There aren’t very many filmmakers that are able to relish in the absurdity and craziness of a horror film, but also inject even the silliest of concepts with quality storytelling and craftsmanship that makes people take notice. Director Alexandre Aja is one of those filmmakers. And while he’s already proven himself to be one of the best in genre filmmaking, his just-announced upcoming film is likely going to test his abilities unlike ever before.
According to Collider, Aja has signed on with Steven Spielberg and his Amblin Entertainment for a new haunted house film, but with a major twist. The untitled film will be utilizing a new technology that will allow movie-goers the chance to interact with the film, choosing what happens next and ultimately, leading to an unforeseen conclusion. The film is written by Jeff Howard, based on a story he developed with filmmaker Mike Flanagan. The duo previously worked on “The Haunting of Hill House” for Netflix.
How is Aja going to bring an interactive horror film to life? Well, he’ll be utilizing Kino Industries’ CtrlMovie technology. Much like a Choose-your-own-adventure novel, the film will have various choices that will have to be made and will lead to different outcomes. However, unlike doing this on your own in the novel or even the recent “Bandersnatch” film on Netflix, audience members in the theater will vote on their phones, with democracy winning the day and the group making the ultimate decisions.
Now, as mentioned, Aja is a great horror filmmaker and has turned in some quality films when everyone expected something terrible. He burst onto the scene thanks to the 2003 film “High Tension” (which every horror fan should check out). He then started his career that has been defined by taking a dumb premise (“Hills Have Eyes” remake, “Piranha 3D,” and most recently, “Crawl”) and creating films that have a bit of tongue-in-cheek, winky vibe to them while also being quality, tense horror-thrillers.
Basically, if the man can make me a fan of a film that takes place in a Florida crawlspace during a hurricane where people are hunted by alligators, then I trust that he can make a decent interactive haunted house film. So bring it on!