabaho and was able to contribute his own ideas. The whole cast delivered really well.”

He also praises the script penned by actress Quinn Carillo. “It was beautifully written. When they gave it to me, hindi ko na nabitiwan. I read it nang dire-diretso. The story is so intriguing and mysterious. It’s a dark psycho-thriller at yung mahilig sa murder and mystery will surely enjoy watching it. It’s a bonus that I have an excellent cast to give life the characters.”

“Tahan” is the kind of sex-and-violence flick their subscribers have come to expect from Vivamax. They won’t be disappointed as there are sex scenes galore. But we will not recommend “Tahan” to the weak of heart as they will surely cringe from all the gory bloodbath sequences. Specially that stomach-churning scene where a dead victim is cut into smaller pieces and later on, when they’re about to bury it, the pieces of arm, legs and what have you splattered into the ground.

It’s a given that Jaclyn is a stand out in any role she plays and here, she deserves to be nominated for best performance of a figment of a character’s imagination. In all fairness, Cloe Barreto didn’t just allow herself to be swallowed alive by Jaclyn in their crucial scenes together. She manages to hold her own against Jaclyn’s dominant persona.

If you’ve seen Hitchcock’s “Psycho”, the mother of all psychological thriller, then you will know where the story is going. “Tahan” starts all its bloodletting on Vivamax on July 22.