Haunted Forest (2017 film)

The cast includes Jane Oineza, Maris Racal, Jameson Blake, and Jon Lucas. The story centers on a teenager who moves to a rural town with her estranged policeman father, where she discovers a supernatural force lurking deep in the woods. The film features mythical creatures, notably the *sitsit*, a being that preys on women at night and is blamed for the sudden disappearances and deaths of women in the town. As of current knowledge, no third film in the series has been officially announced or confirmed by Regal Films or the MMFF.

**Premise** The plot follows Aris (Raymart Santiago) and his estranged daughter, Nica (Jane Oineza). After Aris is reassigned, he begins investigating a murder staged similarly to the death of a childhood friend that still haunts him. While her father is away, Nica goes on an outing with her cousin and local friends, where strange events start happening to her. At first she tries to ignore them, but the occurrences grow worse each day.

**Cast** *Main cast* - Jane Oineza as Nica - Jameson Blake as RJ - Maris Racal as Mich - Jon Lucas as Andre

*Supporting cast* - Raymart Santiago as Aris - Joey Marquez as Nardo - Jerald Napoles as Voltron - Myrtle Sarrosa as Lorena - Miho Nishida - Betong Sumaya - Beverly Salviejo as Merly - Fiona Yang - Kelvin Miranda

**Production** Regal Films produced *Haunted Forest*, with Ian Loreños directing. Loreños described the film’s direction as a blend of Regal Films’ usual horror style and his own approach. He noted that the production team aimed to include more “organic horror” elements rather than relying solely on jump scares, and emphasized that the film had a story and lessons.