Shanaia with 'The Gatekeeper' directors Dean and Matthew Rosen. Handout photo

MANILA — It was the year 1984 when director Matthew Rosen started to do research on biblical mysteries in Filipino folklore -- studies that eventually led to the film "The Gatekeeper."

Rosen revealed on Wednesday that it took some time for him to make the film due to the research that he did for the movie.

"I've been working on it since 1984 ... it actually takes a lot of research, there's a lot of stuff to get your head around all the way through it," Rosen said in a press conference.

"From the initial discovery that I had in the holy land of something that happened 3,500 years ago. I have had to research it because it's not very commonly known," he added.

"The Gatekeeper" delves deep into the demonic mysteries lurking in the real world while blending biblical elements into Filipino folklore as presented through the lens of the character Cita, played by Shanaia Gomez.

READ: Shanaia Gomez to star in 'The Gatekeeper' streaming on iWantTFC starting Oct. 19

Cita will come across a strange cabinet that serves as a portal to the horrific pits of the underworld, as she suddenly becomes the gatekeeper between two worlds.

"She is an antique store owner, it's a family business, her antique store. I would say that she's very independent ... I feel like she's very traumatized kasi she has a lot of walls," Gomez said of her role.

"Ang taas ng walls niya to trust people in her life and she's also palaban in a way na if she see's something, she needs to figure out what it is, she's not gonna be able to sleep until she figures out whatever that thing is," she added.

"There's a lot that you can learn from Cita ... she fights for what is right even if it means na she gets the short end of the stick. She's a good person."  

Meanwhile, Dean Rosen wanted his character Rabbi Jacob to give the religious element in the film a different and fresh perspective with the layers of his role.

"I'm a Rabbi, which is a Jewish holy man, it's sort of like in a lot of horror movies there's always a Catholic priest, somebody that needs to be asked what does this mean or how should we do things," he said.

"I just wanted to do it a little differently this time ... Just like Sita, Jacob's past might be a little more complicated than that."

The director earlier expressed his excitement to finally show what he's been working on for decades.

"So, I really only was able to put the pieces together a couple of years, that's when I decided to write the script. I've been preparing for this since 1984. It is a great weight off my shoulders and we have finally made it and I am so excited to get this out on air for people."

"The Gatekeeper" will be available to stream via iWantTFC starting October 19.