Culture news Originally, this iconic sci-fi film directed by Christopher Nolan was supposed to be very different: he decided otherwise and it was the best decision to make
Inception is a particularly cult film and even today, it is cited as a great reference for psychological thrillers: Christopher Nolan played his part particularly well… and yet, the experience was designed to be significantly different.
From nightmare to dream?
Christopher Nolan is a director who likes films with dense and twisted storylines, it’s no secret to anyone and Inception is clear proof: however, the fourth Oscar-winning film, today largely anchored in pop-culture, has almost looked completely different. So to speak, the filmmaker initially imagined it… as a horror film!
During an interview with The Telegraph, Nolan spoke about the genesis of Inception:
At first, I was thinking of a horror film, but it ultimately became this project that we all know. I was looking for a device where dreams would become important in the story, and the idea that someone could invade your dream space and steal an idea seemed extremely compelling to me. The concept that dreams seem real when we are in them is the basis of the entire film.
And indeed, if we imagine Inception in a horror film style, there is something to be done : the dreams within dreams within dreams could have been nightmares within nightmares ad infinitum, with a bunch of shivering characters that would drive the main character crazy. A good potential for freak out, you will tell us… and enough to give ideas to a certain Freddy Krieger.
Soon a horror film after all?
This news echoes another very recent one, which we told you about just a few days ago: Christopher Nolan is seriously interested in horror cinema (once again, so) and after having learned a little about Oppenheimer, he may well be looking for a story to tell there. Which he nevertheless hasn’t found… yet.
Oppenheimer contains elements of horror, which I think is appropriate for the subject matter. I think horror films are very interesting because they rely on very cinematic devices, it’s really about a visceral response to things and so at some point I would like to make a horror film . But I think a really good horror movie requires a really great idea. And these are rare.
So I haven’t found a story that lends itself to it, but I think it’s a very interesting genre from a cinematic point of view. (…) These are films which have a lot of darkness, a lot of abstraction. They have many qualities that Hollywood is usually very reluctant to put in films, but here it is allowed.
After having already partially tried the thing with Inception then Oppenheimer, maybe Nolan will end up making this wish come true for good in the future!
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