Director Mikhail Red offers another horror film titled 'Deleter' in MMFF 2022
Director Mikhail Red admits he and his team were surprised when they found out that his film Deleter was included in the eight official entries of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) this year.
During its story conference, Direk Mikhail has really no intention to do the movie to be part of the annual film festival.
“Yung interesting dito, hindi intentional na parang, 'Gawa tayo ng pang-Metro Manila Film Festival.' So, at least, may assurance tayo na it's something new, fresh, for the MMFF audience. I think, yun ang nagpapa-excite dun and I think, nakita nila yung combination ng cast, ng concept, ng genre, parang mas adventurous pakinggan if you see a title like that na attractive,” he said during the movie's grand media conference held on Tuesday, December 6.
He added, “Parang better nga na hindi namin alam para hindi calculated na gagawa tayo ng pang-MMFF this year. Ang nangyari, we just wanted to make a good film na horror, na ito ang subject natin, then, parang surprise plot twist na lang na mapapanood kayo ng maraming tao.”
In Deleter, Direk Mikhail uses horror elements to narrate a story of a social media content moderator, which will be played by Nadine Lustre.
“Nababasa ko na talaga siya,” he said about his main subject. “May articles talaga before about this. Noong nag-i-start pa lang ang Facebook, may articles na about this. It's something you wonder, kapag nade-delete ang post sa Facebook, sino ang nagde-decide, hindi naman siguro AI yun, may nanonood talaga siguro.
“Parang ang creepy, ang weird, ang clandestine, ang secretive ng job na 'to. The fact na ini-interview sila about social media cleaning, kailangan naka-mask sila o naka-blur ang mukha, parang very underground type of occupation.
“Then, eventually, I was traveling for Neomanila sa international film festival and I saw a documentary about it, so parang naggo-grow lang nang naggo-grow yung fascination and interest ko dito.”
He also mentioned that restrictions during the pandemic were also a factor in coming up with the idea of making a story about a content moderator.
“Eventually, when I have to pitch [during the pandemic], you have to think of certain concepts din na feasible. It really fits din kasi it's very contained, focused lang sa one character and yet, you feel the world, you feel the society.”
Meanwhile, Direk Mikhail is known for his previous thriller projects such as Eerie, starring Kapuso actress Bea Alonzo; Arisaka, starring Eat Bulaga host Maja Salvador; and Dead Kids, starring Kapuso actor Kelvin Miranda.
His reputation as a filmmaker was the main reason Nadine immediately accepted her role in Deleter.
She recalled, “I think, noong sinabi sa akin na magpi-pitch si Direk Mik, doon pa lang, alam ko na gusto ko siyang gawin. Kasi, alam ko naman ang films ni direk--napanood ko yung Eerie, napanood ko rin yung Dead Kids--sobrang ganda talaga ng movies na yun. Actually, marami rin akong kaibigan na talagang gustung-gusto nila yung films ni direk.
“So, noong sinabi nilang magpi-pitch si direk, alam ko na maganda yung project. Lalo na yung nag-pitch na siya, 'tapos sinabi niya na horror, parang yun na yung keywords para mapa-oo ako--horror, psychological thriller. So, after ng meeting namin, napa-oo na ako, no questions asked.”
Aside from its director, Nadine also saw Deleter as an opportunity to do a genre that's different from the usual projects that she does.
“Of course, this time around naipapakita ko sa mga tao yung kaya ko pang gawin. Kasi, before, parang nagiging redundant na siya. I mean, I've had good projects, pero kapag paulit-ulit na din kasi, as an actress, medyo nakaka-bore na rin siya in a way.
“Sobrang na-excite ako kasi hindi ko rin na-imagine na mayroon pala akong kaya nailabas pa o kaya ko pala umarte nang ganito. So, masaya ako, hoping na in the future marami pa akong ganitong out the box projects para maipakita ko pa yung kaya ko.”
Deleter will be shown in theaters from December 25 to January 7 nationwide. The festival's awarding ceremony called "Gabi Ng Parangal" will be held on December 27.
WHILE WAITING FOR THIS YEAR'S MMFF, TAKE A LOOK BACK AT THE KAPUSO STARS WHO WERE PART OF MOVIES IN THE 2021 MMFF: