The acclaimed director of Oppenheimer, Inception, and Interstellar says he would love to explore the horror genre with the right concept.

Why horror appeals to Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan is one of the most celebrated and influential filmmakers of our time, known for his high-concept and visually stunning films that span across various genres. However, there is one genre that he has yet to venture into: horror.

In a recent conversation with the British Film Institute, Nolan expressed his desire to make a horror film someday, explaining why he finds the genre fascinating and challenging. He said that horror films depend on very cinematic devices, such as provoking a visceral response from the audience, and using abstraction and bleakness to create tension and atmosphere. He also noted that horror films are one of the few genres where Hollywood allows such qualities, which are usually resisted in mainstream cinema.

Christopher Nolan added that he would need a really exceptional idea to make a horror film, as those are rare and hard to come by. He said he has not found a story that lends itself to the horror genre yet, but he is open to exploring it if he does.

How Nolan’s films have elements of horror

While Christopher Nolan has not made a pure horror film yet, some of his films have elements or scenes that could be considered horror-like. For example, his 2000 film Memento, a psychological thriller about a man with short-term memory loss who tries to find his wife’s killer, has a dark and twisted plot that keeps the audience guessing and unsettled. His 2014 film Interstellar, a sci-fi epic about a team of astronauts who travel through a wormhole to find a new home for humanity, has a scene where the protagonist returns from a planet where time is distorted and finds that his children have aged decades without him, which could be seen as a horror scenario. His 2020 film Tenet, a spy thriller about a secret agent who uses time inversion to prevent a global catastrophe, has a scene where the protagonist is tortured by being exposed to reverse entropy, which causes him to experience pain in reverse.

Christopher Nolan also pointed out that his latest film, Oppenheimer, a biopic about the physicist who led the Manhattan Project that developed the first atomic bombs, has elements of horror in it, especially after the bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He said that the film shows the horrific consequences of the project, and the moral dilemma that Oppenheimer faced. He said that the film uses different genres to tell the story, such as a heist genre for the middle part, and a courtroom drama for the third act.

What fans can expect from Nolan’s future projects

Christopher Nolan’s fans can expect more innovative and ambitious films from the director, who has proven himself as a master of original and complex storytelling. His film Oppenheimer, which was released last year, was a critical and commercial success, earning nearly $1 billion at the global box office, and receiving 13 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. The film was also Nolan’s first collaboration with Universal Pictures, after he parted ways with Warner Bros. over their decision to release their films simultaneously on HBO Max and in theaters.

Christopher Nolan has not announced his next project yet, but he has hinted that he is interested in making a film about the origin of life, or a film that explores the concept of free will. He has also said that he would like to make a film in India, as he is fascinated by the country’s culture and cinema. Whatever he decides to do next, fans can be sure that it will be something original, creative, and captivating.