James Wan says he’s done with horror movies. “I’m going to go on record and say I am finished with the horror genre. Conjuring and Insidious 2 are my two last scary movies.” I’m going to get all of the obligatory quoting out of the way here so we can get down to brass tacks. “Hollywood puts you in a box. If you do a successful comedy, then you’re known as The Comedy Guy. If you do a successful car chase movie, then you become that guy. So I’m a student of cinema, so I just want to make sure I get the chance to make other kinds of films.”
That’s how James Wan feels, and I say more power to him.
Sure, the horror fan in me is bummed. Wan is an incredibly gifted director with a knack for building his scares just right. The tension slowly escalates and before you even know what is going on everything is topsy turvy and terrifying. I know my horror fan friends and I are going to miss that, but I don’t think this is the end of the world. In fact, it’s a jump I’ve been advocating for a little while.
I don’t think that Wan had to swear off horror to make a transition to other genres, but I think it helps. I can only imagine that he get inundated with horror scripts all the time and sees little else. That would be a pretty miserable time for someone as gifted as Wan, so I don’t blame him making a public statement about his future. I also don’t believe him, but that’s ok. I certainly think for now he’s serious about avoiding horror movies.
So what is he going to do? Glad that you asked!
His next project is the upcoming Fast and Furious 7, a film with so many great names connected to it, both onscreen and off, that I wake up every day and print out fake tickets so I can watch imaginary versions in my head. Prove that I don’t. Jason Statham, Kurt Russel, Tony Jaa, Ronda Rousey, and Djimon Hounsou have all been mentioned in association with the upcoming feature. It’s poised to be the most fun anyone has ever had in a theater.
Under the careful direction of James Wan, I can only expect the adrenaline levels to spike even higher than in the latest installment. You know, the movie with the scene where Vin Diesel drives a car out of an exploding plane! I’ve prepared my will under the assumption that the thrills will make my heart/brain/everything explode. This is especially exciting for me because the medium stakes action genre is my favorite genre. Number one. All time the time every time. No doubt. We could use more directors with his practical style making movies on that scale to reinvigorate a movie form that seems to have faded away under the shadow of the mega-blockbuster.
Wan’s agenda after Fast and Furious 7 is a mystery, but now that he’s established himself as willing to take on projects of all kinds it is sure to be exciting. For those worried that the transition will be painful, let me console you. What makes James Wan a great horror director will make him a great director of any genre. He pays such deep attention to his characters that you can’t help but get attached. It’s what made Insidious good, and The Conjuring great. You aren’t just scared of things, when you watch his films you’re scared for people. That makes all of the difference in the world.
He is also a master of crafting atmosphere. Not just scary atmosphere though. Watch his work, and you’ll notice that the composition of each scene, the lighting, and the tone all work together to generate the perfect feeling for the moment; whatever feeling that may be. I have no doubt that he’ll be able to put those prodigious skills to work in any genre and find great success. He’ll definitely be getting my money on the regular.
Are you happy with the change? Are you mad, hurt, sad, lonely, just want to talk, let me direct you to the comments below for some friendly interchange.
Source: Screen Rant
