"Extreme Hollywood: ‘High Tension’ and Alexandre Aja’s Influence on American Horror Cinema" by Wesley Lara (Bloody Disgusting)
The evolution of American horror cinema is nothing short of fascinating. Film is an art form...
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MODERN HORROR CRAFTSMAN
Alexandre Aja
RELENTLESS SURVIVAL
BRUTAL, BLOOD-SOAKED SUSPENSE
breakout auteur
Biography
Alexandre Aja is one of the most original and exciting directors to come out of France in the last decade. His most recent work is 2024’s feature Never Let Go, with 21 Laps producing and Halle Berry starring.
His debut feature film Haute Tension (aka High Tension) earned him a spot as one of Variety’s “10 Directors to Watch.” He broke on to the Hollywood scene directing Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes, which received great reviews (“… a brilliantly reimagined version of Wes Craven's 1977 micro-budget horror classic…” — Seattle Times). He reaffirmed his unique and visceral filmmaking talents with Piranha 3D, which The Hollywood Reporter called a “pitch-perfect” summer movie while the Associated Press said it was “hilariously, cleverly gory.”
horror with heart
inventive words, unrelenting tension
Aja’s film Horns, based on the best-selling cult novel by Joe Hill and starring Daniel Radcliffe, premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. Entertainment Weekly described Horns as “extremely funny and clever…with dark elements that will have you squirming in your seat.” His next film, the Hitchcockian thriller The 9th Life of Louis Drax, was distributed by Miramax and starred Jamie Dornan and Aaron Paul (“Works as both a children’s movie for adults and a grownup movie for kids, a rare balancing act most young-adult fare can’t pull off.” — TheWrap). His hit film Crawl, produced by Sam Raimi and released theatrically by Paramount Pictures, was a sleeper box-office hit and received rave reviews, with Film Review deeming it 2019’s “A Quiet Place, a masterclass in controlled apprehension.” Bloody Disgusting called it “a shriek of glorious existential despair” and a “fantastic, crowd-pleasing, popcorn-spilling” film. A sequel is already in the works.
new frontiers
from streaming success to original series
Aja’s 2021 film Oxygen premiered on Netflix to universally excellent reviews, and debuted in the top ten films for the streamer (a rare feat for a French language film!). The Hollywood Reporter said that “Oxygen is a lean thriller that will hold your attention through all of its big reveals, using everything at its disposal to craft a story that’s fun, tense, and never boring. And when it’s over, you’ll want to pop outside for a big breath of fresh air.”
In television, Aja recently sold “Capsule” — with David Goyer’s Phantom Four producing for Skydance — to Netflix, which he will direct and executive produce.
DEPTH OF FIELD
Inside the world of Alexandre Aja
Masters of Cinema
