''Dear Satan'', later renamed ''Dear Santa'', is an unreleased Philippine

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horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed by RC Delos Reyes under Mavx Productions and stars

Paolo Contis Paolo Enrico Tusi Contis (born March 14, 1984) is a Filipino actor, host, singer, and comedian of Italian descent. Contis debuted as a child actor in the ABS-CBN show ''Ang TV'' during the 1990s. A GMA Network artist for 20 years, he has won ...

and Sienna Stevens. The film depicts a story of a child accidentally writing a letter to Satan rather than Santa Claus. The film garnered controversy over its title and the depiction of Satan as a redeemable character.

Premise

Chichi (Sienna Stevens) writes a letter to

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

for Christmas but accidentally misspells Santa's name. This leads to the letter finding its way to Satan (

), who answers to the girl's wishes. Satan attempts to tempt Chichi to evil, but the girl's virtues resists the demon's plans and changes him instead.

Cast

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

; he receives a letter from a little girl which was actually meant for Santa Claus but misspells "Santa" as "Satan". Satan in the film is depicted as a redeemable character who initially attempts to be a bad influence to the girl. Contis reasons that Satan was chosen to play a role in the film due to be a clear depiction of evil. However, Contis admits that the audience of the trailer noticed that Satan as being "too nice" and justified holding back from playing the character at his worst since ''Dear Satan'' is ultimately still a

children's film A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that generally relates to children in the context of home and family. Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for a general audience, while family films are made f ...

. *Sienna Stevens as Chichi; the girl who accidentally writes a letter to Satan. She withstands Satan's temptations due to her strong faith. She is intended as a personification of "child-like faith" which the production of the film meant to promote. *Aya Fernandez

Production

''Dear Satan'' was produced under Mavx Productions with RC Delos Reyes as the film's director. The film was made under the workshop script of

Mowelfund Mowelfund, or the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation, is an organization in the Philippines that provides for the welfare of marginalized and undeserved workers in the film industry. As well as helping film workers in times of need, it provides ...

. The story concept was by

Controversy

The film nevertheless received controversy over its initial title ''Dear Satan'', with Mavx announcing it would change the film's name in August 2024 "to better align with its intended message and to respect the sensitivities of the audience". The production team explained that ''Dear Satan'' revolves around the concept of good versus evil, where an innocent child who "overcomes temptations through strong faith". By this time the film was already finished and "fully edited".

Planned release

The film was scheduled to be released theatrically in the Philippines on September 18, 2024. However the

Movie and Television Review and Classification Board The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB; ; is a Philippine government agency under the Office of the President of the Philippines that is responsible for the classification and review of television programs, motion p ...

(MTRCB) gave ''Dear Satan'' an X rating barring it from public exhibition in cinemas. Mavx Productions no longer appealed to the MTRCB. There are plans to have the film released straight-to-home media via

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

but no release date yet has been announced.

MTRCB rating

MTRCB chair

Lala Sotto Diorella Maria "Lala" Gamboa Sotto–Antonio is a Filipina politician and television host who has served as the chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) since July 7, 2022. Early life A member of the p ...

, who personally viewed the film along with the board, explaining ''Dear Satan's'' X rating said that the film was offensive to her as a Christian, particularly the depiction of Satan as redeeming himself insisting that "Satan will never ever be good". Despite the film being renamed as ''Dear Santa'', the MTRCB upheld its X rating, saying that the film’s positive depiction of Satan served as “an attack on fundamental belief of the Catholic and Christian faiths.” The Directors' Guild of the Philippines said that the MTRCB had "evident overreach" insisting that the film does not glorify evil and that ''Dear Satan'' "challenges conventional depictions of antagonists, suggesting that even those considered inherently bad can change for the better".

References

{{reflist Cancelled films Christianity-related controversies in film Christianity-related mass media and entertainment controversies Demons in film The Devil in film Film censorship in the Philippines Obscenity controversies in film Philippine Christmas films Rating controversies in film Religious controversies in film Religious controversies in the Philippines Unreleased films