Anne Curtis Leads Mikhail Red’s Manila Paranoia Thriller ‘Remote’

Philippine filmmaker Mikhail Red has set his next feature: “Remote,” a paranoia thriller set in contemporary Manila, with Anne Curtis attached to star.

The project is produced by Evolve Studios and Viva Films, with production scheduled to begin later this year.

Curtis plays Violet Olvido, a journalist who begins investigating a string of killings linked to a shadowy international outsourcing company that recruits remote workers across the Philippines. As she goes deeper undercover within the organization, her grip on reality begins to erode.

Red said the film draws on his personal proximity to the remote-work world that emerged in the wake of the pandemic. “There’s been a rise of online digital nomads post pandemic, displaced in their own timezones working graveyard shifts,” he said. “Most are VAs or virtual assistants for western companies, who do odd tasks for high pay due to the exchange rate but at the same time may be vulnerable to exploitation because of legal grey zones. The film also poses the question of who or what really controls us? It is the colonization of consciousness itself and the weaponization of fear.”

For Red, “Remote” marks a return to genre territory he explored in his early work. “My earliest films explored crime, violence, and investigation through thrillers and police procedurals,” he said. “‘Remote’ revisits that territory, but this time through the lens of psychological horror and paranoia. It is also perhaps the closest I have come to making a serial killer film, a genre I have always wanted to explore.”

The film reunites Red with Evolve Studios, the genre-focused production banner he leads as chief creative officer, and with Viva Films, the veteran Philippine outfit that co-produced “Deleter” (2022), the highest-grossing Filipino horror film of all time. His most recent feature, “Lilim,” premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam earlier this year.

Curtis, one of the most prominent stars in Philippine entertainment, most recently appeared in “The Loved One,” which crossed PHP300 million ($5 million) at the Philippine box office earlier this year. “Remote” will mark her first collaboration with Red.