Sid Lucero sees added meaning in his latest project, Posthouse. For the award-winning actor, the upcoming horror film is also a platform to talk about the wounds people carry, often without realizing it.
In the movie, Sid plays Cyril, a filmmaker from a family deeply rooted in the craft. Estranged from his daughter, portrayed by Bea Binene, Cyril finds himself reconnecting with her through a shared passion for film, setting the stage for events inside a mysterious editing house.
Sid said the story struck a personal chord. “It basically talks about scars that we can pass on. And sometimes you don’t even know that it’s there,” he said during the film’s grand media conference on Aug. 5 at Viva Café.
“We’re not aware of the generational scars that we have. That tends to dictate how we treat the people around us.”
The 43-year-old actor linked this theme to his own life and long-running advocacy for mental health awareness, an issue he has been weaving into his work over the last four years. He said his understanding of mental health evolved from the limited view he had growing up.
“At that time, all I knew was ‘baliw’ or ‘hindi baliw.’ My personal experience has opened my eyes to how much it affects all of us, and how it has affected me,” he said.
Playing Cyril, Sid said, gave him an immediate starting point because of their similarities. Like his character, he also comes from a filmmaking family and is a father to a daughter who lives with her mother.
“There was really something to dive off from because it was already personal from the start,” he said.
That personal connection, he added, made him more invested in how the role was portrayed.
He noted that even in projects where mental health isn’t directly part of the script, he looks for ways to bring the subject in, especially on television.
“Since I’m often cast as the bad guy, I get to put some input on how I want to do it,” he said.
The film, directed by first-time filmmaker Nikolas Red, mixes modern scares with a tribute to Philippine cinema history, drawing inspiration from lost silent films.
While the plot carries supernatural elements, Sid believes its underlying message on inherited trauma and emotional wounds will resonate with audiences.
“At this point in my life, I’m very much aware of how my parents’ scars have been passed on to me and how I have affected other people around me because of those scars,” he said. “That’s why it’s such an advocacy for me to do these things.”
The actor said he hopes viewers will leave the theater with more than just a fright.
“It definitely has something to say,” he said. “And if it gets people to think about the things we carry and how we pass them on, then it’s worth it.”
The film opens on Aug. 20 exclusively in cinemas.
