The Odyssey is already shaping as much as be one among Christopher Nolan’s greatest movies, however it may have been his first horror film. The Odyssey has been shrouded in thriller, with few pictures and a teaser obtainable on the time of writing. Most of The Odyssey casting hasn’t been confirmed, leaving the precise tone of the movie a thriller.
Given the subject material, the expectation is that Christopher Nolan is finally venturing into an overtly fantastical direction. Nevertheless, the plot of The Odyssey is completely fitted to a scarier type of filmmaking, one which Nolan has talked about his curiosity in. It is a disgrace that the movie won’t appear to take that strategy to change into Nolan’s first horror film.
The Odyssey Is Quietly A Very Scary Story (And Would Make For A Nice Horror Film)
The Odyssey would truly make for a fairly nice horror film, particularly within the fingers of a filmmaker like Christopher Nolan. Whereas The Odyssey is commonly remembered most for its epic parts and general themes concerning Odysseus’ lengthy journey dwelling after the Trojan Struggle, his adventures may simply be offered extra as horror than journey.
The encounters with the man-eating Cyclops. Circe forces a number of of them by the physique horror of being reworked into pigs. Odysseus’ quest takes him by the underworld, stuffed with specters of the useless. The huge threats of Scylla and Charybdis, the attract of the Sirens, and even the comparatively innocent Lotus-Eaters are all scary concepts.
Leaning into the monstrous qualities of these encounters could be a straightforward strategy to bristle in opposition to the “triumphant warriors” attempting to make their approach dwelling. It is an efficient strategy to showcase how their abilities in fight imply nothing when pitted in opposition to existential dreads and overwhelming forces of nature.
Greater than something, the whims and furies of the Greek Pantheon would simply permit for some nice scares, particularly if the Gods function from the sidelines or solely seem in short flashes of large energy and horrible majesty. The Gods have been usually terrifying of their appearances in myths, one thing a film adaptation of The Odyssey may replicate to nice impact.
All of those scenes may simply be fantastical, however leaning into the unsettling parts may make them unforgettably horrifying. That is a giant a part of the stress in The Odyssey, and it might make for film. It will be an effective way for The Odyssey to differentiate itself tonally from different fantasy epics. It’d even be excellent for Nolan.
Why Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Would Work Actually Nicely As A Horror Film
Christopher Nolan hasn’t directed a horror movie but, however not for lack of attempting. Nolan has discussed an interest in directing a horror movie, noting that he hasn’t performed it but as a result of he hasn’t discovered the correct story. That curiosity in scary imagery and existential dread will be seen in his different movies, even when they are not overt horror motion pictures.
Nolan makes use of horror effectively in his movies. The Darkish Knight Trilogy makes use of Scarecrow and Joker as brokers of chaos who terrify their victims. The innovations of Telsa in The Status, the tense confrontations of Insomnia, the confusion of Memento, even the majesty of the mindscape in Inception or the cosmos in Interstellar are offered with a contact of horror.
One in every of Nolan’s most grounded movies, Oppenheimer, is an ideal instance of how Nolan can infuse a contact of terror into his general filmmaking strategy. There’s the theoretical horror that Oppenheimer experiences about his actions, the visible signifiers of exhibiting individuals disintegrated by an atom bomb, and even the banal cruelty of people is quietly scary within the biopic.
Nolan might not have directed a horror film but, however he clearly has an eye fixed for it. The Odyssey can be the director’s tackle the fantasy style, with the teaser depicting historic Greece as the first setting. Fusing the 2 genres collectively could be a pleasant little twist on the epic, highlighting his adaptability as a filmmaker.
It’d even be an effective way to make Nolan’s model of The Odyssey stand out from different diversifications and different iconic cinematic fantasy epics just like the Lord of the Rings trilogy or the Harry Potter collection. Fantasy and horror have all the time paired effectively. Leaning into the scarier parts of Odysseus’ journey could possibly be a compelling strategy to strategy the style.
Nolan described horror motion pictures as “movies which have a whole lot of bleakness, a whole lot of abstraction” when discussing his curiosity within the horror style. Nevertheless, these feedback recommend he nonetheless hasn’t discovered the horror film he desires to make. The Odyssey does occur to have these parts, although, contemplating the fates of Odysseus’ crew and the presence of the Gods.
Nolan’s model of The Odyssey will possible characteristic at the very least some scares, given the subject material and obvious gritty strategy. Nevertheless, totally committing to a horror strategy may let Nolan knock out two genres without delay in a compelling fusion. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey would make for a terrific horror story; he would simply must decide to it.
