Mataku: The Phantom Mana

By FIONA RAE

Be afraid, be very afraid. Our very own version of The Twilight Zone is here. Only better, because these stories are rooted in Maori oral tradition.

Mataku, which means "to fear", is a series of one-off tales of the spooky kind. Restless spirits infest the living, taniwha are summoned, lost warriors are found.

But the stories are more than The X-Files for Kiwis. They're the Maori equivalent of scary tales told around the campfire. In fact, says creator, writer and executive producer Carey Carter, when he showed them to Maori, many knew how the stories would end.

Given the Maori story-telling tradition, the culture's legends and mythologies, it's a wonder no one's done something like this before, although perhaps, because Maori film-makers have the extra level of cultural responsibility, it's not that surprising.

In addition to having done an enormous amount of research, Carter and fellow film-maker Bradford Haami have shown the stories to their own elders and tohunga.

"We have a responsibility to our culture and our spirituality. Our people are very spiritual people and here we are taking some of that spirituality and turning them into stories so the rest of the world can get a glimpse of that aspect of our culture.

"We could be criticised by our own people for letting the cat out of the bag, so to speak. We ensured that we had the support of our tribal areas and, for want of a better word, our tribal priests," says Carter.

For the first story, The Blue Line, Carter and Haami had to find out whether women ever performed the art of moko, and discovered they had practised tattooing in Taranaki.

During other, unrelated research, Haami discovered old documents which related to Maori in the lower South Island. Some of the information was used for The Lost Tribe story.

Funding for the $5 million series has come via NZ On Air, Te Mangai Paho (which would fund only according to the percentage of Maori language spoken — which is subtitled in English), TV3 and the New Zealand Film Commission.

The latter is on board as a way of encouraging Maori film-makers, and will be pursuing overseas opportunities. The first five stories have already been seen (not in competition) at the Hawaii International Film Festival.

The list of film-makers and actors on the project reads like a who's who of Maori screen arts. Among the directors and writers are Vanessa Rare, Riwia Brown and Jim Moriarty. It also includes two of Maoridom's most famous exports: Temuera Morrison and Cliff Curtis. Morrison makes with the gravitas as presenter, while Curtis makes his directorial debut with The Rocks (see panel).

Curtis was very nervous, says Carter, even hiring his own
storyboarder and assistant to help him to get it right.

"Cliff had the opportunity to learn a lot of stuff from the big boys overseas — he'd worked with Scorsese, he'd worked with Michael Mann, all the big names, so he had all the screen techniques, everything to do with acting, he's just brilliant," says Carter. However, going behind the camera was a different thing.

"At the editing level, it was very funny, he had my editors up till all hours at night," says Carter, "and I said, 'Hey, mate, you can't work these people that hard', and I had a look at the film and said, 'It's beautiful, but your audience will be asleep after five minutes — you'll have to make it move along a lot quicker, because it's also 20 minutes over duration'."

Carter and Haami have been living with Mataku for 15 years, and early on encountered resistance to the idea of telling Maori stories. Carter credits the success of Once Were Warriors and its sequel as having changed the climate — and then The X-Files turning audiences on to the supernatural, "absolute proof that the genre was very appealing to audiences".

An episode breakdown

The Blue Line: Kahurangi

Story: Strange things happen to a hot-shot Maori businesswoman when the property development company she works for tries to clear land to make way for a new casino.

Starring Cherie James (daughter of Billy T.), Kirk Torrance.


The Enchanted Flute:
Te Ngoro

Story: A shy young man finds a bone flute, but does it really answer all his problems?

Starring: Darren Young, Miriama Smith.


Going to War:
Te Mura O Te Ahi

Story: A young soldier is sceptical about his family's traditional beliefs until he meets his uncles who died in World War II.

Starring: Manu Bennet, Blair Strang.


The Sisters: Nga Tuahine

Story: When a woman's life begins to crumble, her missing sister appears to her with a plan to reunite forever.

Starring: Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell, Nari Gutherie.


The Rocks: Nga Kohatu

Story: A rocky outcrop that was the site of a bloody killing carries a curse for the family that farms the land.

Starring: Andrew Binns, Nicola Kawana.


The Fishing Trip:
Mahi Hi Ika

Story: There are dire consequences when friends on a fishing trip land on sacred land.

Starring: Hemi Rudolph, Geoff Dolan.

The Lost Tribe:
Nga Iwi Ngaro

Story: An Army unit stumbles across a lost warrior from the past.

Starring: Calvin Tuteau, Ross Duncan.


Divine Intervention:
Ahu Mai Hohonu

Story: A taxi driver summons a taniwha.

Starring: Pio Terei, Whetu Fala.


The Final Plume: Te Raukura

Story: When a model teenager suddenly becomes violent, a tohunga tries to break the curse.

Starring: William Park, Pete Smith, Lawrence Makaore.


The Pathway of the Spirit: Te Ara-Wairua

Story: An old legend leads a husband into the world of spirits in the hopes of being reunited with his beloved wife.

Starring: Te Arepa Kahi, Tahei Simpson.


The Sands of Time:
Te One Tahua

Story: A family discovers their new home is haunted by the spirits of two doomed lovers.

Starring Rawiri Paratene, Maggie Harper.


The Heirloom:
Te Kura Paraoa

Story: When a talented craftsman attempts to copy a whalebone patu, the patu shows its power.

Starring: Tamati Rice, Sara Wiseman, Lawrence Makaore.


The God Child: Tipua

There are consequences for a young woman who uses her psychic powers for criminal gain.

Starring: Simone Kessell, Thomas Kiwi.