Willem Dafoe believes horror filmmakers make great directors for superhero movies.
The 62-year-old actor starred as the Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s 2002 ‘Spider-Man’ movie and is set to jump back into the comic book genre in James Wan’s ‘Aquaman’.
Raimi made his name on demonic cult classic ‘ The Evil Dead’, which was released in 1981, whilst Wan earner his big screen spurs directing 2004’s ‘Saw’ and creating ‘The Conjuring’ franchise and Dafoe insists their background on fight films proved invaluable when they tackled their respective superheroes.
Speaking to Collider, Dafoe said: "I grew up on horror. Horror is cool because it can be a popular form and it can be a very artful form and that’s rare that a genre allows that. Really fun, inventive directors come out of horror often. I wouldn’t say I’m a horror movie aficionado, but I appreciate them. Those directors in particular, James Wan, when you see his horror movies, you know there is a director there and that was very appealing and evident on ‘Aquaman’. You see a kind of discipline, a kind of precision in viewing his films and being on set; he’s very precise and aware of storytelling tricks.
"He knows film language, Raimi knew film language. They came from modest, low-budget movie that you could tell these stories differently.
"Horror is a really good platform to mould these guys with good film language; it’s a good genre to strut their stuff. And superhero films are a good place to strut those horror influences, I think."
Dafoe also believes the two filmmakers have similar levels of enthusiasm for their work and he’s enjoyed working with them both very much.
He added: "Something else that Wan and Raimi have in common is that these feel like personal films of theirs, just genuine enthusiasm for those very particular stories that they’re telling for the studio. Perhaps that comes from horror as well. Horror directors have some major enthusiasm for what they’re making."
Willem Dafoe: Horror directors can make super hero films
