Written By Mikey Sutton • Editor-in-Chief • Owner
Mikhail Red will direct the streaming TV adaptation of Dreamwalker, influenced by his powerful horror film, Eerie. No, this isn’t a scoop. I don’t need a source to tell me this. In this case, I am the source. I created and wrote the comic book Dreamwalker, which the London and Singapore-based 108 Media will turn into a live-action streaming series.
Philippine actress Kate Valdez inspired Dreamwalker. She landed the lead role. On the other hand, Mikhail Red influenced the comic book. He’s now the series director.
Destiny?
I’ve been on a YouTube tour of sorts discussing the origins of Dreamwalker. Oddly enough, I haven’t had enough time to document it all on my own site. Originally, I developed Dreamwalker as a Japanese manga comedy. The work of Rumiko Takahashi filled its spirit, especially Ranma ½.
However, I couldn’t make it work. Simply put, the jokes didn’t land.
Mikhail Red’s Horror Movie Eerie Influenced The Dreamwalker TV Series He’ll Now Direct
Image: Mikhail Red
After Valdez recommended Netflix’ Chilling Adventures of Sabrina to me during a conversation, I saw it and became immediately hooked. I decided to shift genres. I tweaked Dreamwalker into horror and dark fantasy.
It worked. I finished the script within a week.
During this period, I tried searching for the 1984 Filipino horror movie Shake, Rattle & Roll online. I saw this movie in an Angeles City theater at the time. I haven’t watched it since then, but I recall it with fondness. Especially director Peque Gallaga’s segment, “Mananaggal.” The mananaggal is essentially a winged vampire.
Gallaga turned horror into high art. I distinctly recall how he made the provinces look menacing, mysterious. There had to be something creepy hiding behind those trees and bushes. The heart of Dreamwalker is rooted in that movie. Alas, I couldn’t find Shake, Rattle & Roll on a streamer.
Instead, I stumbled onto Mikhail Red’s 2019 film Eerie on Netflix.
Mikhail Red’s Eerie is about a girl in a convent school who committed suicide. While the movie has plenty of shocks, what won me over was its sense of dread. Mikhail Red piled on the tension, creating a somber atmosphere that unsettled me. I recall attending a Baptist high school in Balibago and everyone seemed repressed and sad.
Nobody was allowed to dance or date.
Rock and roll was forbidden.
A store across the street played the Eagles’ reportedly Satanic “Hotel California” loud on a jukebox every morning to taunt school executives. Rumor had it they were disgruntled former students. They cranked it during morning prayer when everyone was assembled outside.
Eerie brought back memories of my classmates who were secretly in love with each other. Sadly, the school’s religious rules scared them from confessing their feelings to one another. The girl ended up dying of meningitis and was buried on Valentine’s Day. That became the basis of “Comfort and Joy,” the back-up tale in Dreamwalker No. 1. My artist Noel Layon Flores even designed the school and uniforms based on vintage pictures of the real things I found on the Internet.
Image: Kate Valdez
The second issue of Dreamwalker turned into my homage to Eerie. Mikhail Red’s ominous tone haunts the whole issue.
When I discovered that 108 Media signed Mikhail Red to be Dreamwalker‘s series director, I leapt with joy. I had no idea they were pursuing Mikhail Red until after I signed the contract.
In fact, I never told them that Mikhail Red was my personal choice. It seemed impossible. I was already ecstatic that 108 Media gave Valdez the lead role. After all, there wouldn’t be Dreamwalker without her.
Yet the stars aligned once again.
In December 2022, Mikhail Red’s Deleter won seven awards at the Metro Manila Film Festival, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Dreams do come true.