The movie that made Alexandre Aja fall in love with horror: “I’m obsessed with every shot”
There’s an eerie magic that captivates Alexandre Aja, the modern master of horror. Known for his blood-curdling credits such as The Hill Have Eyes, Crawl, and Piranha 3D, Aja’s artistry thrives in the realms of the supernatural and the gory. Recently, the director has turned his attention to more cerebral themes, exploring the realms of psychological horror and claustrophobic suspense in his last project, 2021’s sci-fi horror hybrid, Oxygen.
Following the disoriented journey of a woman who awakens alone in an unfamiliar high-tech medical unit, Aja’s Netflix film took the concepts of Buried and 127 Hours and added a unique futuristic twist with the additional threat of dwindling oxygen supplies. The female protagonist’s only company is an AI system, voiced by the beloved French actor Mathieu Amalric, and the tension amplifies as we learn that, in typical science fiction fashion, this artificial intelligence isn’t exactly trustworthy.
Reflecting on the influences and passions that have shaped his career, Aja sat down with Rotten Tomatoes to share his top five favourite films. Among the quintet, one stands out as the cornerstone of Aja’s passion for cinema – Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. “For one reason,” he begins, “it was my first real cinematic shock when I was a kid. I accidentally watched The Shining at age seven, and it was the most traumatic experience, and maybe one of the reasons why I’m doing what I’m doing today.”
Most 21st-century adults will still find Kubrick’s foray into horror unsettling, so it’s not hard to imagine how The Shining‘s impact on Aja was profound. Luckily, its mastery affected not just his childhood but also his filmmaking career. He describes an enduring obsession, revisiting the film repeatedly over the years. “I’m obsessed with every shot that they cut, every bit of dialogue, every emotion,” he confesses. “I think there is a perfection for me in this movie.”
Aja expands on his fascination, highlighting one scene that, in his eyes, captures the essence of the film. This moment occurs when Jack, played by Jack Nicholson, enters the ballroom and sits at the bar in a hauntingly empty space. This scene symbolizes an unholy pact to Aja, a deal with the devil that is both terrifying and elegant. Recalling the scene, Aja remembers how: “the camera turns around after he says he would like a glass of beer, and the bartender, Lloyd, appears.”
“It’s that Faustian deal,” Aja explains, “that I think is the most beautifully made and elegant deal with the devil that has ever existed on camera or even in literature.” For Aja, this moment encapsulates everything from Stephen King’s personal struggle while writing the original novel to the existential contemplation of human identity, referring to the bartender Lloyd as “that devilish figure that just watches over him. It’s just maybe one of the most beautiful scenes in cinema.”
As Aja continues to explore the realms of horror and science fiction, perhaps audiences can look forward to witnessing the tangible impact of Kubrick’s masterpiece on his future cinematic endeavours. With his next film reported as the Halle Berry-starring thriller Mother Land, fans hopefully won’t have to wait too long to find out.
