Alexandre Jouan-Arcady, known professionally as Alexandre Aja, (; born 7 August 1978) is a French filmmaker best known for his work in the horror genre. He rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film ''

Haute Tension ''High Tension'' (French: ''Haute Tension'', ; released in the United Kingdom as ''Switchblade Romance'') is a 2003 French slasher film directed by Alexandre Aja, co-written with Grégory Levasseur, and starring Cécile de France and Maïwenn, ...

'' (known as ''High Tension'' in the US and ''Switchblade Romance'' in the UK). He has also directed the films ''

The Hills Have Eyes ''The Hills Have Eyes'' is an American horror franchise that consists of four horror films, as well as a graphic novel and merchandise. The first film was released in 1977, '' The Hills Have Eyes''; the series was rebooted in a 2006 remake. T ...

'' (2006), ''

Mirrors A mirror or looking glass is an object that reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the direction of the ima ...

'' (2008), ''

Piranha 3D ''Piranha 3D'' is a 2010 American 3D horror comedy film that serves as a loose remake of the comedy horror film ''Piranha'' (1978) and an entry in the ''Piranha'' film series. Directed by Alexandre Aja and written by Pete Goldfinger and Josh S ...

'' (2010), ''

Horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...

'' (2013) and ''

Crawl Crawl, The Crawl, or crawling may refer to: Biology * Crawling (human), any of several types of human quadrupedal gait * Limbless locomotion, the movement of limbless animals over the ground * Undulatory locomotion, a type of motion characteriz ...

'' (2019).

Personal life

Aja's pseudonymous surname is formed from the initial letter of each of the three parts of his real name. He was born in Paris, France, and is the son of Jewish French ''

Pied-Noir The ''Pieds-Noirs'' (; ; ''Pied-Noir''), are the people of French and other European descent who were born in Algeria during the period of French rule from 1830 to 1962; the vast majority of whom departed for mainland France as soon as Alger ...

'' director

Alexandre Arcady Alexandre Arcady (born 17 March 1947) is a French actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Life and career Alexandre Arcady was born in Algiers, Algeria. He emigrated to France at the age of fifteen. His son is filmmaker Alexandre Aja. ...

and French cinema critic Marie-Jo Jouan.

Career

Aja acted at a very young age in minor roles in his father's films such as ', and the two ' films. He made his directorial debut at the age of eighteen with the short film ''Over the Rainbow'', which received a

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

Golden Palm Award The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

nomination for best short film. In 1999 he directed ''Furia'', a film based on Julio Cortázar's short story ''Graffiti''. From ''Furia'' and his next features, he frequently works with

Grégory Levasseur Grégory Levasseur (born 1979 in Douarnenez, France) is a French screenwriter and film producer, best known for ''The Hills Have Eyes'' (2006), '' High Tension'' (2003), ''Maniac'' (2012) '' Piranha 3-D'' (2010), '' Mirrors'' (2008), '' P2'' (200 ...

as writers such as in ''

'', ''

'', '' P2'', and ''

''. Levasseur also made his works as production designer too. Alexandreaja

Aja directed ''

'', which released in 2003 in France and in 2005 in the US, and placed Aja on the map of the

horror movie Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...

genre. The French slasher, though sticking to horror conventions, pushed the envelope of gore and tension. The film is an unauthorized reinterpretation of the novel " Intensity", by

Dean Koontz Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9, 1945) is an American author. His novels are billed as Thriller (genre), suspense thrillers, but frequently incorporate elements of horror fiction, horror, fantasy, science fiction, Mystery fiction, mystery, and satir ...

. Favouring make-up effects over computer-generated imagery, the film quickly found respect among horror fans. It was released in the US as ''High Tension'', after some editing. The film was nominated for the grand prize at the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival, and earned Aja awards for Best Direction and Best Fantasy Film at the

Sitges - Catalan International Film Festival The Sitges Film Festival ( ca, Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya, links=no) is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Spain, specialized in fantasy and horror films, of which it is considered one of the world's foremost in ...

. After seeing ''High Tension'', American director

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...

asked Aja to come up with a concept for the remake of his 1977 film ''

''. Craven subsequently asked Aja to direct the movie, which was released with an R rating in the US after extensive editing. His next project was a horror film entitled ''

'', about a mysterious mirror that brings out the worst aspects of people whenever they look at themselves in it. The film is a remake of the

K-Horror Korean horror films have been around since the early years of Korean cinema, however, it was not until the late 1990s that the genre began to experience a renewal. Many of the Korean horror films tend to focus on the suffering and the anguish of ch ...

film ''

Into the Mirror ''Into the Mirror'' () is a 2003 South Korean supernatural horror film about a series of grisly deaths in a department store, all involving mirrors, and the troubled detective who investigates them. It was the debut film of director Kim Sung-ho. ...

''. Aja directed ''

'', a horror movie about prehistoric piranhas in Arizona. It is a remake of the 1978 film ''

Piranha A piranha or piraña (, , or ; or , ) is one of a number of freshwater fish in the family Serrasalmidae, or the subfamily Serrasalminae within the tetra family, Characidae in order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, fl ...

''. Because Aja was working on ''Mirrors'', he did not direct the sequel to ''

The Hills Have Eyes 2 ''The Hills Have Eyes 2'' is a 2007 American horror film and the sequel to the 2006 film, which itself was a remake of the 1977 horror film. The film follows several U.S. Army National Guard comrades as they fight for survival against the mutan ...

'', which was released on 10 March 2007. In 2004, Aja was named by ''Variety'' on the Ten Directors to Watch list. He is a member of the so-called

Splat Pack The Splat Pack is a group of independent filmmakers who, since 2002, have directed, written and produced horror films which are notable for their low budgets and extreme violence. History The term was coined by Alan Jones of ''Total Film''. Th ...

, a term coined by film historian Alan Jones in ''Total Film'' magazine for a new wave of directors making brutally violent horror films. The other Splat Pack members are

Darren Lynn Bousman Darren Lynn Bousman (; born January 11, 1979) is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in horror films. He has directed four of the '' Saw'' films: '' Saw II'', ''Saw III'', ''Saw IV'', and ''Spiral''. He also direc ...

Neil Marshall Neil Marshall (born 25 May 1970) is an English film and television director, editor, producer, and screenwriter. He directed the horror films ''Dog Soldiers'' (2002) and '' The Descent'' (2005), the science fiction action film '' Doomsday'' (2 ...

, Greg McLean,

Eli Roth Eli Raphael Roth (born April 18, 1972) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. As a director and producer, he is most closely associated with the horror genre, having directed the films '' Cabin Fever'' (2003) and ''Hoste ...

James Wan James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter and comic book writer. He has primarily worked in the horror genre as the co-creator of the '' Saw'' and ''Insidious'' franchises and the creator of The Conjur ...

Leigh Whannell Leigh Whannell (; is an Australian screenwriter, actor, film producer, and film director. He is best known for writing films directed by his friend James Wan, including ''Saw'' (2004), ''Dead Silence'' (2007), '' Insidious'' (2010), and '' Insi ...

, and Rob Zombie. Aja has been associated with the

New French Extremity New French Extremity (New French Extremism or, informally, New French Extreme) is a term coined by ''Artforum'' critic James Quandt for a collection of transgressive films by French directors at the turn of the 21st century. Also available othe ...

film movement. Aja produced a remake of the 1980 horror slasher ''

Maniac Maniac (from Greek μανιακός, ''maniakos'') is a pejorative for an individual who experiences the mood known as mania. In common usage, it is also an insult for someone involved in reckless behavior. Maniac may also refer to: Film * ' ...

'', starring

Elijah Wood Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Frodo Baggins in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (2001–2003) and '' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'' (2012). Woo ...

. The film was released in 2012. In 2013, he directed the dark fantasy thriller ''

'', starring

Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. He rose to fame at age twelve, when he began portraying Harry Potter in the film series of the same name; and has held various other film and theatre roles. Over his career, Rad ...

Juno Temple Juno Temple (born 21 July 1989) is a British actress. She has appeared in the films ''Notes on a Scandal'' (2006), ''Atonement'' (2007), '' The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008), ''The Three Musketeers'' (2011), ''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012), '' Ma ...

, Joe Anderson,

James Remar William James Remar (born December 31, 1953) is an American actor. He has played numerous roles over a 40 year career, most notably Ajax in '' The Warriors'' (1979), Albert Ganz in ''48 Hrs.'' (1982), Dutch Schultz in '' The Cotton Club'' (1984 ...

Kelli Garner Kelli Brianne Garner (born April 11, 1984) is an American actress who has appeared in a variety of independent and mainstream films, television, and theater. A native of Southern California, Garner made her feature film debut at age seventeen ...

and

Max Minghella Max Giorgio Choa Minghella (born 16 September 1985) is an English actor, film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is known for his roles in the films ''Syriana'' (2005), ''Art School Confidential'' (2006), ''Elvis and Anabelle'' (2007), '' ...

. He also produced the 2014 horror film ''

The Pyramid A pyramid is a structure with triangular lateral surfaces converging to an apex. Pyramid may also refer to: Anatomy and medicine * Petrous part of the temporal bone, the pyramid * Pyramid (brainstem), the anterior part of medulla oblongata Ga ...

'' directed by

and starring

Ashley Hinshaw Ashley Grace (née Hinshaw; born December 11, 1988) is an American actress and model. She is known for her leading role in the 2012 film ''About Cherry'', and for her role in the 2016 Crackle television series '' StartUp''. Early life Ashley ...

Denis O'Hare Denis Patrick Seamus O'Hare (born January 17, 1962) is an American actor, singer, and author noted for his award-winning performances in the plays '' Take Me Out'' and ''Sweet Charity'', as well as portraying vampire king Russell Edgington on HB ...

, and James Buckley. Aja produced and directed the 2016 psychological thriller film ''

The 9th Life of Louis Drax ''The 9th Life of Louis Drax'' is a 2016 supernatural thriller film directed by Alexandre Aja and starring Jamie Dornan, Sarah Gadon, Aiden Longworth, Oliver Platt, Molly Parker, Julian Wadham, Jane McGregor, Barbara Hershey, and Aaron Paul. It ...

'', which is based on a novel by Liz Jensen. Aja is set to direct a live action adaptation of the manga series ''

Space Adventure Cobra is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Buichi Terasawa. Set in the far future, the series tells the story of Cobra, who lives an adventurous life until his enemies begin to hunt him down. Cobra surgically alters his face a ...

'', and the Mice and Mystics film for Dreamworks Animation. In 2019, Alexandre Aja directed his highest grossing and best reviewed film yet, ''

.''

Filmography

Other credits

References

External links

*
Alexandre Aja on Fox SearchlightEat My Brains! interview with Alexandre Aja
on sci-fi-online.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Aja, Alexandre 1978 births Horror film directors Living people Film directors from Paris French film producers French male screenwriters French screenwriters 21st-century French Jews

Personal life

Career

Filmography

See also

References

External links