Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 2: The Lonely Ghost in the Black Building
"These days, someone in our class mentioned that the teacher's film 'The Haunted Mansion' is still the pinnacle of domestic horror films, unmatched, and the popularity of the film has even emptied the streets, just like Jet Li's 'Shaolin Temple'.

It's just that no one has seen it. We've only heard about it from the older generation in our family. They also said that when it was shown in a theater in the capital, an audience member with a heart disease was frightened to death."

"cough"

Mu Deyuan nearly choked upon hearing this. He quickly patted his chest and glared at Wu Chen, "What are you kidding, you little brats? How could anyone be dead? That was all fabricated later."

"I'm just relaying it!"

Mu Deyuan took a puff of his cigarette, his expression subtle, as if filled with nostalgia, yet also a bit of hesitation. He slowly exhaled a circle of smoke, his voice lowered a few notes:

"In fact, when we made the film 'The Haunted Mansion', we were able to catch the right moment and it was a lucky coincidence."

"The Haunted Mansion" is a domestic horror film directed by him and his good friend Liang Ming. Although it is still banned now, it was very popular at that time.

Now that he was mentioned by his own students, Mu Deyuan felt somewhat proud and pleased.

After saying that, his eyes fell on the ashtray on the table, as if he was reminiscing.

“You young people may not know this, but in the late 70s and early 80s, there was a wave of horror films sweeping the international film scene.

"The Exorcist", "Suspiria", "Dawn of the Dead". Each one is shocking.

Then in Hong Kong, Bao Fang filmed "Painted Skin", Ann Hui filmed "The Furious", Kuei Chi-hung filmed "The Evil Dead", Yu Yunkang filmed "The Evil Dead", and Tsui Hark filmed "No Gate to Hell". At that time, horror films were the trend of the times.

Our generation was able to make The Haunted Mansion during this trend."

Mu Deyuan flicked the ash from his cigarette, held the cigarette in his right hand, and took another long drag. There was a hint of regret in his tone, "Originally, when this movie came out, the response was quite good. Unfortunately, you know what happened later."

Of course Wu Chen understood.

In 1989, "The Haunted Mansion" was banned shortly after its release due to its sensitive subject matter.

After the film was released, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued a clear ban on the appearance of ghosts in movies.

Compared with Hong Kong horror films of the same period, this type of film in the mainland quickly disappeared from the market and became a sealed history.

Wu Chen took the opportunity to ask, "So, teacher, do you still have the sample footage for this film? I heard the photography techniques in it are truly exceptional!"

Mu Deyuan patted the pocket of his leather coat lightly, seemingly subconsciously, but his eyes did not look directly at Wu Chen. He tapped his fingertips on the table, remained silent for a moment, and then asked with a half-smile:
"You really want to see it, but why do I feel it's not quite like that? Are you trying to make a horror movie?"

Wu Chen immediately raised his hand upon hearing this, his face righteous, "Teacher, I'm a serious filmmaker! How could I possibly make a horror film?"

"Although everyone in our photography department wants to become a director, you're only a freshman and have only been here for a few months. Take some time to settle down and don't be impatient. There will be opportunities."

Mu Deyuan was an experienced person. From the moment Wu Chen came in with a document and asked him about "The Haunted Mansion", he had some guesses.

After all, the photography department of Beijing Film Academy has a tradition!
In fact, he was quite optimistic about Wu Chen. In the four months since he enrolled, Wu Chen had far surpassed his classmates in basic theoretical knowledge, equipment usage, understanding of lenses, and artistic appreciation of film aesthetics. Even juniors and seniors were not as good as Wu Chen.

But the road still needs to be taken step by step. In his opinion, it is possible to shoot some short films in advance as practice, and then polish them slowly. The right way is to go further and further.

"cough!"

At this moment, Wu Chen couldn't help but cough lightly, and said awkwardly, "Teacher, ghost movies can't pass the review now. Actually, I want to make a psychological thriller."

"Psychological thriller?"

Mu Deyuan narrowed his eyes, as if savoring the word. Why did it sound so familiar? It seemed like he'd used this genre to stir up trouble back in the day. "Yeah, teacher, think about it. Most horror movies rely on jump scares, ghosts, and the black and white demons. That's it.

But psychological thrillers are different. They play on the Hitchcockian core of anxiety, using what Deleuze calls 'time-image' to tear apart the audience's sense of security. In short, they are more likely to win awards!

Mu Deyuan stroked his chin and looked at him meaningfully. "You are quite thoughtful, kid. You even thought about winning the award."

Wu Chen just blinked his eyes, his expression did not change at all, and he looked calm.

"Is the document in your arms the script?" Mu Deyuan sighed and put out his cigarette in the ashtray.

"You are still young after all!"

Mu Deyuan was secretly sighing in his heart. After working as a teacher and department head over the years, he had met many young people who wanted to make movies in their freshman and sophomore years, but most of them ended up in nothing. Of course, there were also some who actually churned out some decent works, but in the end they didn't make a splash.

Wu Chen was about to take out the documents when he saw Mu Deyuan stand up and say, "Let's go."

"Where are you going?" Wu Chen was stunned.

Mu Deyuan picked up his coat, glanced at him lazily, and said slowly, "Didn't you want to watch 'The Haunted Mansion' when you came in? There's no rush for the script. I'll take you to watch it first and see what you can learn."

Wu Chen's mouth twitched, and he felt that Mu Deyuan's tone was not right.
If he had known that Mu Deyuan actually had a work sample, he wouldn't have started the conversation from here.

But he had already pretended to be so cool, and at this point, he had to go whether he wanted to or not.

At this time, outside the door of Mu Deyuan's office, Park Songri put his hands in the pockets of his black down jacket, pulled his hat even lower, wrapped his scarf tightly around his neck, and even his ears were wrapped tightly.

"Oh, why hasn't Brother Chen come out yet?" Park Songri muttered softly, his mouth opening and closing, and the white air he exhaled quickly dissipated in the air.

"Why are you so cowardly?"

Just as Park Song-il was still sighing inwardly, the office door suddenly creaked open.

"Brother Chen!" Park Songri raised his head just as he finished speaking. He suddenly looked a little embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, "Um, Teacher Mu."

Mu Deyuan smiled silently, then turned to look at Wu Chen behind him, and then glanced at Park Songri, "Songri, you come too."

"what!"

Park Songri was stunned for a moment and looked at Wu Chen with confusion.

"Just follow me." Wu Chen patted Park Songri, signaling him to follow.

Originally, Wu Chen was only half a step away from Mu Deyuan, but was pulled by Park Songri and had to retreat one step.

"Brother Chen, what are we going to do?" Park Songri asked in a low voice.

"Go watch a movie you haven't seen!"

"I haven't seen it?" Park Songri became even more curious after hearing this.

"Yes, 'The Haunted House'."

(End of this chapter)