Summary
- Tarantino has a great love for horror, though he has never directed a horror feature.
- Tarantino’s canceled project,
The Movie Critic
, hints at a potential shift toward making a horror film. - Despite challenges, Tarantino’s strong fan base and studio trust may pave the way for him to explore horror in his final film.
As much as we like to think that Quentin Tarantino is a rebellious and provocative movie director, he’s proven to like Hollywood dynamics quite a bit throughout his career. The winner of two Oscars, albeit none for Best Director but for Best Original Screenplay, Hollywood’s most successful black sheep is such an original storyteller that his films could carry a warranty seal: you will always get something different than you would expect.
His position as one of the industry’s bad boys always made us think that horror was a potential direction for Tarantino within the genre mashups he’s cleverly done. However, his closest step into horror territory was arguably with Grindhouse’s Death Proof, the feature-long segment in which a stunt driver maniacally kills people. The result was decent and remains one of his underrated ventures, but Tarantino still hasn’t set out to make a straight-up horror film. Reasons may vary, but given the leverage he holds over his productions and the studios’ appreciation of his movies, it could be said that it isn’t because someone has stopped him. In other words, Tarantino is one of those movie directors that studios don’t seem to say “no!” to.
Recently, Tarantino’s latest production was halted and then canceled. A few hours passed between rumors and confirmed news, and all we know is that Tarantino’s 10th and last film won’t be the one he announced last year. As sad as this sounds for his fervent fans, does this mean he could finally try making a horror movie?
What Was Tarantino’s Canceled Project?
Tarantino’s last film of his career was supposed to be The Movie Critic. Few details have been confirmed, but the screenplay revolves around a movie reviewer with a shady outlet for working as a critic. This would have been inspired by Tarantino’s biographical aspect, as he often says he read movie reviews in adult magazines. Such a critic would have been the star of the film.
The film would have starred Brad Pitt, and some sources claimed it would have taken the figure of a real (and divisive) critic, Pauline Kael. There were also rumors that we could have seen some reunions in the Tarantinoverse. However, we will never know for sure what the final direction of the film would have been. All we know is that, after rewriting the script and giving it much thought, the director decided to call it quits. The Movie Critic is no longer in production.
Why Quentin Tarantino Abandoning The Movie Critic Is Actually Good News
If Quentin Tarantino is only going to direct 10 movies, then his final one needs to be one of his best, not a sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
It’s still very early to say what’s coming next. The studio behind The Movie Critic is probably still trying to understand the news about Tarantino’s decision to cancel the film. Nevertheless, the director is known for being in absolute control of his creative output and seems more careful than ever when selecting his “final” film. It is also not the first time he has canceled a project, although his last film would have been an enormous event. Whoever participates in what’s coming next will be part of something very important.
Why Could Tarantino Try Making a Horror Movie?
In 2019, Tarantino refused to rule out the horror genre for his final film. However, as exciting as this was, it just stayed an idea. Then, he floated the idea of working in a Star Trek film. Still, nothing followed. Tarantino’s most recent film was Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, released in 2019 and tells the story of a movie star dealing with a change of scenery in Hollywood and the ’70s culture that stained Tinseltown in real life. It was an acclaimed film but a significant shift from Tarantino’s usually violent projects (aside from the ending).
This important change, and the fact that he chose such a sober film as his last, disappointed horror fans who expected Tarantino to approach horror. However, now that The Movie Critic is no more, he can dust off his horror notepad and materialize the influence that he’s shown to have. In his podcast with Roger Avary and Avary’s daughter, Gala, The Video Archives Podcast, we listened to him talk about how horror has influenced him. In fact, horror movies are the ones he mostly talks about as he reminisces about his days as a video store clerk and where he actually “studied” the techniques of the directors that influenced his work. We don’t need more proof that he has the knowledge.
Considering that his fanbase is very strong and that studios trust him, regardless of where he wants to take a film, there’s no better moment than now for Tarantino to try making a horror movie. Nevertheless, it could also mean he likely couldn’t abandon the director’s chair with that one. His love for cinema is known, and this was how The Movie Critic felt: the most logical decision to start his retirement from the industry. Like Spielberg did with The Fabelmans, Tarantino could have done with a film that reflected his childhood and early love for cinema. Horror entering the picture at this moment is very exciting, but it doesn’t quite connect with his intention to make his 10th film and retire.
Yes, it’s a stretch. Tarantino making a horror film is risky, as the Academy rarely supports the genre, and the director would undoubtedly be hoping to receive some recognition come award season if this were to be his final movie. But taking into account the fact that they haven’t awarded Tarantino with a Best Director prize, a horror film – and a very good one, for that matter – would be a fine way to go out on top. With a horror film, Tarantino could pay homage to De Palma, giallo films, and the ones he often talks about in his podcast.
Why Is Tarantino Such an Important Director of Genre Films?
We can rest assured that Tarantino won’t ever make a completely grounded film. Drama and Hollywood’s most conservative side don’t click with his drive to tell stories, and since he is one of the most important filmmakers of all time, he’s also allowed to take risks. He did so with Death Proof and Kill Bill. One worked, and the other was a great experiment that only worked as an anecdote between him and the fans of “ugly cinema.”
Tarantino makes the gritty beautiful and the violence elegant in terms of the story. He’s remodeled history, brought back careers from the grave, and made Hollywood uncomfortable more than a few times. In other words, he can do it all if it just follows the direction of his stories. And his stories are often the ones that no other director can helm. This reflects Tarantino’s love for film and the expression of such a love with the New Beverly Cinema. He’s a misbehaving filmmaker, but he’s also one of the most important directors for preserving what makes cinema an endless medium.
What Happened to Quentin Tarantino’s Star Trek Movie?
Quentin Tarantino’s unrealized Star Trek project sparked innovation and redefined franchise boundaries, leaving a legacy of uncharted potential.
Tarantino’s latest film being canceled is promising in terms of the possibility of him trying horror, especially considering it wasn’t going to be a genre film. Think of what he did for Westerns with The Hateful Eight and Django Unchained, war films with Inglourious Basterds, and martial arts films with Kill Bill. Tarantino could seemingly reinvent the genre if he decided to go the horror route. However, only time will tell what direction the filmmaker chooses for what he says will be his last movie.
