Mark Duffield Review & Exclusive Interview

British writer/director Mark Duffield has worked for over ten years as a cinematographer on several 35mm independent feature films, including Butterfly Man, shot on location in Thailand for which he won a Best Cinematography Award at the 2003 Slamdunk Film Festival in the USA. Ghost of Mae Nak is his debut feature film. He came up with the idea for the film after learning about the legend of Mae Nak Phrakanong from the film Nang Nak. After extensive research, he wrote an original screenplay for Ghost of Mae Nak in English, which was then translated into Thai. Ty Power caught up with him as Ghost of Mae Nak was due to be released on DVD...

Ty Power: As a western cinematographer turned writer/director, how did you become involved in a Thai film?

Mark Duffield: I first went to Thailand in 2001 as a cinematographer and worked on the British feature film Butterfly Man. In 2003 I was awarded 'Best Cinematographer' at the Slamdunk Film Festival Park City USA for Butterfly Man.

I have worked as a cinematographer on eight British feature films. I have also developed my skills as a scriptwriter and have directed several short films. Recently I teamed up with Brian Clemens writer of The Avengers and writer/director of Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter, as well as many other genre movies. We made a short film together called Face to Face. I especially love the Horror/Fantasy/Sci-Fi genre and I have been writing spec scripts for some time.

So in Thailand I became fascinated with the Thai ghost stories and legends and I saw the potential for a Thai 'ghost' film. I wrote the Ghost of Mae Nak script in English and had it expertly translated into Thai. I knew I had written an exciting project that was a unique take on the Mae Nak Ghost legend. When I showed it to Thai investors, the response was amazing and there was a mini 'bidding war' for the project. A lot of the Thai's were surprised to discover I was British, but this was also a bonus as they were keen to work with a western filmmaker who would direct a Thai film with western feel. And within a short time the film was funded with a Thai distribution deal in place before I had filmed anything.

TP: This ghost story is based on the famous Thai legend, which has already seen several film versions - including Nang Nak, Thailand's most successful film. What made you want to revisit the story, and what do you think you have offered which is new and different? Did you feel under pressure to do the legend justice?

MD: Ghost of Mae Nak is based on a famous and true Thai legend. It is a hundred year old dark tale of a young couple named Mak and Nak who were deeply in love. After being called to war, Mak returns to his wife Nak and their new-born child. When he is alone, the villagers try to warn him that he is living with a ghost and that his wife died during childbirth. Mak refuses to believe them and returns to confront Nak. That night the ghost of Mae (mother) Nak gets her revenge on those villagers who tried to take her Mak away from her. The next morning several villagers are found dead with terrifying expressions of fear on their faces.

The remaining villagers prove to Mak that his wife Nak is a ghost, exhuming her, revealing her decaying body and dead infant. They summon an exorcist monk to put the ghost of Mae Nak to rest by cutting out a piece of bone from her skull and sealing her 'revengeful' spirit inside. The exorcist monk wore the piece of bone as a belt brooch until he died. The brooch holding Mae Nak's spirit was passed on until it was lost in time...

During my first time in Thailand I heard of a shrine that is devoted to a famous Thai ghost called Mae Nak. I visited the shrine and was surprised to see hundreds of Thai people pray and give offerings to Mae Nak and ask her for a blessing or guidance.

I then began to research the Mae Nak story listening to the various versions from the Thai people I knew. Each story varied but at its heart was the tragic love story and the theme of love transcending death. I also discovered that there had been many films about Mae Nak over the last 50 years. Most were hysterical comedies with poor production value and OTT acting.

I watched the definitive Mae Nak period film called Nang Nak directed by Nonzi Nimiburt. This film concluded with the 'evil' spirit of Mae Nak being held captive in a piece of bone cut from her forehead by an exorcist monk, and the bone was lost in time. It was here that I was inspired to write my script and continue the Mae Nak story. In Thailand Mae Nak is a legend and there are many stories about her. A lot of people believe the legend to be true and the Monk who exorcised her did exist. The legend is as famous to Thailand as Dracula or Jack the Ripper is to the west. Yes, I was under a lot of pressure to do justice to the legend but I felt I had written a unique idea that treated the ghost with reverence.

TP: I've reviewed a lot of Tartan Asia Extreme films for Review Graveyard and, although I enjoy most, it's easy to point out influences. In Ghost of Mae Nak there are elements of Hideo Nakata's Ringu, The  Omen, and even Ju-On: The Grudge. Was this a conscious decision to employ what has proved to work best cinematically? 

MD: Yes you are right these films had a strong influence on my film. I was going to write and direct a Thai ghost feature film so I was keen to include elements from my favourite horror/ghost films. Other films that I pay 'homage' to are The Haunting (1962), The Exorcist, The Omen (1976), Final Destination and of course many Japanese, Korean and Thai horror films. But what was important was to be inspired by cinematic scenes or ideas that were right for the storyline and were also true to the Thai locations and culture. 

TP: You've managed to succeed by making your film creepy, wistful and humorous. These elements seldom work well together, but here they are carefully kept separated. A very funny moment, that wouldn't look out of place in an Airplane or Naked Gun movie, is when the ghost appears and we see the consequences of a man's terror: he knocks boiling water over himself, gets struck by a vehicle, and sets himself ablaze. It seems to work because the ghost has vanished before the comedic elements take place. Can you tell us a little about the intended structure and the decision to include some dark humour?

MD: Thank you for your accurate observation. I spent a long time on the edit and trying to get those elements right. For the death scenes in Ghost of Mae Nak I wanted them be almost matter-of-fact but have a shocking impact, a bit like being a witness to a sudden road accident. Obviously Final Destination had influenced me, and also The Omen (1976), but I also wanted to be true to the Mae Nak legend in which those who 'wrong' her would die a sudden and terrifying death. I guess the humour comes out of the 'absurd' or even surreal aspects of the death scenes. What I also did was to quickly get on with the story once the death scene had happened.

TP: The only part of your film I had a problem with was the attempted exorcism by monastic monks. Did your research show that cutting the victim open with a knife ousts possessive spirits? In a modern society this appears to be a rather barbaric method. 

MD: Yes I did research the history and theories of Thai exorcisms. And the actual barbaric ritual of cutting out a piece of skull bone to hold the 'evil' spirit did occur in the past (so I'm told). This was clearly illustrated in the Nang Nak  feature film, which was also an inspiration for Ghost Of  Mae Nak. Obviously it's a question of belief. In the west, the Victorians were very keen on removing limbs or healthy organs as a prevention of suspected disease. Even lobotomies were seen as a cure for psychiatric patients.

There's been a recent news story about an American couple that are removing organs and restricting the growth of their disabled child. Is this a form of modern exorcism? But I did speak to several Thai Monks (through interpreters) and was told of many variations on exorcisms. I was using the present day exorcism scene as a dramatic licence in my storyline that was also a mirroring of a past event, but also I try to justify it by the previous supernatural outrageous events that force the parents to take drastic measures. A note inspired from Mrs McNeil in The Exorcist?

TP: East Asia has produced a number of high quality supernatural tales, since Ringu. What do you think is the appeal of this genre?

MD: I think the appeal for East Asian horror and supernatural tales is that they are easier to believe in. On one hand everything is different to the western eye - people, language, locations - but on the other we can still identify with it. It's easier to put our beliefs in East Asian ghost legends and myths; their history is still mysterious and complex.

But what is interesting to also see is that we have the potential in the west to reinvent the genre and take a note from the East Asian tales.

TP: Some audiences still seem to be short-sighted when it comes to subtitled foreign language films (America in particular). How do you see sales going in Britain and other English-speaking countries? What feedback have you received from Thailand and other countries?

MD: The film was released all over Thailand and went to number three in the Thai box-office. There was a big Thai media attendance at the premiere in Bangkok. The distribution company actually built a Mae Nak shrine outside the cinema on the pavement. They had an official Buddhist consecration ceremony with Monks and the cast attending that was headline news on Thai TV. This was to pay respects to Mae Nak and bring good luck to the film. People took the shrine very seriously and would even pray in front of it.

The film was shown in cinemas in Singapore, Malaysia and Korea and had sold well internationally including Tartan for USA and UK DVD distribution. It has been selected for several international festivals like Egypt, India, Bermuda, England and San Francisco where it was screened at the excellent "Another Hole in the Head Horror Festival" last July. In the UK it was shown at Bradford, Cambridge and London film festivals respectively. It was recently shown in London at the "Frightfest" festival to a large genre based audience. And it was selected for the San Diego "Asian Film Festival" and New York horror film festivals.

Critically the film has reviewed well in the US from Variety, Film Threat and many US horror websites. Asian Cult Cinema Magazine gave it a cover story.

The reaction has been very good and the feedback I get from people is they enjoy the characters' dark journey with the Mae Nak legend and the gory moments, especially the "shocking" gory sheet-glass splitting moment that everyone talks about after the film.

Yes, it's a shame that a (large) percentage of audiences won't see a film if it has subtitles. But what is good about the DVD market is that it is a world market that allows audiences to discover a film at a different pace to a cinema showing film. So I feel the 'subtitled' watching (reading) audience is growing with the help of DVD. However the German distribution company Nixbu who produced an excellent DVD product for the German market expertly dubbed Ghost of Mae Nak into German language.

TP: The Ring, The Grudge and (my personal favourite) The Eye, have all undergone lacklustre American remakes. What is your own opinion on these remakes, and are you likely to be approached to remake your own film?

MD: I feel the remaking of these now classic East Asian horror films is a good thing because it actually gives great publicity to the originals as well as their filmmakers and the archive of East Asian horror films. Yes the remakes have undergone lacklustre translations, but the majority of the audiences would be seeing it for the first time and probably experiencing the same feelings we felt when we saw the originals.

What I find difficult is when western filmmakers do not highlight or acknowledge the East Asian original, like the remakes of Infernal Affairs or even City On Fire? I hope an astute journalist like you will expose and shame them? As for a Ghost of Mae Nak remake, I do have a really interesting western concept that would be more 'reinventing' rather than 'remaking'. It's a really creepy idea and I'd love to (re) do it. It will be my Heat?

Love it or hate it, K-9 became an integral component in the Doctor Who legend. The character spanned 22 stories over 3 years during the original classic series - although it didn't appear in all of these - and was the subject of the programme's only televised spin off (prior to Doctor Who's full return in 2005), K-9 and Company. Ty Power reports...

Although Philip Hinchcliffe's tenure was highly regarded, it invited criticism from certain quarters for its supposed exaggerated horror content. So when new Producer, Graham Williams, entered the frame in 1977 with Season Fifteen, it was with instructions to generally reduce the level of violence. This initiated a major change of direction. Whereas an occasional flippant remark had not broken the suspense, now the show was very much more light-hearted, giving many long-time viewers the opinion Williams had gone from one extreme to the other, instead of finding a suitable compromise.

Into this new period came a new companion that would ensure compatibility with the hierarchy upstairs. K-9, created from a sketch by Effects Designer Tony Harding, was introduced to us in that season's second story, The Invisible Enemy, as an intelligent computer dog, which is given to the Doctor by its owner/creator Professor Marius when they part company. During the stories which followed, the production team discovered that, both in front and behind the camera, there were advantages and disadvantages to the tin dog's existence. But was it more of a help or a hindrance? 

On the downside, the remote-control operated manoeuvrability of the machine was severely restricted, making the movements appear strained and ultimately inaccurate. In its earlier stories, the motorised noise of its operation all but drowned-out the lines of the actors. Its speed, or rather lack thereof, was another downfall. It never failed to garner a good-natured chuckle from me, when the Doctor said, "Lead the way, K-9." The metal mutt would go whirring slowly down the corridor, with the others shuffling almost on the spot behind it. When the camera switched to the passageway's far end, K-9 would be way out in front, the others hurrying to catch up! 

As with the Daleks, its main drawback was its lack of compatibility with altering terrain. Visual effects were often utilised to make it seem as though it was traversing rough ground, although they were not sufficiently professional to convince. K-9 moved very little outside of smooth-floored structures and, in the same way, it should never have been able to glide freely through the TARDIS doors when the jutting base of the police box required stepping over. It only needed to be lifted from the ground or pushed over on its side, to be rendered totally immobile.

Its self-recharging power-pack proved unreliable at the best of times. It made the character vulnerable, but only when the plot of the current story demanded it. Similarly, the laser cutter took mere seconds or long minutes to burn through the same composite material door.  

K-9 was sucked into the steadily increasing level of additional humour from both Graham Williams and Script Editors Anthony Read and Douglas Adams, so that when Tom Baker's Doctor went through a silly period, so too did K-9. The logical machine mind was at times reduced to exchanging ridiculous banter. I feel that the character would have been considerably more convincing had more thought been applied at the conceptual stage, and had they taken it more seriously. As it was, it was invariably utilised as a last pitch means of escape for the Doctor. During this period, the Doctor ceased thinking and simply blew a dog whistle instead. Perhaps the BBC should have immediately seized upon its popularity by producing K-9's own programme much earlier, and maybe aiming it at a younger audience.

On the positive side, the character possessed many assets: It had a huge capacity for stored knowledge (which was never quite tested to its limit); equations and probabilities could be calculated to several decimal points; a print out of data could be produced upon request; it had the ability to scan and identify most objects; sensory equipment meant approaches could be detected; a retractable laser cutting tool was also used for defence; and combining these together, it could be dispatched to complete a complicated task without supervision. 

However, what made K-9 so loveable to so many people was its characterisation. Yes, it was possible for what amounted to a robot dog to possess a character, and this should be accredited to John Leeson's proficient voice overs. A hunk of electrical machinery should not have developed as a character either, but it did. In its first story, K-9 sputtered out ticker-tape strips and rarely spoke. Further on, it replied to only direct questions, answering in an emotionless, machine-like manner, constantly confusing the Doctor's companion Leela. When K-9 elected to remain with the Sevateem warrior on Gallifrey at the end of the season, the Doctor cannily revealed a K-9 Mk II (one he made earlier!). This one was much less introverted; I would even venture to say it was a veritable chatterbox. It had gained a sense of humour, and even exchanged banter at the height of danger. Sometimes K-9 was left behind in the TARDIS, and this meant that when certain information was required, or they needed to be released from a scrape, it was present as a resourceful back-up. As a regular companion, it was loyal and faithful, and defended the Doctor and new companion Romana by any means necessary, even if its own existence was in peril.

This new semi-regular inclusion into Doctor Who proved very successful, generating widespread newspaper publicity. There is no doubt that it increased the viewing figures, at least initially, and raised the numbers of younger children watching the programme. This was proved by the storm of protest and the 'Save K-9 Campaign' initiated when it was rested from certain stories.

The 1981 K-9 and Company the spin-off pilot (titled A Girl's Best Friend), in which Sarah Jane Smith received a K-9 Mk III from the Doctor, was a competent 50-minute script from the pen of Terence Dudley. However, although the BBC regional transmitter fault undoubtedly affected viewing audiences, the BBC had already missed the boat. The popularity of K-9 had waned.

Seventeen years later, there was a current attempt to revamp the concept for its own series aimed at a younger, preteen audience. Produced by Paul Tams and Bob Baker, the latter of which along with Dave Martin were the original scriptwriters for the character, much rested on the success or otherwise of a new futuristic version of K-9 which was built and the quality of reworked scripts. The project eventually went ahead in Australia, although I'd be surprised if the target age group where aware of the Doctor Who connection.

K-9 has had its day but, like it or loathe it, during those changeable three years it was impossible to ignore.

Personally, I couldn't abide the thing!