''Kampon'', stylized as ''(K)ampon'', is a 2023 Philippine

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 ...

by Quantum Films starring

Beauty Gonzalez Christine Marie Luche "Beauty" Gonzalez-Crisologo (; born May 28, 1991) is a Filipina actress. Biography Beauty Gonzalez was born as Christine Marie Luche Gonzalez in Dumaguete to Carina Luche, a Spanish-Filipina who hails from Cebu and Ibar ...

and

Derek Ramsay Derek Arthur Ramsay Jr. (born December 7, 1976) is a British-Filipino model, actor, and TV host. He has an exclusive contract with GMA Network. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ramsay froze his contract with GMA Network. Ramsay is currently inact ...

Premise

Clark (

) and Eileen (

), are a childless married couple of eight years. One day a girl named Jade (Erin Espiritu) knocks on their home's door claiming to be Clark's child. The girl is accepted temporarily into their home as the couple try to decide what to make of the situation. Soon after strange incidents begin to occur in the couple's life.

Cast

as Clark Martinez, the male protagonist of the film and Eileen's husband of eight years. The couple has no children of their own. Clark is a police officer who has a secret past. The role was specifically written for Ramsay. In 2019, Ramsay was unavailable at the time which made the producers consider

Gabby Concepcion Gabriel Arellano Concepcion (; born 5 November 1964) is a Filipino actor, singer and businessman. He began his show business career in the 1980s as a teen commercial model and is known for his debonair career in Philippine cinema. He is cur ...

to portray the character instead. Ramsay came broke his hiatus for he film upon the request of producer Joji Alonso. Ramsay expressed being challenged in the portrayal given that horror is a not a typical genre for him. *

as Eileen Martinez, the female protagonist of the film and Clark's wife of eight years. The couple has no children of their own.

Kris Aquino Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino (; born February 14, 1971) is a Filipino retired television presenter, actress, talent manager and film producer. She notably appeared as Princess Intan in the acclaimed '' Crazy Rich Asians'' and is a rec ...

originally cast in the role before it was transferred to Gonzalez. *Erin Espiritu as Jade Bitangcol, a girl who claims to be Clark's child who Clark and Eileen welcomed to their home. Supernatural incidents occur shortly after. The role for Jade was filled through auditioning. Espiritu was a contestant in the child pageant segment "Mini Miss U" of '' It's Showtime''. An acting coach and psychologist was hired for Espiritu to help her fulfill her role. * Zeinab Harake as Loretta Bitangcol, a woman Clark had a one night stand with. Despite Clark being infertile, she claims him to be the father of her child. ''Kampon'' is the first ever acting project, for Harake who is better known for being a

vlogger A vlog (), also known as a video blog or video log, is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one ta ...

. Her appearance is billed as an introductory role. * Nico Antonio as Ranulfo *Lui Manansala as Na Almera *

Al Tantay Alfredo Tantay (born March 15, 1957), professionally known as Al Tantay, is a Filipino actor, comedian, writer, and director. He was discovered by Joey Gosiengfiao and was launched through the Regal Films movie, ''Iskandalo'', starring Lorna To ...

as Luis *

Cai Cortez Carizza Cortez-Rkhami (born July 1, 1988) is a Filipino politician, actress, comedian, model and endorser, who is currently a councilor-elect of Taytay, Rizal since 2025. Biography Carizza Cortez was born on July 1, 1988, in Taytay, Rizal ...

as Rhona *Nor Domingo as Jake Manabat *

Kean Cipriano Kean Edward Uson Cipriano (born June 11, 1987) is a Filipino singer, songwriter, actor, music video director, and musician. He is well known as the vocalist of pop-rock band Callallily, and the founder of his own record label O/C Records. Ea ...

as Manuel Perez Other cast members for ''Kampon'' include Nico Antonio, Nor Domingo, Lui Manansala

, and

Production

''Kampon'' was produced under Quantum Films with King Palisoc as the director.

Planned 2019 film

''Kampon'' was a submission for the

Metro Manila Film Festival The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is an annual film festival organized by the Metro Manila Development Authority and held nationwide in the Philippines. The festival, which runs from Christmas Day through New Year's Day and into first weeke ...

as early as for the 2019 edition. The original lead actors were

and

. However Ramsay was unavailable due to prior commitments with a television series with

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

. Ramsay was replaced by

as the male lead but production was not able to be completed in time. Consequentially ''Kampon'' was disqualified as an entry for the 2019 festival.

Continued production

''Kampon'' was re-submitted as a script entry for the 2023 edition. Ramsay is now available for the film project, with

as his on-screen partner. This marks as Ramsay's return to acting who has been on hiatus. According to Alonso, it took four years to produce the film. He said that it also "made use of

storyboards A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process ...

to plan all of its scenes, which in the Philippines is more typically used by

advertising agencies An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...

." It resulted to "more shots being made per

sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is cal ...

; to up to 36 shots per sequence and surpass the average of six shots per sequence in typical romance, drama, and comedy films", he added. Principal photography was finished by September 21, 2023.

Release

''Kampon'' premiered in cinemas in the Philippines on December 25, 2023, as one of the official entries of the

2023 Metro Manila Film Festival The 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is the 49th edition of the annual Metro Manila Film Festival. During the festival, no foreign films are shown in Philippine theaters (excluding IMAX and 4D theaters). Entries Feature films The first ...

. ''Kampon'' was supposed to premiere in 2019 edition, but was disqualified due to production issues related to casting. ''Sunod'' was named as its replacement. File:Kampon MMFF cast float.jpg, Float Parade of Stars File:Valenzuela16Dec2023_86.jpg, Main casts File:Cai Cortez in MMFF 2023 Parade of Stars.jpg, Zeinab Harake,

Accolades

Notes

References

{{reflist 2023 films 2023 horror films Philippine horror thriller films Films about adoption Films about families Films about Satanism 2020s Philippine films