Christopher Nolan expresses interest in exploring horror genre with the right concept

PTI, Feb 17, 2024, 11:23 AM IST

Christopher Nolan likes moving between genres and if he stumbles upon an exceptional idea, he would love to make a horror film.

There is a lot of buzz around the next film of the director, whose 12th feature film ”Oppenheimer” is a front-runner at the Oscars this year, including in the best picture and best director categories.

Asked at a British Film Institute panel discussion in London if he would ever consider making a horror movie, Nolan seemed open to the idea of directing a horror film, according to Variety.

“‘Oppenheimer’ has elements of horror in it definitely, as I think is appropriate to the subject matter,” Nolan said. “I think horror films are very interesting because they depend on very cinematic devices. It really is about a visceral response to things, and 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 a story that lends itself to that,” the filmmaker said.

Nolan’s ”Oppenheimer”, starring Cillian Murphy in the central role, is a biopic of the theoretical physicist J Robert Oppenheimer. The film has earned over USD 950 million at the worldwide box office, making it one of the most successful movies in the British director’s career, which is dotted by big budget blockbusters whether it is the ”Batman” trilogy, ”Prestige”, ”Inception”, ”Interstellar” or ”Dunkirk”.