It’s no exaggeration to say “The Odyssey” blew me away. Walking out of my sold-out opening night screening (sadly not in 70mm IMAX), I was in no doubt I’d just seen one of the year’s very best movies and undoubtedly a future major awards contender. I also had another burning thought: Christopher Nolan needs to make a proper horror movie next.
The idea of Christopher Nolan making a full-blown horror isn’t necessarily original, and the British director himself has talked about his interest in the genre during “The Odyssey’s” press tour. There’s clearly smoke there; now we need to fan the flames because I think Nolan + horror = movie magic.
As a passionate fan of the horror genre and, like most cinema goers, a strong appreciation for Nolan’s work, the two have always been a bit of a dream combination. However, after watching “The Odyssey,” I’m convinced that his next project should be a horror. Here's why it needs to happen.
(This article contains major spoilers for "The Odyssey," so if you've yet to experience Nolan's latest movie on the big screen, you have been warned)
‘The Odyssey’ proves Nolan understands horror
“The Odyssey” is stuffed with memorable scenes. For example, Odysseus’ grand speech in the third act sent a genuine chill down my spine (Matt Damon must be a shoo-in for a Best Actor Oscar nomination). However, the two moments that stood out the most to me were the encounter with Polyphemus (aka the Cyclops) and when the crew lands on Circe’s island.
The former is a wonderful tense sequence in which Odysseus and his men’s relief at finding a warm fire and the possibility of supplies turns to horror when the Cyclops returns home to his cave, traps them in the dark, and then starts literally picking them off one by one. Nolan cleverly doesn’t fully reveal the Cyclops until deep into the scene, adding horror and mystery.
Tense is most certainly the word I’d use to describe the subsequent scene in which, under Odysseus’ direction, the men blind the Cyclops with a sharp tree branch and then escape his lair by disguising themselves among his flock of sheep. I was practically holding my breath during this sequence.
If this horror-leaning segment was the appetizer, then the encounter with Circe is the full meal, pun intended. Nolan experiments with disturbing body horror as the witch transfigures Odysseus’s crew into pigs, and viewers are shown this chilling act in full. Samanthan Morton’s Circe literally contorts their heads and bodies into the shape of a farmyard animal.
This horrific scene would be enough to have me craving a proper horror film directed by Nolan, but the filmmaker also shows a phenomenal command of the genre's other important element: building tension. When Odysseus returns from his hunt, the showdown between the Trojan War hero and the witch is gripping. Nolan has viewers believing for just a moment Odysseus will succumb to the same fate before the script is flipped and he talks the witch into restoring his crew to their human form.
These two sequences showcase Nolan’s talent for horror, blending chilling violence with strong tension-building and an impressive ability to craft an unsettling atmosphere without resorting to some of the genre’s more gimmicky inclusions. Nolan does not need to rely on cheap jump scares.
Now is the perfect time for a Christopher Nolan horror movie
In my mind, there’s never been a truly bad period for the horror genre. Take any era of Hollywood history, and you’ll find great horror movies in the mix. Granted, usually alongside some subpar shlock, but hey, I’ll take the rough with the smooth. Nevertheless, even with that in mind, it does feel like we’ve been enjoying a really rich vein of quality horror flicks in recent years.
Just looking at the last 12 or so months, we’ve had phenomenal genre efforts like “Sinners,” “Weapons,” “Backrooms” and “Obsession,” to name just a few. That latter pick feels especially relevant when discussing the idea of Nolan making a full-on horror flick, because he name-dropped the film in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, calling it a “move that works like a motherf***er.” Quite the compliment to director Curry Barker!
In the same interview, Nolan noted that his flirtations with horror in “The Odyssey” “very much whets my appetite for more,” but did caution that "horror as a genre has to be approached very carefully from a conceptual point of view. In other words, you have to have an amazing idea.” He concluded that he’s “always looking” for an idea that would excite him.
So, perhaps if the right idea comes across his desk, and all of the stars align, my dream of a Nolan-helmed horror movie might just come to fruition. Between him proving his genre chops in “The Odyssey” (if there was ever any doubt before), and the horror genre being in such a great spot right now, I believe that now is the ideal time for Nolan to make one of his own.
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