Award-winning director Mark Meily tries his hand in horror via “Elemento”
by Archie Liao
Award winning director Mark Meily made quite a name for himself in critically acclaimed films like “Donor”, “Crying Ladies”, “ La Visa Loca”, “Baler” and “El Presidente”.
Now, he tries his hand in directing horror via Viva Films’ “Elemento”.
Is “Elemento” your first horror film?
“Yes. Although the story of Elemento is an amalgamation of my experience on the supernatural from so many years. The script was written 3 years ago.”
You have encounters with the supernatural. Could you expound on this?
“The impetus of Elemento came when my then 5 year old daughter didn’t want to go to school anymore that she was attending. She said she is scared of small dark hairy people who wanted to play with her initially but later on wanted her to live with them. When I was young I used to hear of stories about children being abducted by dwarves or spirits or elements who live in trees or forests”.
So, as a parent you could relate to Cristine’s (Reyes) character?
“Very much. I told this story to Cristine during our story conference. She asked about the psychology of her character, which shows you how serious Cristine is with her craft”.
How did your daughter cope with her fear? Did you investigate what was really happening in their school then?
“I investigated. I went to the school and talked to the teachers. Siempre, it was awkward but I really needed to explain eventually why I was pulling my daughter out of their school. Surprisingly, they had a good understanding. Apparently, it was the first time that something like that happened to the school – in New Manila where there are a lot of old trees.”
Did you have real-life encounters with these creatures?
“Personally, none. What is interesting however, is that I have friends who were told by their parents that they used to have playmates who are thought to be dwarves or elementals that only they can see until they reach a certain age when they don’t see them and somehow, they do not have recollections of these “playmates” anymore which is what happened to my daughter. She does not remember those events where she was scared if not frantic going to school. She didn’t want to see these creatures anymore.”
Do you believe that these creatures do exist?
“Certainly, elementals are creatures like us. I might interpret them differently but I guess it’s the same with people. The teacher of my daughter from the school she went said something very important and interesting- ” Just because we do not see these things, it does not mean they do not exist.”
What is the challenge of doing a horror film?
“The challenge for me is to create a film following a genre but without using clichés. I realized in my research that Pinoy horror movies are very western in narrative while other horror films from Asia are quite Asian in storytelling. Western horror movies are almost always about retribution or justice. Minumulto ka kasi may ginawa ka sa past mo. In Asian horror movies like those from Japan or Korea will have elements that haunt because you were there. Hindi kailangan ng paghihiganti palagi.”
In “Elemento”, the challenge also is not to use prosthetics but rather to come up with a horror film that could create a fear that is psychological instead of being too explicit- na in your face yung effects.”
“Elemento” is a supernatural horror drama about a mother named Kara( Cristine Reyes) experiencing strange things after her son, Lucas (Albert Silos) comes home from a school field trip to a forest.
Also in the cast are Jake Cuenca, Elizabeth Oropesa, Cholo Barretto, Jenny Quizon and a lot more.
“Elemento” unreels in cinemas nationwide starting April 6.
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