Christopher Nolan, like his fellow “Barbenheimer” auteur Greta Gerwig, can pretty much do whatever he wants next. But what will that be? Yet another World War II picture? Yet another, very serious comic book movie? Maybe one of those noodly one-offs that transcend time and space and audience’s brain power? Maybe he could do an entry in a franchise he loves: the Fast and Furious movies. Right now it appears he’s still hashing that out. But perhaps one day he’ll tackle a genre he hasn’t tackled before: the horror movie.
Christopher Nolan bfi in conversation talk event possible horror film Oppenheimer video clip director pic.twitter.com/W2phQQSTuw
— @inceptstellar (@hardyfilm) February 16, 2024
“I think horror films are very interesting because they depend on very cinematic devices,” Nolan said during a conversation with the British Film Institute, as caught by The Hollywood Reporter. He went on to describe the power of a genre often written off by critics:
“It’s really about [provoking] a visceral response to things. So at some point, I’d love to make a horror film. But I think a really good horror film requires a really exceptional idea — and those are few and far between. So I haven’t found the story that lends itself to that. But I think it’s a very interesting genre from a cinematic point of view. It’s also one of the few genres where — the studios make a lot of these films — and they’re films that have a lot of bleakness, a lot of abstraction. They have a lot qualities that Hollywood is generally very resistant to putting into films, but that’s a genre where it’s allowable.”
Of course, in a way Nolan has already made a horror movie about the scariest subject of all: worldwide destruction thanks to the creation of the atomic bomb.
“Certainly Oppenheimer has elements of horror — which I definitely think is appropriate for the subject matter,” Nolan allowed. He also pointed out it contains other genres:
“The middle of the film is very heavily based on the heist genre, and the third act of the film is the courtroom drama. And the reason I settled on those two genres for those sections is they are mainstream genres in which dialogue and people talking is inherently tense and interesting to an audience. That’s the fun thing with genre — you get to play with a lot of different areas whereas in different type of film you really wouldn’t be allowed to.”
Nolan’s right: Horror films are great showcases for flashy direction. They’re also stellar for slipping in subversive and/or troubling ideas, which Nolan is also all about. In fact, why hasn’t Nolan directed a horror movie yet? Perhaps because a Christopher Nolan horror movie would be too terrifying for audiences.
(Via THR)