So in the last week, Christopher Nolan has spoken about potentially making a horror film in the
years ahead and what attracts him to that genre. There's obviously many routes that the director
can take after the success of Oppenheimer, but it seems that one of the genres on his
mind is a horror. So in this video, I'm going to be discussing the comments he made, what a
Nolan horror movie might look like and whether I think that could be the next
genre he tackles. Before I get into it though, if you want to see more content on the director
and his future projects, then don't forget to support this upload by giving it a like rating,
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lets dive into Christopher Nolan's recent comments on making a horror film.
So during a conversation with the British Film Institute last week,
while accepting a Fellowship award, Christopher Nolan spoke about many things surrounding both his
latest film Oppenheimer and his interest in genre filmmaking. And during that discussion he said
that doing an outright horror film was something he’d eventually love to tackle, and he spoke more
specifically about why that genre appeals to him. He said, “I think horror films are very
interesting because they depend on very cinematic devices. 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." He then related this to Oppenheimer, saying, "Certainly Oppenheimer has elements of
horror which I definitely think is appropriate for the subject matter. 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 a different type
of film you really wouldn’t be allowed to.” Of course, we know that Nolan has long been
playing with the formula of genre and structure in his films, and part of our attraction to him
as a director, is that from project to project he can take on a new genre or sub genres and apply
his style to that. Memento was a neo-noir mystery thriller, Insomnia was a psychological thriller,
The Dark Knight trilogy included many different genres with each instalment,
Inception was a science fiction heist thriller and so on. So it's no surprise that
Nolan would want to dip into a genre like the horror film and play with the formula of that.
Now of course, in all of his previous work, Nolan has had moments of psychological horror
or elements of fear which have been primarily connected to the frameworks of the thriller
film. But what Nolan spoke about with the BFI is more directly associated with a horror being the
primary genre. So the fact that he's come out and said he is interested in doing that
is definitely a very intriguing prospect. So what might a Christopher Nolan horror film
look like. Well again, it's a genre which Nolan has used aesthtically and tonally in various
scenes within his previous films, and it's no more evident than as seen in Oppenheimer
with the horrifying victory speech scene. If that wasn't a great indicator of how well Nolan could
do with a horror film then I don't know what is. Thinking about that scene, which is one
of my absolute favourites from the film, I think he's the perfect fit for a full out psychological
horror film. And knowing him, it would likely be based on something that many people around
the world would relate to or something that actually happened. He spoke recently about
how he will continue to make large scale films or projects that attract a wider audience as he
continuously wants to try and push the bar with large form filmmaking. So it would have to tick
those boxes while also playing with the trademarks of the horror genre. I would like to see how Nolan
would integrate his ever changing use of time, his reocurring use of thematics like guilt,
personal identity or the subjective experience into an epic yet emotional horror story. It could
be interesting to see something in the vein of say Stanley Kubrick's The Shinning but more in the
style of a large scale realistic Christopher Nolan movie. With us seing flashes of horror throughout
his other films and him now admitting that he would like to do a horror, it makes sense that
at some point we would see him go fully down that path. Something I also noticed during interviews
for Oppenheimer, was that Nolan mentioned that every film he makes contains flashes of something
he might explore down the line. Memento was mentioned in the press tour for Tenet,
in that it helped build the fondation of what Tenet would be about with Inversion. Following
had a Batman tease and we know what happened there. The End of the Dark Knight Rises, suggested
a more apocalyptic focus, which would then be followed by the plots of Interstellar, Dunkirk,
Tenet and now Oppeneheimer. And Tenet included an important scene which compared the creation
of Inverted materials by a future scientist to that of the reaction of Oppenheimer's creation.
That led to Nolan's fascination with Oppenheimer, so Nolan's point is that his fascinations with
certain projects build on from what he's done previously. He spoke a lot about this in the
Nolan Variations book and in interviews over the years, saying that he sees a lot of his films
connected subliminally in some way shape or from. So building on from this, it makes me wonder,
what in Oppenheimer could suggest what Nolan might be fascinated in next. Is it a figure,
an idea or a genre. Now your guess is as good as mine, but one thing that did stand out in
Oppenheimer the most to me was that horror-esque sequence where Cillian Murphy's Oppenheimer is
dealing with the ramifications of the weapon he created. There was no choice in that matter and we
see his horrific thoughts play out in real time. Could that be the indication that Nolan is at this
moment in time quite fascinated by the idea of making a horror movie. And especially when he
comes out and talks about doing a horror film. Now I will say that a horror film is my main
prediction for his next film, and I did make that clear in a previous video. And while I think he
will make a large scale psychological horror or an event film driven by the horror genre at
some point, whatever he does do next, I think it will in some way build off of an idea or thematic
we've seen previously. As I spoke about before surrounding how each film he makes connects in
some way to the film he is yet to make, I wouldn't be surprised if Nolan's next project goes straight
into that genre. I could see him making a film that builds on something connected to
all of us in the world today, as Oppenheimer's ending motif was based upon the idea that we
today might destroy ourselves using the weapon Oppenheimer created to reversely help save the
world. So with Nolan tackling real history and showing the fears of seminal moments of our past,
he might transition his focus to a more current era of time, coming off the back of Oppenheimer's
ending. If he does take on horror I would love to see his approach to something like the fears
of a progressed AI or technology, building on from some of the concerns that both Tenet and
Oppenheimer raised. Another option I could see him taking is a horror that is deeply connected to his
love for the genre and the films that define it. He's always referenced Ridley Scott's Alien as one
of his favourite horror films, because of how its grounded characters and aesthetic made it all the
more horrifying. So we could also see something like that. Or if it's not present day or future
based, I wouldn't be surprised if Nolan tackled another Novel or story based on history and aimed
at showing the horror in that. I would love to see him tackle a story like Cormac McCarthy's Blood
Meridian, where like Oppenheimer the story is thematically or narratively realatable to things
happening today. Yes I know Blood Meridian is a western horror that is loosely based on history,
but the themes and impact of that story can reflect the more psychological themes that Nolan
loves to tackle. Within that there's a coming of age tale, potential for a large scale western and
iconic characters with horrific sensibilities. Just like how Ridley Scott's Alien was a horror
film disguised as science fiction film, I could see Nolan doing something similar with the idea
he approaches. Overall, whatever he does take on next, I trust that he'll do something great,
both by bringing his auteur style to it and by making it interesting and reflective of the time.
The Dark Knight released after 9/11 and reflected the fears towards terrorism. And Oppenheimer came
out around a time where Nuclear fears had been accelerated. So he makes films that feel right
for their time, speaking to global audiences in a relatable yet innovative way too. Like I said,
I think a horror film is one that I could see him doing in the years ahead,
but like a lot of his work, I think he'll aim to play around the foundations of that and mix
it in with the formats of other genres too. But that was my video discussing Christopher
Nolan's recent comments on making a horror film. I am really interested to see what genre
of film Nolan tackles after the release of Oppenheimer and how he will put his stamp on
it. I'm sure the director will soon be working on an idea for this and it will be intriguing
to see how it all plays out. Whether that's a horror or of a different genre, well, we'll
just have to wait and see. But let me know down below in the comments section what type of film
you think Christopher Nolan will approach in the next few years and whether you like the idea
of the filmmaker approaching the horror genre head on.
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I hope you guys enjoyed it, I've been Cortex and as always make some noise.