The Night of the Ghostbusters: due for release in two months

HORROR films are back on the menu in Myanmar with the upcoming release of two new films by famed director Maung Myo Min.

The director has done the unimaginable, as the majority of films produced in Myanmar in the last three decades have been comedies or romances.

“The Minister of Information, six months ago, urged us to break the stereotype and give the audiences something new to try and keep abreast of international-standard films. Since horror films are popular in other film industries around the world, I decided to make horror films,” Maung Myo Min told The Myanmar Times.

The censor board now encourages new ideas and new creations, and the directors can negotiate story ideas. Maung Myo Min sees it as a great opportunity to expand the Myanmar film industry in the future.

Director Maung Myo Min filming on location

“My films are based on true and believable stories. At the end I release the fear and give courage to my audience.”

Maung Myo Min also said, given the strong Buddhist beliefs held by most of Myanmar’s population, the idea of spirits is easily accepted. On the other hand, he said, he did not want the audience, particularly small children to be traumatised by his horror films.

“My films will scare you while you are watching them,” he said, but they were also created to give the audience courage that the source of the fear can be overcome.

A scene from Maung Myo Min’s upcoming film.

The films are entitled I, Myself, am the Ghost and Cowardly People are Not Allowed to Watch. Together the series is called The Night of the Ghost Busters. Famous actors Dwe, and Eaindra Kyaw Zin, Tint Tint Tun star in the films.

Maung Myo Min said he himself believes in the supernatural. The plots of his films are based on real life events that were relayed to him.

The director said he had to encourage his team not to be frightened. The second series was shot in Pyin Oo Lwin, a town in upper Myanmar. Several buildings in the town were built over a 100 years ago in the colonial style. The architecture alone created an ominous atmosphere.

While shooting the films, the team encountered some strange things. The chimney of the house they were filming in billowed out smoke even when the fireplace was not lit.

The driver on the set also repeatedly heard voices coming from the backseat of his car, but when he turned to look, there was nobody there.

The shooting achedule was also set at a terrifying time, from 6pm to 6am. Maung Myo Min said, “We shot during the night – from 6pm to 6am, in the dark. Just from shooting in this environment, I got a lot of ideas for the next film,” he said with a smile.

The films cost twice as much to produce as other films, and the shooting time was 25 days instead of the normal 10. But, Maung Myo Min said it was worth it.
He is already planning new films for his horror series.

News about the horror films has spread to abroad and Maung Myo Min has had many inquiries from overseas on how people can access his films.

“The interest shown by foreign audiences has encouraged me to make the second series subtitled in English and release it on DVD for a foreign audience. It will be the first Myanmar horror film with English subtitles,” he said proudly.

The director has been watching horror films since childhood.
“When I first watched the original Japanese film of The Ring, I was really frightened,” he told The Myanmar Times.

He liked the movie, he said, because it did not rely on blood and guts and violence to create a feeling of fear.

Audiences will be watching with interest this new turn for a director so well known for his comedies and romances.

The films are due to be released on video in two months.