Alexandre Aja

Biography

Alexandre Aja, born Alexandre Jouan-Arcady on 7 August 1978 in Paris, is a French filmmaker best known for his horror films. His professional surname combines his first name with his parents' surnames. He belongs to a generation of French genre directors who brought French horror to international audiences in the early twenty-first century.

The son of director Alexandre Arcady and journalist Marie-Jo Jouan, Aja grew up in Paris and appeared in small roles in his father's films as a child. He made his directorial debut at eighteen with the short Over the Rainbow, which was selected for the short-film competition at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. In 1999 he directed Furia, based on a short story by Julio Cortázar, and from then on he worked often with writer Grégory Levasseur, who also served as production designer on several projects.

His breakthrough came with Haute Tension (2003), a French slasher that pushed gore and tension further while favouring practical make-up effects over computer imagery. It won awards at the Sitges Film Festival, and after seeing it Wes Craven asked Aja to develop a remake of The Hills Have Eyes (2006), which he went on to direct. Next came Mirrors (2008), a remake of the South Korean horror film Into the Mirror, and Piranha 3D (2010), a new version of the 1978 classic. In 2004 Variety named him to its Ten Directors to Watch list, and he is associated with the Splat Pack, a loose group of directors known for brutal horror.

His career has moved between horror and other genres, including the dark fantasy thriller Horns (2013), starring Daniel Radcliffe, and Crawl (2019). He also produced the remake of Maniac (2012). Recent announcements include a sequel to Under Paris for Netflix. His legacy lies largely in bringing contemporary French horror to wide international attention and in establishing a physical, uncompromising style within the genre.

Key films

• Haute Tension (2003): known as High Tension in the US; the film that brought him international recognition.
• The Hills Have Eyes (2006): a remake developed after a proposal from Wes Craven.
• Mirrors (2008): a remake of the South Korean film Into the Mirror, about a mirror that brings out the worst in those who look into it.
• Piranha 3D (2010): a new version of the 1978 classic, with prehistoric piranhas in Arizona.
• Horns (2013): a dark fantasy thriller starring Daniel Radcliffe.