Former Goin’ Bulilit kids Nash Aguas, Sharlene San Pedro, CJ Navato, Kristel Fulgar, and Kiray Celis topbill the teen horror-thriller Class of 2018, which opens in cinemas nationwide today, Nov. 7.
The film written by Jericho Aguado and Charliebebs Gohetia and directed by the latter is the “back-from-sem-break” offering of T-Rex Entertainment—the studio that brought us the celebrated Deadma Walking and Bakwit Boys, among many other hit movies.
When Nash, Sharlene, CJ, Kristel, and Kiray were little kids, they were mainstays of the popular Goin’ Bulilit comedy show of ABS-CBN. Together with other child performers, they cheered up weekend nights with their wit, charm and impeccable comedic timing. Since then, these five have become multi-talented stars.
Sharlene is now a MYX VJ and recording artist and favorite teen actress of Maalaala Mo Kaya. Nash, an award-winning actor, has gotten raves for his role in the television series, The Good Son. Kristel and CJ are social media stars whose song covers on YouTube have garnered millions of views. Kiray, meanwhile, has starred in box-office hits like Shake, Rattle, and Roll XV and Crazy Beautiful You alongside leading love team, KathNiel.
They give life to distinct and memorable characters in Class of 2018—Sharlene is Ada, a loner who gets bullied. Nash is RJ, a “cool kid” who is a part of the popular rich boy posse. CJ is Migs, a geek obsessed with conspiracy theories. Kristel is Princess, a reformed mean girl who is doing her best to befriend the class, while Kiray is Venus, the school’s reigning queen bee who leads a popular clique.
Class of 2018 is about Section Zamora, which is a class of underachievers, repeaters, and delinquents. When Section Zamora goes on an out-of-town field trip, a classmate contracts a mysterious virus, which prompts the military to quarantine them in an abandoned military facility. Ada, RJ, Princess, Migs, Venus, and the rest of Section Zamora fight for survival while dealing with the dangers of the infectious virus and politics among untrustworthy classmates.
When the project was offered to the actors, they responded with instant enthusiasm. Sharlene says she found the premise very intriguing, “When I read the summary, I told myself, this is different, Kakaiba. Shinare ko sa mommy at daddy ko at nag-agree sila na kakaiba nga.”
The energy on the set was undeniable; just like the mysterious virus, it was hard to contain. Gohetia reveals that his cast was a noisy but incredible bunch. “They’re rowdy, pero kapag take naman, ginagawa nila kung ano ang instructions ko.”
So whether it was doing a complicated fight scene, running endlessly in hallways, moving the audience with a heartfelt dialogue, or uttering a hilarious line, the cast of Class of 2018 were always spot-on perfect.
Gohetia says that their experience plus rapport made for a terrific movie.
“Nag-gel lahat. Magagaling sila,” he says of his cast.
Class of 2018 also features a stellar ensemble composed of Yayo Aguila, Adrian Alandy, Dido dela Paz, Alex Medina, Sherry Lara, Michelle Vito, Ethan Salvador, Jomari Angeles, Kelvin Miranda, Nikki Gonzales, Lara Fortuna, Aga Arceo, Shara Dizon, Hanna Francisco, Renshi de Guzman, Dylan Ray Talon, Micah Jackson, Jude Matthew Servilla, John Vic De Guzman, Yvette Sanchez, Jerom Canlas, and Noubikko Ray.
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