Superstition haunts Topel Lee's latest scare

MANILA, Philippines - He dreams of directing a comedy flick like Todd Phillips’ The Hangover or exploring our country’s history in an action-epic like Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai or Glory.

Yet, young filmmaker Topel Lee has made a name for himself with chilling horror thrillers like Ouija, Sundo, White House and the Shake, Rattle & Roll series.

Topel started in advertising and has turned out to be one of the country’s most successful, young feature film directors. He made his independent film debut in Dilim, a groundbreaking vigilante story done under a production grant from Cinema One. From there, he readily went mainstream and directed the Yaya episode of Regal’s Shake, Rattle & Roll 8, shown in 2005.

For someone who had been afraid of ghosts when he was growing up, Topel has admirably charted a good record of horror flicks. “Maybe that’s the reason I am effective in doing horror movies,” he asserts.

Although he expresses his desire to work at the helm of an action film and even train for it, Topel laments that local action flicks cannot compare to big-budget Hollywood productions.

“When I was in college, I loved watching action movies,” Topel shares. “I know local production outfits have to be competitive, but it’s impossible to match our work with Hollywood films with all those computer graphic effects. We don’t have the resources.”

Topel, however, is not one to compromise his work. Known for his perfectionist style, the innovative filmmaker insists he always gives every movie his best directorial shot.

“I treat every project as my last film and try to make it different from my previous works, so I get a new opportunity every time,” he grants. “If I believe in what I’m doing, I try my best to defend it even if there are problems. I try to suggest what can be done. I don’t want to make any compromise.”

Topel returns in yet another suspenseful masterpiece, Tumbok. Produced by Viva Films, the movie headlines Cristine Reyes and Carlo Aquino as a newly married couple who inherits a condominium unit from the groom’s father.

Unknown to them, however, the building is haunted and is inhabited by strange tenants. The couple soon experiences eerie sightings, haunting incidents and tragic deaths, as they also face a series of mishaps and misfortunes.

Topel calls Tumbok as his pamahiin (superstition) movie, perhaps similar to box-office horror thrillers like Feng Shui and Sukob. He explains that the apartment building was built on a convergence of three roads or Tumbok, which is believed to be unlucky. The unit where the couple resides is also at the corner of the corridor on the floor.

Faced with both budget limitation and time constraint to finish the film, the skilled and talented Topel nonetheless managed to deliver a suspense-thriller that is sure to bring out shrieks and screams from the audience.

Cristine, who stars in her second horror thriller after Patient X, is all praise for her director. “Direk Topel is a perfectionist,” she says. “He carefully studies each scene, simple or heavy, before executing it. He is really good. I learned a lot from him.”

Topel idolizes Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, Hollywod icons Danny Boyle and David Fincher, as well as local film megmen Erik Matti and Brillante Mendoza. “Like them, I want to be able to make films in any genre,” Topel maintains.

A gold winner in the Philippine Advertising Congress Araw Awards, Topel belongs to the “dream team” of directors at Revolver Studios, a production house owned by businessman-film producer Dondon Monteverde and award-winning director Erik Matti.

Revolver also houses other first-rate directors in the country today. The roster includes Jun de Leon, Joel Limchoc, Richard Somes, AF Benaza, Borgy Torre, Peter Collias, Jerrold Tarog and Larry Ang.

Even as he accepts projects for the big screen, Topel continues his groundbreaking work in TV drama series and telenovelas for major networks. He will soon work on TV5 projects Utol Kong Hoodlum with JC de Vera and Carlo Caparas’ Bangis.

Meanwhile, Pagpag is a film Topel will direct for Reality Entertainment. He will also be showcased in Revolver’s project, Nine Cantos of Hell, based on Dante Alighieri’s classic, Inferno. The project will feature all the directors in the Revolver stable. Topel has been assigned to work in Gluttony.