Filmmaker Mikhail Red talks love for horror and 'Diablo,' working with dad Raymond for 'Lilim'
From the techno-horror Deleter to the occult-themed Eerie, Mikhail Red knows how to tell a bone-chilling story.
The filmmaker has released over 10 films ranging from thrillers to horror, and he has another upcoming title Lilim, which from its trailer, looks to be as chilling as his previous works.
For Mikhail, horror as a genre has many moving pieces, which make it interesting to make.
"[Horror is] very visual, very technical. As an introverted filmmaker, I always express my stories visually, and it was something that I really gravitated towards," he told PhilSTAR L!fe.
What he loves most about these kinds of stories is that they're not just black and white.
"It's also the psychological aspect of it. It's usually a character always trying to make morally ambiguous decisions to survive," he said.
"It's always like a character who gets in trouble or sometimes is villainized by society or by the authorities. It feels more oppressive that way, where it's not just your typical antagonist going after you, but the whole of society, your world collapsing."
Gamer at heart
In his most recent project, Mikhail got to explore something different than the occult: esports. In October, his film Friendly Fire hit theaters, chronicling the story of a young gamer (Loisa Andalio) who's scouted by a professional esports team. The filmmaker himself is a gamer at heart, playing a lot of role-playing games (RPGs) since he was a kid.
"I was a big Diablo II player. I played in the old-school Battle.net, I did a lot of PvP. Eventually, I played Diablo III and Diablo IV," the director shared. He first played the game when he was around seven years old at the house of a family friend.
The RPG dungeon crawler is set in the human world of Sanctuary where angels and demons have waged an eternal war. In its latest expansion pack, Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, players search for a hero possessed by great evils. These kinds of themes and aesthetics have inspired the filmmaker's works.
"A lot of the characters in my films are always neither really good nor bad. They're always morally ambiguous. And you have a lot of those in Diablo. The tone, very almost bleak, serious, is something that I was always fascinated by," he said.
"Whenever we have certain scenes or when we shoot in a church or a chapel, of course, there's always [Diablo references] in the back of our heads. Of course, the stories we tell are still very Filipino. But there is that sense of, I guess, tone, and it's something that we reference when we think of pegs or the mood."
On Lilim and being raised in a house of storytellers
For his upcoming film, Mikhail got to work with his father, the Palm d'Or Award-winning Raymond Red, for the first time.
Lilim revolves around a brother and sister seeking safety in a secluded orphanage during social turmoil and unexplained disappearances against the backdrop of a volatile era in the country. A release date has yet to be announced.
"As a second-generation artist, he (Raymond) never really forced me into filmmaking, but he was always there, present. It was natural for me to gravitate towards that art form, explore it on my own," he said.
He then asked his dad if he could work on Lilim as a cinematographer as Raymond is familiar with the story's setting.
"The story is set in Makiling. It's set in the 80s, something he's very familiar with aesthetically, and we wanted that almost classical, vintage filmic look. We needed a consultant, and he's very familiar with the era. It was the perfect project to collaborate with him," Mikhail said.
In addition to his dad, other family members are part of the director's latest project.
"My brother is a collaborator. He's always an editor and co-writer. My uncle is also a director, John Red. it's a family. So like all of us, my cousin Ray Red is also doing a lot of genre films."
"We've always been storytellers."
Being raised in a household of filmmakers, Mikhail said that they sometimes had creative differences.
"We're very honest with each other. [It's] very passionate. When I'm working with my family members, I would say that these [conflicts] made the bond[...] When you're working with people you know, even with my cousin Ray Red, who co-writes [for female characters], it's just easier. There [are] less restrictions, less tiptoeing, and [more] direct to the point."