In the horror genre, unfortunately you sometimes have the studio tell you, "No, go with more unknown people because it's a scary movie," and I disagree.
Alexandre AjaYou have to be realistic in the use of blood in the movies. There is a little bit more than a gallon in a human being. If you have a few thousand people, that makes a lot of blood. I'm very realistic in my use of blood.
Alexandre AjaI'm always on the side of the characters, rather than the side of the people attacking them. I get realistic. It's not gratuitous.
Alexandre AjaCasting is so important in horror. It's so important to have strong actors to tell a story because, if you don't believe in the character, how can you be scared for them?
Alexandre AjaI follow my instincts and I always think about what movie I would like to see. If I want to see it then I'm guessing that some other people might want to see it as well. I never try to think about what people will love or will like, because when you start to think for other people that's where you lose track of the real motivation.
Alexandre AjaIt's always very interesting to bet who's going to go first and who is going to have the most unbelievable death. It's always fun to play with that and create more expectation. It's an interesting part of horror movie.
Alexandre AjaHollywood changed to become a more marketing-driven Hollywood, where people who are running the studios are more like marketing people, and they need titles.
Alexandre AjaWhen you do a slasher film, you find yourself repeating the same kind of scene, then it becomes not very challenging and not very interesting.
Alexandre AjaIt's always about trying to do something that's different and not repeating yourself because then you lose your creative stamina. You need to have new challenges.
Alexandre Aja