Christopher Nolan is open to helming a horror film in the future if he finds a good story to tell. For the Oppenheimer director, only a handful of great movies fall under this genre, and he does not think he has found the one that really captivated his interest.
The famed filmmaker is renowned for his works with dark themes and violence, and while these are not exactly the typical horror movies that scare the heck out of viewers, Nolan clearly has the repertoire to create his own.
Christopher Nolan Is Interested In Making Horror Films
During his interview at the London’s British Film Institute, director Christopher Nolan expressed interest in producing his own horror movie and even claimed that his blockbuster project, Oppenheimer, has a touch of horror, via Variety:
“Oppenheimer has elements of horror in it definitely, as I think is appropriate to the subject matter. I think horror films are very interesting because they depend on very cinematic devices, it really is about a visceral response to things.”
He confessed to wanting to helm one, though he asserted that he needs to find that brilliant story before translating it to the big screen. Interestingly, he finds very few great ones in the sea of horror films today.
“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 a story that lends itself to that.”
Still, Nolan believes the genre has so much to explore, and it gives filmmakers the option to be creative and put in as much vagueness as they please. He thinks that horror movies are much more open to certain techniques and styles that Hollywood usually would disprove.
“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 are films that have a lot of bleakness, a lot of abstraction. They have a lot of the qualities that Hollywood is generally very resistant to putting in films, but that’s a genre where it’s allowable.”
While Nolan has yet to find that magical script that would turn him into a full-fledged horror director, he firmly stands by his opinion that Oppenheimer is indeed a horror movie.
Christopher Nolan Agrees To Oppenheimer Being A Horror Film
In his conversation with Wired magazine, Christopher Nolan shared that people who watched Oppenheimer during the early screening were shocked and devastated. He claimed that the movie displayed elements of fear, which is a main ingredient in any horror film.
“It is an intense experience because it’s an intense story. I showed it to a filmmaker recently who said it’s kind of a horror movie. I don’t disagree.”
The public is definitely anticipating Nolan would announce he is finally making a horror movie, but until then, fans can enjoy the dark themes and gore of his previous works.
