Film Name: Malevolent
Director: Maks Kurockin
Writer: Maks Kurockin
Starring: Eugenia Chomenko, Vytenis Liutvinskas, Claudia Vinci and Leon Vinci.
Synopsis: After another hard day at work, a woman walks down the street. Her mentally unstable ex-husband waits for her, and after a fight, she runs away. When she approaches her house, she sees that the front door is not locked.
In a new interview leading up to the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival I got a chance to ask writer-director Maks Kurockin a few questions about what we can expect from his film Malevolent.
Malevolent will be showing at Horror-on-Sea at 3pm on Saturday 14th January
Q. Your film Malevolent has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. Yes, that is right. I made a few short films during my first 2 years at university, but this is my first short film that is more serious and complete than those. As a fan of sci-fi, fantasy and horror films I decided to make a short horror film in my final year at university for my final project. I didn’t have budget so I worked with what I had available at the time. I tried to create a spooky atmosphere with some experimental visuals and sound design. There are also some jump scares, so I hope some viewers will be scared at some point. Also, the music and sound design is all made by myself. Music production is another significant passion for me, and it’s really helpful for filmmaking. It is possible for me to create any sound or background music I wish. However, I make mostly electronic music stuff, so, if in the future I need some crazy epic cinematic blockbuster-ish piece of music like Hans Zimmer, there is a big chance that I’m just gonna have to find a professional composer for that.
Q. What were some of your influences when writing the script for Malevolent?
A. When I was working on my script for Malevolent, my influences were a couple of my favourite authors in the horror genre: Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft. An interesting fact: before Malevolent, I had another idea that was inspired entirely by H.P. Lovecraft. Due to its complexity, I decided to leave this idea for the future, as I definitely need some budget to make this happen. And then I came up with Malevolent.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. I’m a fan of many different horror films, and I really like the new wave of horror films of the last years. I was certainly inspired by films from directors such as Ari Aster, Hereditary (2019), Robert Eggers Witch (2015), Jennifer Kent The Babodook (2014). I wanted to create visually and psychologically an eerie atmosphere in the film. But the biggest inspiration for Malevolent was the works of Swedish director David F. Sandberg. He’s got his YouTube channel with many short horror films that he made at home without a budget and tutorials on how he made them. He is such a great guy. I learned a lot from him and implemented some of the techniques in my own short film.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. There was one change in the bathroom scene. In the original script, some kind of supernatural force was supposed to slam the bathroom door. I thought that for this jump scare effect, I could use fishing line, and it would not be noticeable when I pulled it. Unfortunately, the line was very visible in the video, so I decided to come up with something different that you could see in the film.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. One of my favourite moments during filming was the scene in the underground tunnel. When the main character confronts her ex-husband, the scene is supposed to be intense and full of raw emotions. It was a lot of fun filming that scene and working with the actors. I think they did such a stunning job.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. Definitely. There were many different issues here and there. As my first short horror film, I struggled a lot with lightning. Before principal photography, I’d been researching tons of information regarding lightning in film, especially in the horror genre. But I didn’t have much of a budget, so I couldn’t afford expensive lights. I borrowed a professional light from a friend who is a photographer and used that for most of the shots. Ultimately, I realized that this was not enough for some of the scenes, so I went to the Poundland shop where I bought many bright lights for 1-2 pounds. That was a life saver, and it helped a lot with filming.
Q. What makes Malevolent stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. To be honest as this is my first short horror, I can’t say that it has revolutionary ideas or techniques. I just tried to do my best and learn about horror and various techniques. I’ve tried to make some visually experimental shots and played around with colour correction. If I had to think about what makes Malevolent stand out it would be sound design and the way I made this film without any budget.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. Well, I hope that people will enjoy this short horror film, especially a horror fans. People may even discover some sort of hidden meaning.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. At the moment I’m working on some of the scripts for short films and also on my electronic music. I hope to film in the near future more horror short films, as I want to learn about this genre everything I possibly can. Another goal I have for this year is to make an EP, or even my first music album. It would probably be a mix of electronic music, indie-rock/pop and cinematic genres.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. I would say to them – do not wait for a perfect moment in your life to make a film or anything that you dream of. Just do it with what you have right now. If you don’t have a cool camera and just a phone, then use your phone to start making films. Do not waste your time doubting yourself. Do not wait for ideal conditions. Perhaps where you are at the moment in your life is the most ideal condition to start making everything you want. It sounds easy, but in reality, it’s quite challenging. Even for myself, I repeat this mantra every day.
Malevolent will be showing at Horror-on-Sea at 3pm on Saturday 14th January
You can purchase tickets and merchandise for the festival on the website 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!
