Film Name: Karak
Director: Ian Tan
Writer: Ian Tan
Starring: Berlin Lu, Lynn Liong
A young couple have a horrifying encounter with a yellow Volkswagen Beetle while driving home on a deserted highway in the middle of the night.
In a new Exclusive Interview on Blazing Minds ahead of Horror-on-Sea I got a chance to ask Writer/Director Ian Tan a few questions about the film ‘Karak‘
Karak will play at Horror-on-Sea on Friday 10th January at 10am
Q. Your film has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect?
A. Expect to view a yellow Volkwagen Beetle in a way you haven’t before, and expect to really connect with the characters’ emotional plight.
Q. What were some of your influences when writing the script?
A. Most of it comes from my own personal relationship with grief and allowing myself to feel my emotions. I wanted to showcase the lengths men sometimes go through to avoid facing their own emotions and how much that affects not only us but the people we love.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. Oddly enough, Michael Bay was a big influence on how we decided to film the coverage of our characters in the car. There’s also a hint of Sam Raimi-esque camerawork and small nod to The Shining.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. Due to time constraints (we made this film in 10 days for a competition), I had to forgo a few additional action beats as the Beetle messes with our main characters, and we ended up removing a few emotional beats we found repetitive. A lot of the changes came from my actors really knowing their characters and going off-script to deliver the more heart-wrenching exchanges in their dialogue.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. It was really fun filming the blood flowing out of the car speaker. Our picture car, the VW Beetle, didn’t actually have speakers by its doors, so my Production Designer Anjali Mandapaka created a portion of the Beetle’s doors with cardboard, duct tape and an old speaker she found. We squirted our fake blood mix through a water gun from behind the speaker. It was one of those shots that really excited everyone on set, being a low-budget indie horror.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. We had one night shoot where we filmed all the Beetle stuff on the road, and shooting in the summer meant our nights were shorter, so we were really on the clock. What made things worse is that the Beetle would keep breaking down on us and our stunt driver and Producers had to spent a good amount of time troubleshooting that issue. It cost us time and made us loose some shots, which is a pity. Still, I think we got just enough of what we needed and I’m very proud of what we were able to achieve under the circumstances.
Q. What makes it stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. I think the element of this being based on a Malaysian urban legend makes it stand out amongst the plethora of other horror films. I’m excited to give audiences a peek into this intriguing bit of Malaysian folklore.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I hope everyone who watches this allows themselves to feel, and I hope loved ones create a safe space for each other to feel their emotions.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. I’m actively trying to get this off the ground as a feature film!
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. Collaborate. Get as much feedback as you can in the script stage. I tend to like rushing into production, but I’ve learned that in the indie world, your script is king, so take time workshopping it until it’s at a good state before you go to camera.
Karak will play at Horror-on-Sea on Friday 10th January at 10am
You can find out more about the festival and purchase tickets here
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
