Reimagining the Centre: Elemental Worlds, Inner Visions, and the Horror Above
Ever since I was a kid spending weekends at my grandparents’ house, I’ve been obsessed with movies, from monster flicks to the old black-and-white Hammer horror classics. That love for the eerie, the surreal, and the atmospheric never left me. Today, alongside creating my own original AI-produced projects, I also enjoy reimagining some of my favorite films from the past through a modern lens.
I understand why many people feel uneasy about the rise of AI in creative spaces. At first, I did too. The idea of machines generating art felt like it was undermining the human soul behind storytelling. But over time, I’ve come to appreciate the immense creative potential that AI offers, not as a replacement, but as a tool. For those of us who aren't in the social or financial sphere of film directing or production, AI provides a way to finally bring our ideas to life. It’s empowering to be able to sit at home and explore imaginative storytelling, creating films that may be simple in scope but rich in creativity.
Personally, it’s given me a renewed sense of purpose. It makes me feel like I’m doing something that truly fuels me — using my imagination, staying creatively active, and avoiding the dull rhythm of everyday life. Being unemployed can be heavy, and AI creativity has become a lifeline, not just to escape, but to improve, to grow, and to stay mentally and emotionally engaged.
When it comes to the films themselves, I especially love blending vintage grindhouse style with modern visual effects, imagining what those gritty old films could have looked like if they had access to today’s CGI. It’s my way of honoring the past while pushing into the future.
To dive deeper into my latest film, a reimagining of Journey to the Centre of the Earth — I wanted to shift the focus away from the usual dinosaurs and toward something much stranger: monsters, ancient technology, and an occult, Atlantean mythology. I wasn’t interested in a simple creature feature. I wanted to explore something deeper, an abstract descent into forgotten realms shaped by cosmic intelligence and spiritual symbolism.
But there’s another layer. And if you’ve watched the film, you may have already sensed it. The truth is: nothing in the underground world is truly dangerous. Yes, it looks terrifying. Yes, the creatures and environments seem hostile. But they’re not. The real horror begins when the explorers return to the surface to the grey, oppressive world above. That’s the true hell. The so-called "civilized" world turns out to be far more monstrous than anything beneath the Earth.
Looking ahead, I’m excited about the future of AI filmmaking. I’d love to see it evolve into something more interactive, with tools that allow for real-time control over scenes, camera movements, dialogue, and narrative structure. That tech does exist, but right now, it’s time-consuming and a bit out of reach for me. For now, I’m happiest focusing on the cinematic, using AI to unlock imagination, mood, and visual storytelling, rather than micromanaging every frame.
Another layer of the film explores how different environments, visually and emotionally, affect us as viewers. Each elemental realm in the story (air, earth, water, and fire) isn't just a setting, but a symbolic space. These elements play a vital role in our physical world, but also in the way we perceive reality. I used them as a kind of spiritual framework to go beyond the surface, to move past the five senses, and take the audience on a journey that reflects the idea of "as above, so below."
For me, imagination, and what some might call the “third eye” is a key to that deeper experience. It’s like a prism that refracts the world around us into a spectrum of insight, emotion, and creativity. In that sense, the elements aren’t just physical forces, they’re also colors, feelings, energies. And through those, new realms can open. Whether it's through storytelling, music, movement, or introspection, I believe we cross veils into new dimensions when we let ourselves go fully into imagination.
I know that’s a lot to unpack for what might seem like a simple sci-fi monster movie, but that’s part of what I love: hiding deeper meaning inside wild visuals and strange worlds. If you’ve read this far, thank you. I hope some of this made sense and maybe even added a new layer to how you experienced the film, whether you liked it or not, I’m just glad it made you feel something.
Here’s a link to the film if you haven’t seen it
https://youtu.be/h8iIYOZDVgM