After getting international acclaim with his Filipino action thriller On the Job — even earning the attention of Hollywood, who are developing a remake — director Erik Matti was asked to come aboard The ABCs of Death 2. The anthology horror feature conjures up the fun concept of 26 separate shorts for each letter of the alphabet, and for Matti, he was given “I” for Invincible.
I recently had the chance to speak with him over the phone to discuss how he came on board, the mythology behind his story, what limitations he was given, how he prefers his comedy in horror, the future of distribution, specifically VOD, the status of his recent feature getting remade, and much more. Check out the full conversation below for the film now available on VOD and arriving in theaters on Halloween.
How did you get approached for this anthology project?
I just finished a film where XYZ [the producers] picked it up and we showed it in Directors Fortnight last year. Part of XYZ is Todd Brown and he’s producing some of the shorts in ABCS of Death and he just openly asked me if I’d be interested in doing one and I said of course, that would be a fun thing to do.
So, did you come up with the concept yourself and then pick a letter or were you give a letter beforehand?
I wrote the material with my co-writer, Michiko Yamamoto, and then we wrote it in Tagalog, our local language. We wanted to pick something that is local but could also have a universal story to it. There’s a bit of mythology to the story that we picked.
What is that mythology? I definitely got a lot of fun out of it, but maybe I’m not familiar with that exact mythology.
There’s a story that I grew up with that grandmother’s mothers don’t really die young because they have inside them a stone that they need to bequeath. Their siblings, their grandchildren, whoever accepts it, if it’s passed on to someone else, then they can die. If nobody accepts it wholeheartedly then they will live forever. I just found that it’s a bit ironic doing an episode about someone who doesn’t die in ABCs of Death [laughs]. It was apt for the episode that I got because I got the letter I. Even before I got the letter, I already had the story, but when I got the letter, it just fit as well, because the title of our short now is Invincible. It kind of worked together.
With this structure that they gave you, did you have a certain number of weeks to film in and were you able to use your own crew?
Yes. They gave us a few limitations. We’re working under three minutes, on the short and they gave us X amount of money for it. Of course, I think it’s not just me, but most of us have gone beyond budget. I put a few computer graphics in there. I got mainstream actors to be part of it, but typically the rest of us in the crew were doing it for the love of it. We’re just excited to get out that story with every part of the franchise, of the omnibus film.
With your short specifically, there was definitely some comedy. In terms of your taste, do you find the better horror has some comedic aspects or do you like straight-up horror?
There’s a mix of it. I’m currently finishing a creature movie that has a lot of comedy in it, but we’re also developing other material that is straight-up serious. It depends. I really think it all starts with the germ of the story. Is it too absurd to make it serious? Sometimes you just have to bring in a lot of comedy to it to make it more like the story you’re trying to tell. Sometimes you also find the germ of a story that could really just work if it’s straight-up, really serious. It really depends. With ghosts, I don’t like comedy in it. When there’s a little gore and some creatures in it, I think it really calls upon the filmmakers to put in more comedic touches in it.
Have you had a chance to see the entire sequel yet, The ABCs of Death 2?
No, no. I thought I could make it for Fantastic Fest. I’ll see it in New York. I’ll be there October 21st. I think it’s going to then be shown on limited theaters on October 31st, so I think I can see the screening when I’m there. I’d like to see the rest of the shorts. The producers and Tim [League] and everyone else kept a tight lip on all the episodes so none of us saw any of the episodes. Even our staff, we still haven’t shown it to them. We’re waiting for the VOD release before we could have a party [laughs] and screen the entire film.
I’m not sure how it is in the Philippines, but in America, with this series and V/H/S there’s been a revival of anthology horror films because it’s potentially cheaper and faster to get them done. The way people are watching entertainment now seems to perhaps be in more bite-sized chunks. It seems like the perfect format. Do you think this is a viable future for the horror genre?
Yes, there’s a long-running anthology film here. It’s already a franchise. It’s an omnibus film feature three short stories of horror. So it’s a mix of creatures, sometimes ghosts, fairies, etc. Currently our company, Reality Entertainment, is also doing an omnibus zombie film where there are four episodes. It’s a third-world zombie film, but it’s serious. We didn’t go for comedy on this. I think with VOD and it’s getting traction starting this year and eventually it’s going to take over a lot of the viewing experience of people who have moved online. I think these types of films it gives a lot of instant gratification. It’s like fast food. You get it, you watch five minutes of it, continue your meeting, and then go back to your office. Watch another five minutes of it. I think that’s how things are going to be joined later on.
Personally, I really decide on my viewing experience. Either I sit up in bed with all my Lay’s potato chips and lasagna [laughs] because I really take my viewing seriously, but for most they like to do viewings on the run. A lot of people, more and more, are getting into watching films on the phone and on tablets. I can’t watch films on those. But yes, I think that’s where the future is going to be. I also noticed that more and more there seems to be a lot of freedom in the kinds of films that are out there. Sometimes it’s just a baby crying, that’s how YouTube become popular. So much so that important films have become just one of those things, that you can just watch. Right now, VOD is offering any kind of film that you wish to enjoy as a viewing experience. It could be just senseless, people walking on the streets. Or it could be a meaningful religious experience. I think that’s going to change how people are going to make films. I met a few filmmakers that are only thinking of doing films on VOD [laughs]. And they can actually make money on it and I’m not surprised. Just by VOD they can recoup their budget. Of course, I really want my films to be viewed in theaters. That’s the whole experience of it. But I totally understand if people can make their outputs for VOD only.
My last question is the status of On the Job getting remade in Hollywood. That’s still happening?
Yes, at Universal. They already found a writer for it. Scott Stuber is on board to produce the film with Baltasar Kormákur the one directing the film, the remake. Of course, knowing Hollywood, I don’t know how long they are going to develop the material. I’m hoping that it’s going to be done soon, but I don’t know yet.
The ABCs of Death 2 is now available on VOD and hits theaters on October 31st.