A Christopher Nolan horror film?
The Oppenheimer director says he “would love” to make that happen.
During a conversation with the British Film Institute on Thursday, Nolan said that doing an outright horror picture was something he’d eventually like to tackle — and he broke down precisely why the genre appeals to him.
“I think horror films are very interesting because they depend on very cinematic devices,” he said. “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.”
Nolan also pointed out that there are moments of horror in Oppenheimer, particularly after the Manhattan Project team is successful in making the first atomic weapon.
“Certainly Oppenheimer has elements of horror — which I definitely think is appropriate for the subject matter,” he said. “….. 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 blockbuster historical drama Oppenheimer racked up nearly $1 billion at the domestic box office, and is currently nominated for 13 Oscars, including best picture.
