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The Mike De Leon directed film Kisapmata hardly made a dent when it was released in cinemas as part of the 7th Metro Manila Film Festival in 1981.

Shocking, violent, and provocative - the movie was just too much for the Pinoy viewers to take at the time with its theme of incest, murder, suicide, and parricide all packaged in a single narrative.

But what it lacked in box-office punch, it more than made up with its superb acting, intriguing plot, and gritty cinematography enough for critics here and abroad to take notice.

The passage of time only strengthened the film's reputation as one of the greats in Philippine cinema, often mentioned yet hardly seen and dissected by the younger generation of moviegoers.

Kisapmata scene

Thankfully, the movie will be streamed online this coming Saturday, December 19, from 7 A.M. to 11 P.M. on Citizen Jake Vimeo channel.

Take note, it's a one-day screening affair so better mark your calendar.

And you won't be seeing a grainy, low-resolution version of the film either.

The L'Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, Italy, and Wildsound Studios in Manila have done a great job restoring the psychological horror movie to give it a high-res sheen without reducing the bleak aura that pervades throughout the scenes.

Director Mike De Leon, now 73, along with UnionBank, co-founded the painstaking restoration work.

Kisapmata scene

Kisapmata tells the story of a controlling patriarch consumed with anger and jealousy stemming from his daughter's marriage.

The film's story was inspired by true-to-life events in 1961.

Intrigued by the murder-suicide incident, writer-journalist Nick Joaquin, writing under the pen name Quijano de Manila, tackled the subject in his unique crime reporting style.

He titled his article “The House on Zapote Street" and with the Philippine Free Press magazine publishing the story.

Kisapmata starred Vic Silayan, Charo Santos, Jay Ilagan, and Charito Solis.

Interestingly, the MMFF of 1981 handed out nine awards including Best Film, Best Director, Best Story, and Best Screenplay to Kisapmata despite its poor box-office performance

Watch the teaser here.

Since 1975, the Metro Manila Film Festival has been a yearly Christmas event much-awaited by moviegoers.

This year will be different though as the threat of COVID-19 has forced the organizers to forego screening in cinemas to protect the public.

The show, however, must go on and fans can access the 10 participating movies online via the new streaming platform, Upstream.ph.

Take a look at the official posters of the competing films for this year's festival: