A BLOODY ASYLUM SPOILER FREE REVIEW AND FILMMAKER INTERVIEW
A supernatural horror based on folk tales and true stories of Jinn possession from British film-maker K/XI (K. Pervaiz), who I also talked with about her inspiration and the process of her filmmaking.
MAYA is K/XI’s impressive, strikingly compelling, memorable, and now award-winning, feature film which she funded herself. Set in Pakistan, with dialogue in Urdu, it demonstrates her myriad talents. Writing, producing, editing, and directing the film under her label BAD WOLF FILMS, and also starring as a key character. Like her previous work, MAYA focuses on themes including cultural and social issues, religion, mental health, and the supernatural, with a strong focus on the representation of women in Pakistan.
K/XI was born in London in the 1980s and comes from a Pakistani background. She grew up watching horror movies and reading horror literature, with a particular interest in death rituals; discovering THE SHINING at the age of 10, and THE EXORCIST in the first year of high school. Her uncle in Pakistan owned a video store, so she spent most summers there watching as much as she could and loved hearing local stories about jinn possession, churails (witches), and other superstitions.
Using this as inspiration, since 2007, she has written, produced, and directed over 10 short films, and the feature film BLACK LAKE, which was an official selection at CINE-EXCESS 2020 and is available on the CINE-EXCESS Amazon Video channel. MAYA was in fact her debut feature back in 2014, a cut that ran to almost 2 hours. K/XI says of this decision to instead release BLACK LAKE first “it was a bad time at festivals because of Islamophobia and politics I felt.” Eventually MAYA was trimmed to this finally released 90 minute version, adding “The first cut was self-financed, but this cut was mostly self financed with some private investment.”
K/XI flew out to Pakistan in 2013 and filmed a concept trailer based on some initial ideas and the most common jinn story she was told as a child. Around this time, she started a PhD, but decided to use all the money to make the film instead because of believing so strongly in the story, and that it needed to happen as soon as possible. In a Bloody Asylum interview with K/XI she said, “I was really excited by my initial trailer and later in the year I raised some money through crowdfunding, only making enough money to cover a plane ticket to Pakistan, where I went to find cast, crew, and get filming early 2014, self-financing the entire rest of the film. Despite the conservative nature of the country and the dangers of being a female filmmaker, I ran around markets, climbed up rooftops, and pulled other crazy stunts to get MAYA made, without a crew for most of the time. Any crew I did have were young women in the community who wanted to help with lighting on set or help assist with equipment.”
After a gruesome incident leaves protagonist Maya without any memories of her childhood, she is adopted by an elderly couple along with another orphan, Kalika, who she forms a sisterly bond with. Years later, as a teenager, through feverish nightmares and unsettling events, she travels back to Karachi and unearths truths of her traumatic childhood, which was fraught with demonic possession…
From the opening it is abundantly clear MAYA is going to be a grounded horror in the vein of THE EXORCIST. No surprise as William Friedkin’s seminal genre defining masterpiece is one of K/XI’s favourite movies. “I love classic horror films and narrative, so my go to film for reference was THE EXORCIST, which also opens with the sound of the call to prayer. I wanted to pay homage and retain that 70’s vibe with the story and colour palette.”
And she does so beautifully, with a rumbling under the surface of dread and a feeling that something terrifying will happen at any given moment throughout. However, this is no popcorn ghost train ride horror movie. Instead it takes cues from THE EXORCIST, channelling them in a similar far more restrained, economical manner, with nothing superfluous to unnecessarily slow the tight and perfectly flowing paced narrative. The story plays out via measured character focus and horror undertones that slowly edge in an ever mounting crescendo of subtle rising fear to an unforgettable denouement and final images that are affectively disturbing in their simplicity.
“When I decided to make the shift from short films to feature-length,” K/XI explained “I wanted to make sure my debut feature was personal and was also a unique cinematic offering, after all, the films I grew up enjoying the most were one of a kind. As a British-Pakistani, young woman, who was infamous for scaring family members with horror stories, I knew my first feature film had to be about jinn. Not only had I never seen a film about jinn at the time, I also was fed up of seeing modern demonic possession films that I felt were over the top. Knowing that jinn possession was still very much alive in Pakistan today, I wanted to show some level of truth, grounded in at times, a documentary style of filmmaking to show audiences what life in Pakistan was like.”
MAYA really does capture realism and 1970s horror cinema aesthetic beautifully. Harmonised by an impressively effective use of visuals, sound, and minimal music to create an ambience and tone that nuancedly channels THE EXORCIST and THE SHINING into a distinctive vision of horror. Likewise making for a more realistic and disturbing experience. However, K/XI cuts a unique path, giving MAYA its own singular aesthetic. There are some wonderful references to THE EXORCIST and THE SHINING that possibly only fans would pick up on. Yet all are there in service of the story and characters rather than just for the sake of pop culture nods and winks.
The strong cast, most noticeably leads MADIHA HIDAYA as Maya and RAMSHA SHAIK as Kalika are remarkable given that MAYA is their screen debuts. Their relationship and connection feel as if the two actors developed a genuine friendship while filming, and enhances the bond between their characters. Of her cast K/XI has justifiably high praise, “I was lucky to find a cast who had not previously acted before but were truly exceptional in portraying the emotions of the story, after all, for me the core story of ’Maya’ was about love despite the horror.”
With MAYA K/XI marks herself out an exciting, talented filmmaker who, in full command of the filmic medium, intends to bring something different to cinema. I really cannot wait to see where she takes the genre in the years to come.
Our very own, and Cine-Excess co-director, Amy Harris was as equally impressed, “I adore MAYA, particularly because it focuses on jinn possession which I know very little about. K/XI works amazingly with the sound design team. I felt the same way about BLACK LAKE too. She is an amazing independent director, making waves in British horror cinema.”
MAYA is unlike anything I have seen in my decades as a horror and genre movie lover. A film of substantial experience and depth that having now watched three times as of writing improves and each a different experience. I really cannot recommend it highly enough, especially for horror fans looking for something genuinely original outside of generic mainstream fare.
Quite simply one of the best films of 2022.
MAYA will have its Pacific North West Premiere at Portland Horror Film Festival – June 29th to July 3rd and is screening on the festival circuit.
CHECK OUT THE TRAILER:
Follow K/XI & BAD WOLF FILMS here:
https://www.badwolffilms.co.uk
MR GEEKY 