BD Horror News - Alex Aja Talks 'Piranha' & 'Mirrors' Remakes

I just got off the phone with infamous director Alex Aja who chatted briefly about his forthcoming production, P2, which hits theaters everywhere on November 9. During the interview we also spent some time chatting about his remakes of Mirrors and Piranha, which he explains are NOT remakes at all! He also updates us on the story for Piranha and how proud he is of Mirrors. Read on for the skinny.

Alex Aja Talks to B-D

It�s a great honor to talk to Alex Aja, especially after we kick started the hype for his first film, HAUTE TENSION, from the Toronto International Film Festival all those years ago. Now after the release of his HILLS HAVE EYES, the French director has gone from directing to producing with his first project, P2, hitting theaters everywhere on November 9. With our full interview coming soon, below we had a chance to talk about his forthcoming re-imagining of the Korean horror film INTO THE MIRROR and PIRANHA.

Aja talked a bit about how he was approached to do MIRRORS and how he nearly passed on the project, �I was approached right after THE HILLS HAVE EYES to do MIRROR and I was wondering if I would have to do the sequel [to HILLS],� he continues, �I was approached by New Regency with the script by the title INTO THE MIRROR - that was the title at the time - I read the script and didn�t connect at all to the script or the story. They asked me before I was going to pass, they basically asked me to watch the Korean movie and I really liked the opening scene and the ending � but I didn�t connect with the movie itself. I thought it was an amazing topic; it was something really scary, new and different� way closer to THE SHINING, but a different style.�

One thing that Aja is quickly being known for his the level of gore in his films, I wondered if MIRRORS would lack the blood flow being that it was a remake to a Japanese horror film. He assures us that this isn�t like those other Japanese remakes, �It�s super graphic [and] really gory. I didn�t want to direct THE RING or DARK WATER; I really wanted to do something following the track of THE SHINING. For me it�s a movie that found a great balance between graphic gore and supernatural stuff as well.�

He recently wrapped shooting on MIRRORS< which is said to features some insane gore from the dudes at KNB; Aja tells us how this pars up to his first two films, �I just finished my director�s cut and I�m really, really excited. I think we have something that is really graphic, really gory and really violent and at the same very scary; it�s much scarier than what I did before.�

One thing that Aja wanted to make clear was that both MIRRORS and PIRANHA aren�t remakes. �We are writing PIRANHA now. You read everywhere that it�s a remake, but MIRRORS is completely not a remake at all,� he tells B-D, �HILLS was really a remake [while] MIRRORS is really a new story based on the original. PIRANHA is not a remake at all either - we were asked by Weinstein Company to think about a new PIRANHA movie, not a remake to the original.� He concludes by clarifying, �It�s not a remake of all the James Cameron movies � it�s only about the same kind of fish.�

One ting that we found concerning is that �sea monster� movies don�t appear to be doing very well, we asked him what makes this different from films like PRIMEVAL and ROGUE. He explains that his is going to be one hell of a ride, �My idea of the writing right now is to approach the project as if I was building a rollercoaster. It�s a complete differ approach than HILLS or P2; it�s like building an attraction,� he continues, �It�s going to be scary and great- it�s a very different approach from anything we�ve done before.�

Lastly Aja confirms that he�s still attached to BLACK HOLE, �I�m still attached to BLACK HOLE � it�s the best graphic novel I have ever read,� he exclaims with loads of excitement and energy.

You can watch this spot for the full interview soon and check out P2 in theaters everywhere on November 9.