Anybody who has seen the 1999 film Audition knows that Takashi Miike is one sick puppy. Known for his extremely graphic horror films, Miike has made some of the most visually inventive and frightening movies I’ve ever seen. That’s what makes it so weird that Miike’s latest work is a 19-minute short for Apple.
Yes, Miike’s new short Midnight was shot entirely on iPhone 15 Pro. The noir-ish story, which is based on a manga by the well-known artist Osamu Tezuka, takes place on the streets of Tokyo and involves a mysterious cab driver trying to protect strangers from Yakuza bad guys. Apple released the movie on its YouTube channel on Wednesday.
Apple occasionally releases iPhone-shot films as a marketing stunt associated with its device. While the company has made a big deal about what great video you can shoot on the iPhone, many video experts will tell you a slightly different story about the device’s capabilities. Sure, some filmmakers can get away with making experimental films with a phone, but that’s only because they’re pairing the device with a well-staffed crew, amazing lenses and lights. The average iPhone user probably isn’t going to be able to stage something as impressive as Midnight. Real cinema cameras still produce far better images than iPhones.
As for Miike, he is pretty awesome. Incredibly prolific and prone to experimentation, Miike has made literally dozens and dozens of movies over the past few decades. Some of them are horror films, others are comedies, and he’s even made a few historical epics. As such, it’s not totally surprising that he would want to try something new and push the envelope. In a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter, Miike said that “Mr. Tezuka is something of a god among manga artists so it was an honor to take on the challenge of expressing his work using only iPhone.”